The Importance of Attending a Catholic Mass or Church Service

I am a cradle Catholic. This means that I have been raised in the Catholic faith since the day I was born. Throughout my lifetime, I have not strayed from Catholicism. Don’t get me wrong. I have sinned many times throughout my lifetime. I have asked for God’s forgiveness the same number of times and then some.

Having grown up in a faith-based family and learned much about Catholicism throughout my life, there are many faith-based practices I have followed. One of these is right there in the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments (also called the Decalogue, “the Ten Words”) are God’s moral directives that express our fundamental duties toward God and toward our neighbor. They are grave obligations, immutable (always binding), and they oblige always and everywhere—no one can dispense from them. (Catechism of the Catholic Church 2072) The Commandments were given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai. This is written in Scripture (Exodus 20; Deuteronomy 5).

One of the Ten Commandments I want to focus on is Commandment #3 – Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. To me, this means that I need to worship and give honor to God each Sunday by attending a Catholic Mass. If you are not Catholic, you can attend another denominational Christian church. Even if you are not Catholic, feel free to attend a Catholic Mass. I have done my best to attend a Mass every weekend of my life. Even when I am not at home on a given weekend, I will visit MassTimes.org to check and see which Catholic church I can visit to attend a Mass on that particular weekend.

Well, the reasons below are very good reasons why a person should attend a Catholic Mass or church service. Maybe after reading this list, you will head out from your home on a given Sunday to go to a church service. Remember that one of the Ten Commandments says, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.”

1. It fulfills the Sunday obligation the Church describes as serious and vital.
2. It keeps you personally connected to Christ’s Resurrection—at the heart of the Lord’s Day.
3. It strengthens your unity with Christ and with His Church.
4. It makes Sunday truly communal.
5. It offers Christ’s sacrifice “sacramentally present” to the whole assembly.
6. It draws spiritual and even temporal benefits, and offers reparation.
7. It nourishes you with Christ Himself.
8. It helps you become more fully what you’re meant to be.
9. It anchors your week in the “gifts of the kingdom”—peace, joy, and hope.
10. It builds the parish itself—because the Eucharist makes the Church.