Dear Father,

My parents are taking our entire clan on a cruise vacation, including all the grandchildren. My wife and I are concerned about getting to Mass while we’re traveling, but I think it’s going to be hard while we’re on a cruise. Should I find a way to tell my parents that my wife and kids and I can’t go on the cruise?

-Noah


Dear Noah,

The best solution to your situation is to take me along on the cruise; then daily Mass will be guaranteed!

Before I get into my answer, let me say a couple of things about “obligation” during vacation, about which, admittedly, you are not asking. (Warning: I’m about to go off on this topic and it’s not intended for Noah.)

When it comes to going to Mass on Sunday or a Holy Day such as Christmas, is obligation really the mentality that we want to have?

Have we reduced the love of God to the obligation to go to Mass, most of which last less than an hour? Which one of us, apart from those in unhappy marriages, would think of kissing one’s spouse as an obligation? Which person with a little baby would think of cradling the child, or feeding the child, as an obligation?

Obligation is a word we use to denote legal necessity. For instance, a parent hauled in on charges of child abuse is told by the court that the bare minimum is to feed, rather than starve, one’s son or daughter. We’re shocked when we learn of such negligence because we can’t imagine that anyone would think that basic nutrition and hydration is below the level of obligation. We wonder where love is when we hear of child abuse.

Here’s another scenario to consider. A spouse says, “You don’t kiss me much anymore. What’s wrong?” And the other spouse replies, “I kissed you last month. What more do you want from me?!” I think we’d all agree that that marriage is a disaster. 

Loving God and worshiping Him is infinitely more than a requirement or obligation, just as feeding a child or kissing one’s spouse is. It’s the fabric of human existence. To not worship and love God is to become less human, less free. We don’t save time because we’ve skipped Mass; we lose ourselves.

On the contrary, to love and worship God in the form that He has asked, namely the Sacrifice of the Mass, is to become truly human, to flourish as a man or woman, boy or girl. Nothing else in the entire universe can make us flourish as human beings as can the holy Mass. Absolutely nothing!

Likewise, nothing on the face of this earth will grant us eternal happiness, which comes only from God. The richest person, the most powerful person, the most beautiful person will lose every penny, every control, every bit of comeliness at the moment of death, if not sooner. As the saying goes, I’ve never seen a U-Haul attached to the hearse.

The Church’s “law” that we go to Mass on Sundays and Holy Days is the minimum in the same way that feeding your children and kissing your spouse is the minimum. It’s the Church’s way of saying: If you do less than this, you’re not going to be happy, you’re not going to flourish, you’re headed in the wrong direction, you’re coming undone. 

Back to Noah’s question. 

Noah, I’m appreciative of your sincere seeking to do the right thing. I suggest that you ask the cruise line if Mass will be offered on board or at some port of call. Sometimes, a priest will be on the cruise and offer to celebrate Mass. Short of having a priest on board to offer Mass, the next thing to do is to contact your parish priest.

Canon law (no. 1245) says that “a parish priest, in individual cases, for a just reason and in accordance with the prescriptions of the diocesan Bishop, can give a dispensation from the obligation of observing a holyday or day of penance, or commute the obligation into some other pious works.” 

In the Diocese of Columbus, Bishop Earl Fernandes has granted the faculty to all priests assigned in the diocese to dispense, on a person-by-person basis, the obligation to attend Sunday Mass. However, this dispensation has to be for a just cause.

In terms of a “just cause,” someone going on vacation but who doesn’t want to make the effort to find a nearby Catholic church and Mass schedule is not going to receive the dispensation. Especially in our day when looking for a Catholic church, Mass schedules are easily found on a cell phone. Dispensations are for truly difficult situations where there is no Catholic church and no Mass available, such as may be the case on a cruise.

Bottom line: If you find no satisfaction from your cruise line, speak to your local priest.

Bon voyage, Noah!