How frequent should you attend mass?

I was raised Catholic, but have lapsed for many years... and I'm thinking of probably joining the Anglican Communion.

My question is this:
According to the AC, how frequent should you attend mass?

 

As often as you are able. Sundays and holy days are customary although daily reception is not out of the question ... I recall reading somewhere that 4 times a year is the minimum.

 

That is really lenient. I like that, because love for God in freedom should guide you to worship frequently, not strict rules.

Thank you!

 

Where can I find answers to that kind of questions?

 

There are many wonderful resources available here at http://www.anglican.net. I would also research the homilies here: http://www.anglicanlibrary.org/homilies/index.htm. And the prayerbook: http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bcp/1928/BCP_1928.htm.

Hope these help.

 

Peregine,

You should attend every Lord's Day and days of obligation if able. Each jurisdiction will have something about attendance in their canons.

Some are almost like Rome, but most are not. I do not know of an Anglican jurisdiction that would classify missing Mass as a mortal sin as Rome does.
If you miss now and again for good reasons, ie work, sick, out of town etc your priest won't mention it. Matter of fact your priest may not bring it up unless you miss more than you attend. Then he will gently encourage you to attend more frequently.

If you are interested or feel lead to the Anglican Communion, I would suggest making an appointment with the priest of the parish you are thinking of attending. To discuss your situation and what is expected of both you and the priest/church. Then you should begin a catechism program to make sure you do agree with the teachings of the church. Some things Rome requires, Anglicanism considers pious opinion and belief is not require but encouraged. Such as the Marian teachings or dogmas.

hope this helps.

Blessings,

Fr. Mark

 

According to one of the rubrics at the end of the Communion Service in The Book of Common Prayer (1662), “every Parishioner shall communicate at the least three times in the year, of which Easter to be one.” That being said, a preceding rubric reads, “And in Cathedral and Collegiate Churches, and Colleges, where there are many Priests and Deacons, they shall all receive the Communion with the Priest every Sunday at the least, except they have a reasonable cause to the contrary.” Given this rubric and the fact that Collects, Epistles and Gospels are provided for every Sunday and numerous other Feasts throughout the year, I’d say that receiving the Sacrament at least weekly would be ideal.

While unfortunately communicating as often as I’ve just recommended is difficult for me to achieve, personally I can’t think of anything that would do me more good.

 

Well put, brother @Jenkins!

 

I go once a week. If I had more free time I'd like to go twice.

 

It is reasonable to see your obligation to "keep holy the Sabbath" as including going to church. Attending at least one extra service in the week I think is a good practice if you are able to, but you should not feel obliged to.

 

I feel weird if I miss Mass on Sunday. But work, sickness, etc does occur from time to time for folks. Hey, we're only human but we are bound by our Baptism, Confirmation, etc to support the work of the church as best as we are able to.

 

We should remember that Sunday mass was not always the primary service of all parishes. In the more Protestant days of the church, the communion was somewhat less frequent. Thus, the older prayer books have a notice to be read the week before the communion will be offered so that the parish can be mindful and prepare accordingly. For many parishes over a long period of time, the Sunday service looked something like: Morning Prayer, the Great Litany, and Ante-Communion - with a lengthy sermon.

One of the blessings of the Oxford Movement was to return weekly mass to an almost universal practice. Unfortunately, many parishes have come to neglect the offices in favor of the communion service. It's too much to ask of the average layman to do both, you know.

 

There is, of course, a difference between attending mass and communicating. We currently have a parishioner who has received only twice in the time I have been back working with the parish. He has some personal issue that I am not totally privy too, not being the father-confessor, and chooses to receive a blessing the majority of the time - but he faithfully attends mass nearly every week. There are many reasons why someone might not communicate, and I actually prefer to see people conscientiously choose a blessing for whatever reason than take the sacrament out of habit.

I read a paper by a Catholic cardinal not long ago discussing the merits of 'spiritual communion' which was quite good. It is a point that could stand to be taught on more prominently in the circles I circulate in. With that, we could see a revival of such prayers as Anima Christi (which is actually prescribed in the Anglican Missal for such usage). Now, I'm no great proponent of the Missal, but it does have some worthy additional material that can benefit some congregants' spirituality.

 

The ANIMA CHRISTI is indeed a great prayer kinda like a liturgical "sinner's prayer" if you will.

 

As for your question about attending mass in the Anglican Communion (AC), I did a bit of research and it seems that there's no hard and fast rule on how often you should attend.

 

I am a former Roman Catholic and am now Anglican. The whole concept of mortal sin for missing Mass on Sundays seemed very strict but I often found myself attending daily Mass due to circumstances and situations. I wondered why if I attended almost every other day it would be a mortal sin to miss it on Sunday - it just seemed unreasonable.

Anyway, when I first became an Anglican I was attending fairly regularly every Sunday but since the pandemic things have changed of course. There were times we couldn't have Mass, and times when I didn't feel safe. As a 70+ years old woman, I decided that I would attend when I could but not stress over it. I suffer from anxiety and some other health issues, so now I attend when I can and leave the rest up to God. I did get to Ash Wednesday service yesterday and it was really nice. The priest said she was happy to see me, as I had been asbent for a couple of weeks. That was nice.

I am able to attend the Mass virtually however as my priest videotapes her 8am Sunday Mass and sends out a Youtube link that I watch while reading along with the pew sheet, which she also sends out each week. This enables me to have a spiritual communion while watching the Mass. She also started having Mass on Saturday evenings for those who can't make Sunday mornings. I know the Roman Catholics have Saturday vigil Masses as well and I think this is a good thing for some of us.

I think that basically this is a question best answered between you, your consience and God. I have learned not to focus on the negative since becoming an Anglican (none of this sin, sin, sin stuff) but to focus on my relationship with God through Jesus. I am a much happier camper these days.

 

It really depends on the individual church and its traditions. If you're interested in exploring the Anglican Communion more, I recently stumbled upon this website called firstchurchlove.com that has a bunch of resources and information about different churches and communities. It might be worth checking out. That being said, it's generally recommended to attend mass at least once a week to stay connected to your faith and community.

 

I used to attend every Sunday and Holy day. Sadly, I have not attended in 3 years. I pray morning prayer at home and watch a traditional service online and make a spiritual communion.

 

I attend Eucharist once a week, and morning prayer on Monday. I pray morning and evening prayer at home.