Is it a pity to miss mass because of bad weather?

Of all the precepts of the Church, what Catholics are most likely to remember is our Sunday duty (or Sunday obligation): the obligation to attend mass every Sunday and the holy day of obligation. Like all the precepts of the Church, the duty to attend Mass is binding under the penalty of mortal sin; as the Catechism of the Catholic Church explains (par. 2041), this does not intend to punish but "to guarantee the faithful the bare minimum in the spirit of prayer and moral effort, in the growth of love for God and neighbor. "

However, there are circumstances in which we simply cannot attend Mass, such as debilitating diseases or journeys that take us away from any Catholic church on Sunday or a holy day. But what about, for example, during a blizzard or a tornado warning or other serious conditions? Do Catholics have to go to mass in bad weather?

Sunday obligation
It is important to take our Sunday duty seriously. Our Sunday obligation is not an arbitrary matter; the Church calls us to reunite with our Christian brothers on Sunday because our faith is not an individual matter. We are working out our salvation together and one of the most important elements of this is the common worship of God and the celebration of the Sacrament of Holy Communion.

Duty to ourselves and our family
At the same time, each of us has a duty to protect ourselves and our family. You are automatically released from your Sunday obligation if you cannot legitimately arrive at Mass. But you decide if you can do it at Mass. So, if in your opinion, you can't travel safely back and forth - and your assessment of the likelihood of being able to go home safely is as important as your assessment of your ability to go to Mass - then you don't have to attend Mass .

If the conditions are unfavorable enough, some dioceses will effectively announce that the bishop has dispensed the faithful from their Sunday assignment. Even more rarely, priests can cancel Mass to try to dissuade their parishioners from traveling in insidious conditions. But if the bishop has not issued a mass dispensation and your parish priest is still planning to celebrate mass, this does not change the situation: the final decision is up to you.

The virtue of prudence
This is how it should be because you are the best able to judge your circumstances. In the same weather conditions, your ability to go to Mass can be very different from that of your neighbor or any of your parishioners. If, for example, you are less stable on your feet and therefore more likely to fall on the ice, or have sight or hearing limitations that could make it more difficult to drive safely in a thunderstorm or snow storm, it is not necessary - And it shouldn't - put you at risk.

Taking into account external conditions and one's limitations is an exercise of the cardinal virtue of prudence, which, like Fr. John A. Hardon, SJ, writes in his modern Catholic dictionary, is "Correct knowledge of things to do or, more generally, of knowledge of things that should be done and things that should be avoided". For example, it is entirely possible that a healthy and skillful young man who lives a few blocks from his parish church could easily get to mass in a snowstorm (and therefore is not exempt from his Sunday obligation) while an elderly woman who lives right next to the church she cannot leave the house safely (and therefore she is exempt from the duty to attend mass).

If you can't do it
If you can't get to Mass, however, you should try to spend some time as a family with some spiritual activity - let's say, reading the epistle and the gospel of the day, or reciting the rosary together. And if you have any doubts that you made the right choice to stay home, mention your decision and weather conditions at your next confession. Your priest will not only absolve you (if necessary), but he can also offer you advice for the future to help you make a correct prudential judgment.