Do I Need to Go to Mass In-Person Every Week?

Going to Mass in-person can be hard. Can we make our lives easier by streaming Sunday Mass from home? Fr. Josh Johnson explains that going to Mass is not about what we can get out of it, but what we are offering to God. God deserves our worship, and we are invited to show up as we are. Fr. Josh also shares helpful tips on how to prepare for Mass to enrich our experience and dive deeper into the scriptures.

Snippet from the Show

Give God what he is due.

Glory Story (1:42)

Listener Question (5:26)

If we watch a live stream of a church service instead of going to church, do we need to go to confession before we go to church in-person again? We are new parents. When our son was 0-6 months, he would normally sleep through church so my husband and I could still pay close attention to the liturgy and homily. Now though, we spend most of mass herding him in the cry room and don't get what we need from the liturgy and homily. We find it so much easier and refilling to stream service at home so the baby can play on his mat, or be sleeping in his crib if we are lucky, and we can really dig into the lessons from mass that day. Is it okay for us to stay at home and watch service or should we keep trying to attend church in person while our son is young?
-Laura

Prayer (16:44)

Definition of Lectio Divina from “Ever Ancient, Ever New: The Art and Practice of Lectio Divina” by United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB)

Lectio divina is a method for praying with the Scriptures. It follows four steps: lectio (reading), meditatio (meditation), contemplatio (contemplation), and oratio (prayer).