8 Thoughts on Motivation and Mass Attendance

Sometimes even if we love the Mass, we lack motivation to go. The problem with skipping Mass is that we lose valuable graces when we don’t go. Here are a few thoughts on how to keep going even when we don’t feel like it.

1. Mass is on a spiritual plane, which means we can’t see all the good it does, how many sins it helps us avoid, how much misfortune it protects us from, and how much courage and strength it gives. We have to remind ourselves it’s a good thing to attend Mass.

2. Mass is the perfect form of praising God, and just by our presence we profess our love for God.

3. The Mass is the supernatural sacrifice of Christ on the cross continued. We, like St. John and the Blessed Mother, are at the foot of the cross when we attend Mass.
We become holy by attending the Mass. By going, we put God above all else. Even if we don’t feel holy, there are many personally beneficial graces given to us.

4. Even if we sinned and cannot receive Communion, we are given the strength to turn ourselves back to the right path because of the Mass. By attending Mass, we aren’t letting sin have the last word; rather, it’s our promise to amend our lives even before we confess our sin.

5. Jesus brings heaven to us in the reception of Holy Communion.

6. When we feel uninspired to go to Mass, a good idea is to think of one part of the Mass which we enjoy. Sometimes it’s just the feeling we did a good thing by attending that will motivate us.

7. It helps to connect something tangible to Mass attendance.  Doing a special activity immediately after Mass like going out to breakfast, making a special breakfast at home, stopping for coffee, stopping by the park for a stroll, or some other thing we enjoy helps us turn the day into a ritual we can look forward to all week. When we associate the Mass with an earthly joy, we see the Mass as a community event. We go to church to connect not just with God, but with all that God created, including our neighbors.

8. Remember like any relationship, there are highs and lows, but that doesn’t mean you withdraw from it. The same consideration should be extended to the Church.

Making Sunday Mass attendance a habit helps a great deal with motivation. We do a lot of things automatically in life, and adding Mass to our must-do list gives us a push to get to the church on time.