mortal or venial sin

To whom it may Concern,

I am wondering if unintentionally missing mass on a holy day of obligation is considered a mortal sin? If someone forgets about the holy day and therefore does not make it to mass but feels remorse for missing it, what would that be considered? I know that a holy day is a grave matter, and the person did have knowledge because they were reminded two days ago at Sunday mass. However, the person honestly forgot so it was not a preconceived or intentional miss. Thanks for your time and Merry CHRISTmas! Anonymous
Answer by Fr. Jay Toborowsky on 12/8/2008:

If a person truly forgot about the Holy Day, some may argue that it was not their intention to deliberately miss Mass, and so it was not a mortal sin. Others would say that they missed because of negligence (not writing it in a calendar, and especially since they were at Mass the day before and probably heard some announcement about the Mass schedule for the day).

I'd say that if they legitimately forgot it, it was not a mortal sin, though they should bring it up in confession the next time they go.

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