“Dear father, Our 15-year-old son, William, has just been selected to play for his local rugby team. The difficulty is that matches are scheduled for Sunday mornings. We have always attended the 11am Mass at our parish. Nothing is more important to me than the Mass, and I strongly believe that we should practise as a family. Should I require William to continue to attend with us?”
No! You are absolutely correct to give priority to the Mass and to recognise that the ideal is that the family should practise together. However, if you force a teenage boy to choose between Sunday Mass attendance and the sport for which he cares passionately, then the probability is that he will resent both his parents and the Church. You may be able to force William reluctantly to join you for the next three years, but then there is a significant probability that he would lapse from the practice of his faith the moment he goes off to university.
