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Someone I love is CatholicStep 4 of 6

Why they care about Sunday, confession and Fridays

The rules make more sense when you see the relationship.

Start here

Watch this first

The "Bare Minimum" for Catholics (The 5 Precepts of the Catholic Church w/ Br. Michelangelo) · Ascension Presents

Give it 7 minutes, then come back and we’ll walk through it together.

Video: The "Bare Minimum" for Catholics (The 5 Precepts of the Catholic Church w/ Br. Michelangelo), Ascension Presents, published May 6, 2024. Checked 10 October 2026. Loads from YouTube (privacy-enhanced mode) only when you press play. Watch on YouTube

Sunday Mass is how Catholics keep Jesus’ “do this in memory of Me.”1 Confession at least once a year and penance on Fridays are small, regular ways of returning to God.23

Watch first Or start reading1 min read
The Good Shepherd, by Bernhard Plockhorst: Christ carries a lamb, His flock around Him at sunset.

Bernhard Plockhorst, The Good Shepherd, 19th century. Public domain, source.

Journeys / Someone I love is Catholic / Step 4 of 6

On this page

Quick answers to related questions

A big day coming up?First Communion, wedding, baptism or funeral: what to expect.

Keep reading

All 6 steps in Someone I love is Catholic You’re on step 4
  1. 1. What they believe, in five minutes
  2. 2. Going to Mass with them
  3. 3. Words you’ll hear
  4. 4. Why they care about Sunday, confession and Fridays
  5. 5. Weddings, baptisms and funerals
  6. 6. Talking about it together

Your kitchen, Saturday night

At the Last Supper, Jesus said: do this in memory of Me.4

For a Catholic, Sunday Mass is that “do this.”5

It looks like rules. From the inside, it feels like keeping a date with someone you love.

01Sunday

Why Mass every Sunday

Church teaching

The Church asks Catholics to take part in Mass on Sundays and holy days.1 Missing it deliberately, without a serious reason, is treated as a serious matter.6

So if they look stressed about finding a Mass on a trip, that’s why. Helping them find one is a gift.

And confession?

02Confession

Why they tell a priest their sins

Church teaching

Catholics believe Jesus gave the apostles power to forgive sins.78 The Church asks Catholics to confess serious sins at least once a year.2

Most people come out lighter. If they seem happy after, that’s real.

And the fish on Fridays?

03Fridays and fasting

Small sacrifices on purpose

Church teaching

Fridays, especially in Lent, are days of penance, in memory of Jesus dying on a Friday.39

Catholics also fast for an hour before Communion, to get ready for it.10

Next: weddings, baptisms and funerals.

Your move

Try this, this week

  1. Ask them which of these matters most to them, and why.
  2. Help them find a Mass the next time you travel together.
  3. Read Luke 22:14-20.

You’ll need

  • Five minutes.
  • Your own questions about their habits.

Remember From the inside, it feels like keeping a date.

If this is hard

If their faith feels like it’s pulling them away from you, say so kindly. Most Catholics would be glad to explain, and a good relationship can hold both.

How to talk to a priest

Only one thing to do

Your one next step

Ask them one question about why they go. Then listen without arguing.

How to talk about it

Step 4 of 6 · Someone I love is Catholic

Next: the big days.

Step 5: Weddings, baptisms and funerals
Back to all steps

Take it with you

Printable one-page cardDownload card (A4 PDF)Download card (US Letter PDF)

Short link: stoneandincense.com/go/sl3

Your real next step

This page can’t give you the sacraments. A parish can.

We’re just pointing. People walk with you. Find a Catholic parish near you, go to a Mass, or just ask a priest for ten minutes. You don’t need to have it figured out.

Take the next step What to say when you call

Notes

How we know · 10 sources for this page
  1. Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 2180. vatican.va
  2. Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 2042. vatican.va
  3. Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1438. vatican.va
  4. Luke 22:19, World English Bible. read the chapter
  5. Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 2177. vatican.va
  6. Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 2181. vatican.va
  7. John 20:23, World English Bible. read the chapter
  8. Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1461. vatican.va
  9. Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 2043. vatican.va
  10. Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1387. vatican.va

Excerpts from the English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church for use in the United States of America Copyright © 1994, United States Catholic Conference, Inc. – Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Used with Permission. English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church: Modifications from the Editio Typica copyright © 1997, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops – Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Scripture: World English Bible, Catholic edition (public domain), modern verse numbers; Douay-Rheims numbers in brackets where they differ. Early Christian writers: Ante-Nicene Fathers (1885, public domain). Video: “The "Bare Minimum" for Catholics (The 5 Precepts of the Catholic Church w/ Br. Michelangelo),” Ascension Presents, supporting material, not a teaching source.

Scenes marked “Imagine” are an invitation to picture the moment, not a historical record. Stone & Incense restates Church teaching in plain words; our wording is not an official Church text. Report an errorCorrections.