Mass. To go or not to go. That is the question...Unfortunately

Why is it that Mass has now become a thing of unimportance in our world? I have been blessed with the chance to teach Religious Education at the parish I attend for the last three years. One of the unfortunate things I have come to relaize from teaching this class is that hardly anyone goes to Mass anymore. I know there are people that go but I mean that there seems to be less and less people who actually go. In my class every week I ask the kids who went to Mass this weekend and rarely more than one, if one raises their hand. This is not the kids fault though as a second grader should not be expected to get themselves to Mass. The blame falls upon the parents. Missing Mass is a mortal sin. I ask the kids why they did'nt go and the reasons I hear litterally make me sick to my stomach. Just to bring this into perspective I will list some of the reasons I hear repeaditively. "My mom said we could'nt go because we had to do housework." "I didnt go because my mom had to do laundry." "my dad does'nt like going so we never get to go." "My mom said we had to go to the mall instead." This one is the most common, and the most troubling becuase it is so pathetic, "We forgot." How do you forget? Church is like the universal thing that people say they have to do on Sunday's. Its not like Mass used to be on Tuesdays and just now got swithced to Sundays and you were confused by the change and forgot. You just didnt want to go. People have mpre important things to do. What if the tables were turned? What if on the day of his crucifixion Jesus had to many errands to run, or He just plum forgot to go to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray where he was later turned over to be killed? Then we would have no life. No salvation! Nothing! We would have no purpose for life becuase there would be no possibility for us to go to Heaven. We need to look at what is most important here. We need to see what needs to be done and we NEED TO DO IT! I beg that anyone who reads this blog to pray fervently for the kids who are subject to this, and just as hard for the parents who have lost sight of their faith and are not teaching their kids the biggest lesson in life.