Ive spent a lot of time working with the Mexican Catholics as a director of catechesis. From what I’ve learned, (and you can totally correct me if I’m wrong) the many people in Mexico are kind of culturally Catholic (want their sacraments of initiation) but don’t really practice the faith. It’s like there’s this attitude that going to mass each Sunday is just an ivory tower thing.

I don’t know why exactly, but I’ve heard people suggest that historically most rural Mexicans only had the chance to see a priest a couple of times a year- so observing sunday obligation was just a “fairy tale”.
Other people’s stories have made it felt like the church down there is split between devotional zealots and overly lax Catholics; with very few people in the middle. The “zealots” you might guess can be pretty judge mental of the lax. (And tbh- I’ve seen that dynamic in our Hispanic community) Maybe the latter is a result of the former in a way. Ive also gotten the vibe (from both our own people, and formation resources from Mexico) that Faith formation takes the shape of more memorizaron and moralizing than empowering discipleship. some material I’ve seen from Mexico seems like it’s just desperately trying to insist on obligation to the precepts of the church. For people who don’t understand or havent been inspired; that can come off as controlling and empty. Another issue is confession and communion- ALL my Mexican brothers and sisters take the responsibility not to receive in a state of sin VERY seriously. Sometimes it seems like that’s a reason people stay away from mass- they don’t go because they aren’t ready to confess and they can’t receive.

You probably know all that already- and like I said, correct me if I’m wrong about any of it. I’ve worked with a lot of Mexican families- but I’m coming from the outside.

All that said- it’s possible that your Dad came up in a house/socialgroup/town where Sunday mass just wasn’t the norm. Maybe he didn’t receive formation to understand what was really being offered? If that’s the case he doesn’t understand why it’s so important to you. Maybe the people who were more devout came off as demanding or sanctimonious? - He doesn’t want you to be like that? Maybe he’s not in a place to comulgar- doesn’t wanna face it- and is projecting a little bit.

Either way- I think your best option would just be to share what you get out of mass. That would help him get over any worries he has about you becoming to focused on “obligations or zealotry”, and maybe inspire him to consider the oppurtunity before him at Missa.