All Saints' Day ...skip school?

Evan · Oct 18, 2011

I think it is a fabulous idea!

But you should do it with your entire family. Make it a day holy to the Lord. Start with mass, go on a pilgrimage. Add a rosary while traveling.

Of course it would probably be only 2 days a year:

1 Holy day is during summer vacation. Very few schools meet on Christmas day or New years day. And with school only being 5 days / week, probably one of the other 3 days will be on a weekend.

So if 2 days off of school / year will effect your grade, I would say the Holy days are not the problem, you have something else that should be looked into

LilyM · Oct 18, 2011

Evan said:
I think it is a fabulous idea!

But you should do it with your entire family. Make it a day holy to the Lord. Start with mass, go on a pilgrimage. Add a rosary while traveling.

Of course it would probably be only 2 days a year:

1 Holy day is during summer vacation. Very few schools meet on Christmas day or New years day. And with school only being 5 days / week, probably one of the other 3 days will be on a weekend.

So if 2 days off of school / year will effect your grade, I would say the Holy days are not the problem, you have something else that should be looked into

Of all the silly things … Those two days a year may very well be the dates set for important class tests or a million other things that are a necessary part of schooling.

All the teachers I know have so much material to teach in such a short time that ANY missed days would mean missing at least one or two things that will end up being assessed and will affect grades. I want go know what your teachers were up to if they
weren’t imparting at least some important knowledge to you every single day of class - sounds like they weren’t earning their pay!

Corki · Oct 18, 2011

I don’t know what the rules are for your country but here in Texas, it is considered an excused absence. I had to use it one year for my kids as our parish only had Mass at 9:00 am (tiny parish) before they were in Catholic school. I didn’t keep them out the whole day but it would have been excused if I did.

Are you planning to spend the day in observance of the Holy Day or are you planning to go to Mass and then just have a “goof off” day for the rest?

If the latter, and if it will not cause a problem with the schoo, I would definately take the day.

My own pet peeve is Catholic schools that do not have the day off.

But at least they have Mass at school.

puzzleannie · Oct 20, 2011

if there is no vigil Mass or evening Mass, or early morning Mass you can get to in your parish or surrounding parishes, yes you can attend Mass and then go to school late, with an excuse from your parent. If you district has a policy to honor religious holidays, then take one of those optional days. You probably still have to make up the work you missed. Probably no need to skip the entire day. If you do, you will of course be doing spiritual exercises, not goofing off.

JReducation · Oct 20, 2011

We also have to remember where the whole tradition of Holy Days come from. It comes from Judaism. The idea is not to drop your obligations. The idea is to keep the day holy by worship and doing your Christian duty. If you must go to school, see patients, wait on tables at a restaurant, etc. those are not contrary to the holy day. The Catholic Church is very clear on this.

**2185 On Sundays and other holy days of obligation, the faithful are to refrain from engaging in work or activities that hinder the worship owed to God, the joy proper to the Lord’s Day, the performance of the works of mercy, and the appropriate relaxation of mind and body. Family needs or important social service can legitimately excuse from the obligation of Sunday rest. The faithful should see to it that legitimate excuses do not lead to habits prejudicial to religion, family life, and health. **

How does going to class hinder the worshiip owed to God?

2187 Sanctifying Sundays and holy days requires a common effort. Every Christian should avoid making unnecessary demands on others that would hinder them from observing the Lord’s Day. Traditional activities (sport, restaurants, etc.), and social necessities (public services, etc.), require some people to work on Sundays, but everyone should still take care to set aside sufficient time for leisure. With temperance and charity the faithful will see to it that they avoid the excesses and violence sometimes associated with popular leisure activities. In spite of economic constraints, public authorities should ensure citizens a time intended for rest and divine worship. Employers have a similar obligation toward their employees.

We can certainly place education under traditional activities. If you visit monasteries, which are the center of Catholic education, they don’t stop teaching or cancel classes on Holy Days. However, they don’t place unnecessary demands on the monks and the students either. The students and monks make sure that they worship as they should.

The goal is to keep the day holy. The day is kept holy by fulfilling our obligations to God, others and self. Anything that goes beyond our obligations, comes under the definition of servile work.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

Sheadad · Oct 20, 2011

JReducation said:
We also have to remember where the whole tradition of Holy Days come from. It comes from Judaism. The idea is not to drop your obligations. The idea is to keep the day holy by worship and doing your Christian duty. If you must go to school, see patients, wait on tables at a restaurant, etc. those are not contrary to the holy day. The Catholic Church is very clear on this.

2185 On Sundays and other holy days of obligation, the faithful are to refrain from engaging in work or activities that hinder the worship owed to God, the joy proper to the Lord’s Day, the performance of the works of mercy, and the appropriate relaxation of mind and body. Family needs or important social service can legitimately excuse from the obligation of Sunday rest. The faithful should see to it that legitimate excuses do not lead to habits prejudicial to religion, family life, and health.

How does going to class hinder the worshiip owed to God?

**2187 Sanctifying Sundays and holy days requires a common effort. Every Christian should avoid making unnecessary demands on others that would hinder them from observing the Lord’s Day. Traditional activities (sport, restaurants, etc.), and social necessities (public services, etc.), require some people to work on Sundays, but everyone should still take care to set aside sufficient time for leisure. **With temperance and charity the faithful will see to it that they avoid the excesses and violence sometimes associated with popular leisure activities. In spite of economic constraints, public authorities should ensure citizens a time intended for rest and divine worship. Employers have a similar obligation toward their employees.

We can certainly place education under traditional activities. If you visit monasteries, which are the center of Catholic education, they don’t stop teaching or cancel classes on Holy Days. However, they don’t place unnecessary demands on the monks and the students either. The students and monks make sure that they worship as they should.

The goal is to keep the day holy. The day is kept holy by fulfilling our obligations to God, others and self. Anything that goes beyond our obligations, comes under the definition of servile work.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

Brother; I have a few questions about your post. We have decided as a family to close our retail business on Tuesday to observe the Holy Day as we would a Sunday. With that said I’d like to break down the following;

2185 On Sundays and other holy days of obligation, the faithful are to refrain from engaging in work or activities that hinder the worship owed to God

I’m cutting it here because I see this is a declaration to the faithful that on holy days of obligation, we are to not work and/or not engage in any activity that would hinder our worship owed to God. Isn’t this written so that we would understand that *working *first and foremost hinders our worship owed to God? Would you say that attending a class (even if religous), hinders you from the proper joy owed to the Lord or not? Why would I be obligated to “refrain from engaging in work” but another Catholic because he is attending a class not have to “refrain from engaging in classwork”. The Church obviously feels that engaging in work prohibits the following;

, the joy proper to the Lord’s Day, the performance of the works of mercy, and the appropriate relaxation of mind and body.

Then; she allows for an exclusion;

Family needs or important social service can legitimately excuse from the obligation of Sunday rest.

But then the last sentence leads us back to remember that even *one *exclusion is to be taken with serious discernment.

The faithful should see to it that legitimate excuses do not lead to habits prejudicial to religion, family life, and health.

I’m not a law dog by any means but I resolve to take the Lord’s day and holy days seriously as a day that Christ through the legacy of his Church designed for the good of *all *His people. What do you think?

JReducation · Oct 20, 2011

Sheadad said:
Brother; I have a few questions about your post. We have decided as a family to close our retail business on Tuesday to observe the Holy Day as we would a Sunday. With that said I’d like to break down the following;

2185 On Sundays and other holy days of obligation, the faithful are to refrain from engaging in work or activities that hinder the worship owed to God

I’m cutting it here because I see this is a declaration to the faithful that on holy days of obligation, we are to not work and/or not engage in any activity that would hinder our worship owed to God. Isn’t this written so that we would understand that *working *first and foremost hinders our worship owed to God? Would you say that attending a class (even if religous), hinders you from the proper joy owed to the Lord or not? Why would I be obligated to “refrain from engaging in work” but another Catholic because he is attending a class not have to “refrain from engaging in classwork”. The Church obviously feels that engaging in work prohibits the following;

, the joy proper to the Lord’s Day, the performance of the works of mercy, and the appropriate relaxation of mind and body.

Then; she allows for an exclusion;

Family needs or important social service can legitimately excuse from the obligation of Sunday rest.

But then the last sentence leads us back to remember that even *one *exclusion is to be taken with serious discernment.

The faithful should see to it that legitimate excuses do not lead to habits prejudicial to religion, family life, and health.

I’m not a law dog by any means but I resolve to take the Lord’s day and holy days seriously as a day that Christ through the legacy of his Church designed for the good of *all *His people. What do you think?

Allow me to begin with the question about your business. If your business offers a service or product that can wait, it is commendable that you close. This leads into the Church’s statement about such things as waiting on tables at a restaurant, as an example. That’s a business or service that cannot wait. The demand is there. The need for work and compensation is there. the conditions are optimal to meet the needs of the worker and the client. Those conditions may not be as optimal on Tuesday as they are on Sunday, let’s say. In that case, taking advantage of the conditions is not contrary to God’s will for us. God does not expect the father or mother of a family to keep from brining home the money necessary to cover the family’s needs.

In the case of study, the same custom (if you will) has been followed since the early days of monasteries. I’m using monasteries, because they were the center of culture and education in Christendom. These places have never stopped holding classes, because it’s a holy day. For example, in my own community, what we did and do is to schedule the liturgy so that the schedules are not in conflict. The novices go to class on All Saints Day. However, they don’t mow the lawn after class, as they would on another day. Class is a necessary part fo their formation for the religious life and the horarium is a necessary component of religious discipline. Mowing the lawn is not. In our community there are few days when when all work stops: Mother of God, Good Friday, Easter, Solemnity of St. Clare, Solemnity of the Stigmata of St. Francis, Solemnity of St. Francis, and Christmas.

If we follow the example of monasteries, friaries and priories, we can get a good idea of how the Church understands the law concerning holy days. You must discern according to tradition and taking into account what is necessary for human welfare against what is not necessary.

For example, a person who has a job may not have the leave to take a holy day; whereas a person who owns his own shop makes his own schedule. The Church will not consider it an obligation to take a day off without pay to fulfill the holy day.

Remember, you must still worship and you must still set aside time for prayer, rest, family and spiritual refreshment, to the enxtent possible. This is where discernment comes into the picture. In simpler terms one has to determine if one is working because there is a need to do so or because one is addicted to work. The latter is in conflict with faith.

I hope this helps.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

Anathama_Sit · Oct 20, 2011

Greetings to the OP, to those reading and or posting in this thread,

I will not be attending classes on that day in honor of the Solemnity of All Saints Day. I will have had all the work done and caught up for that day. I am looking forward to November.

God Bless.
Anathama Sit

Not_Sure_1 · Oct 21, 2011

Chuck1 said:
Hi I was wondering since All Saints’ Day is a Holy Day of Obligation does that mean I can skip school o go to mass ?

Go to the vigil mass on Halloween night.

Evan · Oct 24, 2011

Not_Sure said:
Go to the vigil mass on Halloween night.

I don’t think there is a vigil mass this year. All Hallow’s Eve is Sunday Night, so, officially, there is no Halloween.

Farmville · Oct 24, 2011

Any day is nice day to skip school…unless there is a test:blush: especially to get really important stuff done…like prayer:thumbsup:

Evan · Oct 24, 2011

Farmville said:
Any day is nice day to skip school…unless there is a test:blush: especially to get really important stuff done…like prayer:thumbsup:

What teacher would give a test the day after Halloween!!

Everyone is on a sugar high, and no way was there any studying done when trick or treaters interupted every 30 seconds.

dconklin · Oct 24, 2011

Look at it in Jesus’ eyes. He often got in trouble for “working” on the Sabbath. He also went on to show the Pharisees how ridiculous they were for calling Him out on it.

Cristiano · Oct 24, 2011

JReducation said:
We also have to remember where the whole tradition of Holy Days come from. It comes from Judaism. The idea is not to drop your obligations. The idea is to keep the day holy by worship and doing your Christian duty. If you must go to school, see patients, wait on tables at a restaurant, etc. those are not contrary to the holy day. The Catholic Church is very clear on this.

2185 On Sundays and other holy days of obligation, the faithful are to refrain from engaging in work or activities that hinder the worship owed to God, the joy proper to the Lord’s Day, the performance of the works of mercy, and the appropriate relaxation of mind and body. Family needs or important social service can legitimately excuse from the obligation of Sunday rest. The faithful should see to it that legitimate excuses do not lead to habits prejudicial to religion, family life, and health.

How does going to class hinder the worshiip owed to God?

2187 Sanctifying Sundays and holy days requires a common effort. Every Christian should avoid making unnecessary demands on others that would hinder them from observing the Lord’s Day. Traditional activities (sport, restaurants, etc.), and social necessities (public services, etc.), require some people to work on Sundays, but everyone should still take care to set aside sufficient time for leisure. With temperance and charity the faithful will see to it that they avoid the excesses and violence sometimes associated with popular leisure activities. In spite of economic constraints, public authorities should ensure citizens a time intended for rest and divine worship. Employers have a similar obligation toward their employees.

We can certainly place education under traditional activities. If you visit monasteries, which are the center of Catholic education, they don’t stop teaching or cancel classes on Holy Days. However, they don’t place unnecessary demands on the monks and the students either. The students and monks make sure that they worship as they should.

The goal is to keep the day holy. The day is kept holy by fulfilling our obligations to God, others and self. Anything that goes beyond our obligations, comes under the definition of servile work.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

I just want to stress the reference to leisure. If you go to the original Greek looking for the word leisure you will find the word Σχολή. From that in Latin we got the word schola that is leisure time given to learning. Guess what the word is in contemporary English?

I am quite sure that going to school during holy days of obligation is fine.

JReducation · Oct 24, 2011

Cristiano said:
I just want to stress the reference to leisure. If you go to the original Greek looking for the word leisure you will find the word Σχολή. From that in Latin we got the word schola that is leisure time given to learning. Guess what the word is in contemporary English?

I am quite sure that going to school during holy days of obligation is fine.

That’s why monks, friars and seminarians all go to school on holy days. We’ve been doing this since day one of the Church. I’m not sure how and when people got the idea that school was out on holy days.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

Cristiano · Oct 25, 2011

JReducation said:
That’s why monks, friars and seminarians all go to school on holy days. We’ve been doing this since day one of the Church. I’m not sure how and when people got the idea that school was out on holy days.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

You guys clearly understand that the proper “schooling” will bring people to contemplation. However, in today’s culture people see schooling only as a tool to acquire skills for a job, and probably just a servile job.

JReducation · Oct 25, 2011

Cristiano said:
You guys clearly understand that the proper “schooling” will bring people to contemplation. However, in today’s culture people see schooling only as a tool to acquire skills for a job, and probably just a servile job.

I believe that you have brought up a very valid point. What parents need to do is to educate their children on the purpoes of school.

You are right, society has deviated from the real reason for school. School is a place where we expose the mind and sould to new ideas that trigger creativity, old ideas that ground us in our humanity, and most importantly, it’s the place where we learn to think. Thinking is the right us of God’s gift.

If we just tell kids that they have to go to school to get a job, we do them a disservice. If we teach them that school helps them to appreciate where we have come from, trigger new thoughts and ideas and will teach them the systems necessary to use the gift of reason, then we’re putting it in its proper place and it becomes a place and activity that is very much a part of God’s plan for man.

I’m glad that you pointed this out. Let’s not get rid of school on a holy day, let’s work on recovering the true meaning and purpose of education.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

Farmville · Oct 25, 2011

I think you took my post too seriously. Of course we have to give unto Caesar what is Caesar’s.

BTW, I won’t tell my profs I said that if you wont

Evan · Oct 25, 2011

If you are taking the day, stop by your local blood bank and save a life.

Give Blood. Only takes an hour and you can give days, weeks, years of time to someone who depends on your lifesaving gift.

codefro · Oct 25, 2011

YoungTradCath said:
I think this is awful advice.

It was humorous nonetheless.

All Saints' Day ...skip school?

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