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Vico
Guest
I see, it is an ordinary Sunday so " the celebration of Sunday gives way only to Solemnities and Feasts of the Lord;" so they transferred the Solemnity.
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Saints_Alive
Guest
Agree 100%
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twf
Guest
We shouldn’t place additional burdens on people beyond what the Church imposes. My home town only has weekday mass at 9 AM. This doesn’t change for solemnities like the Assumption which are never an obligation in Canada (only Christmas and Mary, Mother of God are obligations here). Let’s say the Assumption falls on a Tuesday… can the average worker get to a 9 AM mass if that is the only option in their town? On the other hand, in a big city it would be much easier…but even then if one has a demanding work schedule and family obligations it may be difficult. I personally make an effort to get to mass on all solemnities and on feasts of personal importance to me, obligation or not, but I have to coordinate this well in advance with my wife who is not Catholic in terms of childcare and other household obligations.
I wanted to get to Mass on the feast of the Transfiguration (which was this past Saturday). The local FSSP parish was celebrating a high mass which would have been a treat. My wife had other plans and I had to stay home with the baby. People don’t just miss Mass because they can’t be bothered.
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peter26
Guest
I’m confused now, in England which day is a day of obligation? I’m a member of the Ordinariate if that makes a difference. I was planning to attend a vigil Mass on Saturday this week and possibly not go on Sunday (and may or not on the Monday). Would this be okay?
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Phemie
Guest
Here is the information from the England and Wales Conference of Bishops:
liturgyoffice.org.uk/Calendar/Info/HDO-Statement.pdf
Because it falls on Monday the 15th, the Feast of the Assumption is transferred to the Sunday, the 14th, so attending Saturday is perfectly OK.
More documents available here.
Includes a table showing the specific dates of all the feast for the next 4 or 5 years.
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peter26
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That’s very clear many thanks.
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babochka
Guest
I think this is a very good point. Even though a feast isn’t a Holy Day of Obligation, it is still a Holy Day and the faithful should have every opportunity to get to Mass on that day. If a parish just maintains its normal daily Mass schedule and doesn’t treat this day any differently, it sends the message to the faithful that it is just like any other day. While the Church has decided that some solemnities are so important that the faithful are obligated to attend Mass, all solemnities are important and should be celebrated with equal dignity.
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twf
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Yes, I understand practical limitations but it’s always a little sad for me when a solemnity is just another “weekday Mass” where we read (not sing) the Gloria and recite the creed… But otherwise nothing out of the ordinary. The local FSSP parish really puts in the extra effort - they celebrate high masses with a full schola on all major feasts. I don’t know how their schola does it, as I assume they’re all working people… The Cathedral is a far, far bigger parish - a pool of thousands to draw from - and having a full choir on a weekday Mass just isn’t going to happen.
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1ke
Guest
It is like any other day. There are feasts on the calendar literally every day. Various rankings but feasts nonetheless. There are universal and particular solemnities.
And, not every parish has the luxury of oodles of masses and schedules. Our parish shares a priest with two others, and the parishes are up to 40 miles apart. We have daily mass on Thursdays at our parish, not on Mondays. There will be no mass at our parish next Monday. at all If it were a day of obligation, the priest would have one mass at each parish.
I’m not sure how the number of or times of mass equate to “dignity”.
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babochka
Guest
No, it isn’t like any other day. If they were just like any other day, then there would be no purpose in having them. Particular rules apply to solemnities that do not apply to any other day. For example, only the Mass of the solemnity may be celebrated on that day. This does not apply to feasts and memorials.
And if a parish does not have the resources to have an extra Mass in the evening (as opposed to the oodles of Masses that you imagine), fine. So be it. That is the reality for so many parishes. If they can have daily Mass, they should. Some parishes can’t even have a Sunday Mass every week. That changes nothing for those parishes that can.
If a parish has the resources, it is a laudable thing to do to make the celebration of the solemnity available to working people who are not ordinarily able to attend daily Mass. It might help more people to come to an appreciation that solemnities are, in fact, not just like any other day in the mind of the Church. I actually think this should happen with all solemnities, not just those that are generally Holy Days of Obligation, but happen to fall on a Monday.
Dignity was a poor word choice. I wanted to say “greater solemnity”, but it seemed redundant. It isn’t just about different Mass times or more Masses. It is about making the day a special celebration and making that celebration accessible to the faithful. About having a full choir or music, if that’s what the parish normally does on Sundays or Holy Days of Obligation. It is about saying that this day is important and we will make it special. It is about helping people to experience the rhythm of life as shown in the Church calendar.
Here’s how the Diocese of Pittsburgh puts it:
The liturgical year is a tool, given to us by the Church, to help us learn, remember, and live out the faith. The liturgical seasons and feasts with various rankings are placed there for our good. I’m not sure why you would argue that it is a good thing for the Church to encourage and facilitate attendance at Mass on those days that the Church herself deems to be days set apart for special recognition and celebration. It is good for us to have special days.
We once had a woman come to our parish on St. Nicholas Day. She was Byzantine Rite, but attended a Latin Rite parish. She had gone to the early morning Mass at her own parish, but was disappointed that her priest did not choose to celebrate the optional memorial for St. Nicholas. She knew that we would be celebrating it as a solemnity, so she came to Divine Liturgy because she wanted to see the day given special importance. It was important part of the faith for her and celebrating it in a special way helped to build her faith. So it is for all of us, whether that celebration is Christmas, the Transfiguration, or the feast of St. Joseph.
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corsair
Guest
Yep, it’s terrible. so on Friday the 12th I’m attending Friday evening Mass with Adoration and Benediction. Then on Saturday morning, the 13th, it’s back to Mass followed by a Rosary Procession to honor Fatima. Then Sunday morning, the 14th, it’s a sung High Mass, 13th Sunday after Pentecost. Next is Monday the 15th and Yep, a Solemn High Mass for the Assumption.
Life is tough. But I’m so thankful our parish does it all. BTW, its 80 miles each way to Mass.
Life is tough. But I’m so thankful our parish does it all. BTW, its 80 miles each way to Mass.
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babochka
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It is fantastic that your parish offers all those Masses, and also fantastic that you are in a place in life where you are able to afford those trips, both in terms of time and money.Yep, it’s terrible. so on Friday the 12th I’m attending Friday evening Mass with Adoration and Benediction. Then on Saturday morning, the 13th, it’s back to Mass followed by a Rosary Procession to honor Fatima. Then Sunday morning, the 14th, it’s a sung High Mass, 13th Sunday after Pentecost. Next is Monday the 15th and Yep, a Solemn High Mass for the Assumption.
Life is tough. But I’m so thankful our parish does it all. BTW, its 80 miles each way to Mass.
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MissRose73
Guest
I still wonder why the obligation for the Assumption was removed just because it falls on a Monday (or sometimes on weekends). We don’t change it for Xmas and still go either the Eve or Day for that one. I would like to go to Mass that day but very few are offering an evening Mass for Assumption if any, most are just doing a normal daily Mass and our Cathedral is doing a noon Mass (but Mary under the title of the Assumption of BVM is the patroness of our diocese) so they will have Mass.
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InThePew
Guest
Our bishops similarly changed it so that the wherever the Solemnity of the Assumption falls on a Saturday or Monday (as it does this year) it is “Sundaised” - meaning that the observance is transferred to the closest Sunday. From memory (since I can’t find the original statement) this was intended to help more people attend mass on this day (which is a Holy Day of Obligation where I am). Of course, attending mass on a Monday isn’t necessarily any more difficult than any other weekday but it is perhaps more difficult for the average pew-sitter to understand why they need to go to mass twice in two days - particularly where they mass they typically attend is in the evening. As this thread demonstrates - those who experience such confusion are far from alone! Another, perhaps less mentioned, reason is that it makes life easier for priests - most of whom have Monday’s as their only day off. Granted, there are times (such as for funerals) when pastoral reasons require them to sacrifice that day off (hopefully with the intention of making it up later that same week) but mosts priests would prefer not to do so if at all avoidable and, again given that the Assumption is a Holy Day of Obligation here, many priests would be required to celebrate at least two masses in order to adequately assist the faithful in fulfilling their obligation.
Overall, I think the question which needs to be asked is: “does transferring the feast help people to build a closer relationship with God through the Eucharist” and, to my mind at least, the answer is an obvious yes!
Overall, I think the question which needs to be asked is: “does transferring the feast help people to build a closer relationship with God through the Eucharist” and, to my mind at least, the answer is an obvious yes!
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Chatter163
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When this was done in 1991, the rationale offered by the American bishops was not to burden those who care for small children or the elderly by requiring them to attend Mass for two consecutive days. Christmas was exempted because of its central importance to the faith, and the Immaculate Conception was exempt because it is the patronal feast of the U.S.
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MissRose73
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That is such a bad reason as many people have no issue going to Mass daily. I remember when I was a kid, my mom would make sure we went to Mass on holy days even if we had to get up early in the morning and go before school (or we would go in the evening but my mother preferred early starts).
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