Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary - Transferred to the Next Sunday

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catholic03

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Dear members of Catholic Answers Forum,

Forgive me if this question seems misplaced.

I am aware that the 15th of August is the Assumption of Mary, which is one of the two additional Holy Days of Obligation in my country. This year, it falls on a Saturday. I know that it is the bounden duty of the faithful to attend Mass on the Assumption.

Nonetheless, as it is on a Saturday, my parish priest announced at Sunday Mass today that the faithful would be able to fulfil their obligation to attend Mass on this great Feast day by attending on Sunday—in other words, the necessary duty to attend Mass has been transferred due to the Assumption’s falling so close to Sunday this year.

Other sources from neighbouring parishes in my diocese are holding Masses on the Assumption and have made it clear that the faithful are obligated to attend Mass consequently as it is a Holy Day of Obligation. Therefore, I find myself unsure of the present situation. Need I attend Mass next Saturday, or has the obligation simply been transferred to the Sunday?

Again, forgive me if I have missed an obvious point of note.

Sincerely Yours in the Lord.
 
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My diocese and countless other diocese’ have waived the mandatory need to go to mass every sunday due to COVID. Been that way since February. As such, it is a non-issue here. Surprised your diocese isn’t the same way.
 
In my country, we were in complete lockdown from late-March until May. Since June we have in essence been back to normal (in every aspect, whether it be education, church, schooling, shopping), albeit with the absence of handshaking during the sign of peace and the emptying of holy water fonts.
EDIT: The dispensation from Mass was, I believe, rescinded some time ago due to coronavirus no longer being a major health issue, although some elderly people are keeping their distance.
 
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catholic03 said:
I am aware that the 15th of August is the Assumption of Mary, which is one of the two additional Holy Days of Obligation in my country. This year, it falls on a Saturday.
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You don’t say what country you are in. To determine whether it is a HDO this year or not, try your diocesan website or your conference of bishop’s website and look at the liturgical calendar for this year.

In the US when this holy day falls on Saturday or Monday the day or obligation is abrogated while the feast is still celebrated on that day. The feast is not transferred to Sunday.

We can’t speak for what is done in your own country.
catholic03 said:
Need I attend Mass next Saturday, or has the obligation simply been transferred to the Sunday?
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Check with your diocese to confirm.
 
1ke said:
You don’t say what country you are in. To determine whether it is a HDO this year or not, try your diocesan website or your conference of bishop’s website and look at the liturgical calendar for this year.

In the US when this holy day falls on Saturday or Monday the day or obligation is abrogated while the feast is still celebrated on that day. The feast is not transferred to Sunday.

We can’t speak for what is done in your own country.
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I live in New Zealand which falls under the New Zealand Conference of Catholic Bishops. The Assumption is a Holy Day of Obligation in New Zealand.

Forgive my error; I think my priest was saying that the Feast had been abrogated, not transferred to Sunday. My problem is that other churches in my diocese are holding special Assumption Masses on the 15th, even though my priest said that one did not need to attend Mass this year on the 15th, but rather that one only needs to attend on Sunday.
 
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@dolphin and @1ke—I will try and do some research to acquire the answer, and if this does not bear fruit, then I will check with an appropriate Church authority. Thank you both for your kind help.
 
wrong info posted by mistake, please ignore.
 
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Please check the website for your specific diocese. As Cor_ad_Cor noted, the liturgical calendars for NZ indicate that Aug 15 Feast of the Assumption is not only an HDO for NZ but is also the patronal feast for the entire country. Those don’t usually get abrogated, although in these times of COVID anything is possible. I looked at one NZ diocese and it appears the HDO is still in place for Aug 15 but I have no idea which diocese you might be in.
 
oops … mea culpa … should have read what google result really was and not trusted what came up in the results. Thanks Tis.
 

Whilst the above article refers to 2015 and 2016, it does mention the transference - “The secretary of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference, Anne Dickinson, told NZ Catholic that the feast is being transferred when it falls on a Saturday and a Monday.”

So perhaps it has been transferred this year as well - seems reasonable.
Best to check with own diocese.

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From Holy Days of Obligation in New Zealand 1 Sep 1998 | Liturgy (The New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference)
“In New Zealand, we now have only two of these additional holy days of obligation, viz. Christmas Day and the feast of the Assumption, August 15. Mary’s assumption into heaven is also the patronal feast of the Catholic people in New Zealand. Having now only two of these additional holy days of obligation might be added reason to celebrate them well. Consequently, from now on they are holy days of obligation whenever they fall, including Saturdays and Mondays.”

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No wonder the OP is having difficulty finding up to date and correct information online.
 
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1ke said:
In the US when this holy day falls on Saturday or Monday the day or obligation is abrogated while the feast is still celebrated on that day. The feast is not transferred to Sunday.
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I must admit that is one thing that REALLY irks me. 😫 On our Byzantine calendar the Dormition/Assumption is such a BIG Holy Day that it has its own 2-week fast in preparation for the Feast (Aug. 1-14). It is one of the Twelve Great Feasts of the year and it’s a Holy Day of Obligation regardless of what day it falls on:


The priest blesses flowers & herbs on the Feast of the Dormition. Our pastor will bless them on the Holy Day and also during post-Feast. It has an 8-day post-Feast too. This is Aug. 16:


And the Leave-taking on Aug. 23:


Sorry but I had to get that out of my system.
 
YAY for the NZ bishops! 🙌

Now the USCCB should restore the Feast of the Immaculate Conception (the Patronal Feast of the 🇺🇸) to a HDO. That really irked me too.
 
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Trouble is that document on the NZ CBC own website is from 1998!!, and the article in the NZ Catholic Newspaper is from 2015. I do wish the CBC own website would have the up-to-date correct information if it indeed has changed since 1998 as their own secretary - Anne Dickinson in that article says it was transferred.

No wonder people get confused.
 
I find it easiest for these days to simply plan on going to Mass every day and ignore whatever the diocese is doing. One problem I have is that I may be in one of three or four different dioceses and they aren’t all doing the same thing, so if I just go to Mass every day then I’m sure of getting it right no matter where I am.
 
As I posted in another thread here in Manila, Philippines ALL gatherings over 5 people are banned, including religious gatherings. This means no Mass to attend so no obligation.
The good thing is that we know where we stand because its a government imposed ban with penalties for breaking it. This is better than leaving it up to diocese or parishes to make decisions which could widely vary.
 
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@Tis_Bearself, @CRV, and others.

Thanks for your help. It is a bit frustrating that the information is not online, but it is what it is, as they say.

I will try to attend Mass next Saturday, but otherwise, I would probably do well just to trust in the words of my parish priest. After all, I am sure he knows what he is talking about.
 
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