Fulfilling holy day of obligation on Ascension Day

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I’m in a bit of a bind - I’m going back home to NY from Michigan on the Saturday after Ascension Day - Ascension Day is on Thursday June 2. The Diocese of Lansing has moved the feast day to the following Sunday, but the Dioceses of NY and Brooklyn observe the feast on Thursday. So it turns out that although I am able to attend Mass on Thursday in Michigan and Sunday in NY, I’m technically not fulfilling my obligation to attend Mass for the Ascension on the correct day. Does that make sense? What should I do? I don’t think there’s much I can do about it at this point, but I wanted to hear people’s thoughts. Thanks!
 
a2catholic said:
I’m in a bit of a bind - I’m going back home to NY from Michigan on the Saturday after Ascension Day - Ascension Day is on Thursday June 2. The Diocese of Lansing has moved the feast day to the following Sunday, but the Dioceses of NY and Brooklyn observe the feast on Thursday. So it turns out that although I am able to attend Mass on Thursday in Michigan and Sunday in NY, I’m technically not fulfilling my obligation to attend Mass for the Ascension on the correct day. Does that make sense? What should I do? I don’t think there’s much I can do about it at this point, but I wanted to hear people’s thoughts. Thanks!
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If you are in a diocese which does not have an obligation, you do not have that obligation. Is your worry that you will not be able to celebrate Ascension Day at all? Since you will in actuality not be in any place which celebrates Ascension Day on any day when you will be there, that specific obligation does not apply to you. Of course you will have to attend Mass on the 7th Sunday of Easter when you return to NY.
You are certainly free to attend Mass on Thursday in Lansing, but you are correct that that Mass will not be the Mass of the Ascension.
 
a2catholic said:
I’m in a bit of a bind - I’m going back home to NY from Michigan on the Saturday after Ascension Day - Ascension Day is on Thursday June 2. The Diocese of Lansing has moved the feast day to the following Sunday, but the Dioceses of NY and Brooklyn observe the feast on Thursday. So it turns out that although I am able to attend Mass on Thursday in Michigan and Sunday in NY, I’m technically not fulfilling my obligation to attend Mass for the Ascension on the correct day. Does that make sense? What should I do? I don’t think there’s much I can do about it at this point, but I wanted to hear people’s thoughts. Thanks!
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It doesn’t matter. Your obligation is to attend Mass ON the days of obligation (Sunday or Weekday) rather than to attend a Mass celebrated with a certain set of readings, propers, etc. If you attend Mass on both Thursday and Sunday then you will have fulfilled your obligation.

And for what it’s worth, I believe travelers are given some lee-way as to whether or not a day (other than Sunday) of obligation is binding when there is a difference between home and travel dioceses.
 
The obligation is to attend Mass, the readings really have nothing to do with it. I will be in Florida on Ascension Thursday, but live in NY. In NY it is a holy day. I will be flying back to NY the afternoon of Ascension Thursday but don’t know if I can get back in time to catch an evening Mass. So I will go in Florida, and the readings will not be for the Feast. Actually, I can probably just get a dispensation as the parish here might not have a mass on the day of the feast.
 
In your own territory, Thursday is not a Holy Day of obligation. Therefore you have no obligation. On Sunday, you will be in NY and will attend Sunday Mass which is the only obligation present in that territory in the time you will be there.

You are fine. You are fretting over nothing.

Can. 12 §1. Universal laws bind everywhere all those for whom they were issued.

§2. All who are actually present in a certain territory, however, are exempted from universal laws which are not in force in that territory.

§3. Laws established for a particular territory bind those for whom they were issued as well as those who have a domicile or quasi-domicile there and who at the same time are actually residing there, without prejudice to the prescript of ⇒ can. 13.

Can. 13 §1. Particular laws are not presumed to be personal but territorial unless it is otherwise evident.

§2. Travelers are not bound:

1/ by the particular laws of their own territory as long as they are absent from it unless either the transgression of those laws causes harm in their own territory or the laws are personal;

2/ by the laws of the territory in which they are present, with the exception of those laws which provide for public order, which determine the formalities of acts, or which regard immovable goods located in the territory.
 
Do your best to try to observe both days. I am going to rant a little here! Why did the Diocese take it upon themselves to move The Holy Day of the Ascension of our Lord to Sunday? We wonder what is wrong with the Church today, and IMHO this is one of the things that is wrong. Our Traditions our being stripped away in the name of convenience as we sit idly by and watch. I don’t even understand when a Holy Day of Obligation might fall on a Saturday or a Monday and they do this. Why is it that Catholics have found it such an inconvenience to attend Mass? Yes, thank you, I feel better…
 
a2catholic said:
I’m in a bit of a bind - I’m going back home to NY from Michigan on the Saturday after Ascension Day - Ascension Day is on Thursday June 2. The Diocese of Lansing has moved the feast day to the following Sunday, but the Dioceses of NY and Brooklyn observe the feast on Thursday. So it turns out that although I am able to attend Mass on Thursday in Michigan and Sunday in NY, I’m technically not fulfilling my obligation to attend Mass for the Ascension on the correct day. Does that make sense? What should I do? I don’t think there’s much I can do about it at this point, but I wanted to hear people’s thoughts. Thanks!
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As others have pointed out, in your case, the obligation will simply not exist at all. It would be praiseworthy to try to get to Mass on Thursday, but there would be no sin for you, if for some reason you did not do that.
 
These are good observations but as far as I know we should be careful in our terminology about holy days ‘being holy days’.

Just because the diocese might have transferred the Holy Day obligation on Ascension Thursday to the following Sunday does not make Ascension ‘no longer a Holy Day’, correct?

It is still a holy day. However, the ‘day’ to observe that day (in some dioceses) has been transferred from Thursday to Sunday and Sundays are ALWAYS holy days.

I’m bringing this up because a lot of Catholics even get confused and unhappy and think that holy days can be '‘un-holyed’ and all. But I do not think that is correct.

In my understanding, the obligation to attend on the actual day is either transferred (to another date) or abrogated entirely–meaning, the legal obligation is STILL there but the PASTORAL AUTHORITY of the BISHOP permits that obligation to be ‘waived’.

Much like the Indult on Fridays outside of Lent in the U.S. The universal norm of the Church is abstinence on ALL Fridays; in the U.S. the Indult (which can be revoked at any time) acknowledges that is still the norm and obligation but removes the OBSERVANCE of that legal obligation from U.S. Catholics outside of Lenten Fridays. Though Fridays are still penitential and some form of penance, including abstinence, should be made.
 
Tantum_ergo said:
It is still a holy day. However, the ‘day’ to observe that day (in some dioceses) has been transferred from Thursday to Sunday and Sundays are ALWAYS holy days.

I’m bringing this up because a lot of Catholics even get confused and unhappy and think that holy days can be '‘un-holyed’ and all. But I do not think that is correct.
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You are correct about Ascension – where it is transferred to Sunday, the whole feast (the “day”) itself is transferred, so the obligation to attend Mass for the Ascension becomes indistinguishable from the obligation to attend Mass for the Sunday.

However, other holy days can be “un-holied,” in the sense of the obligation being removed under certain circumstances even though the feast itself continues to be celebrated on the assigned day:
Whenever January 1, the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, or August 15, the solemnity of the Assumption, or November 1, the solemnity of All Saints, falls on a Saturday or on a Monday, the precept to attend Mass is abrogated.
(Source.)
 
MarkThompson said:
You are correct about Ascension – where it is transferred to Sunday, the whole feast (the “day”) itself is transferred, so the obligation to attend Mass for the Ascension becomes indistinguishable from the obligation to attend Mass for the Sunday.

However, other holy days can be “un-holied,” in the sense of the obligation being removed under certain circumstances even though the feast itself continues to be celebrated on the assigned day:
Whenever January 1, the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, or August 15, the solemnity of the Assumption, or November 1, the solemnity of All Saints, falls on a Saturday or on a Monday, the precept to attend Mass is abrogated.
(Source.)
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Right. You expressed it better than I. The obligation can be transferred or even abrogated, but the day itself in its essence and its ‘norm’ remains holy. I mean, we used to have even more observed holy days and the church has more (like St. John the Baptist for example which I think is celebrated in Quebec in late June) and in the U.S. they are kind of ‘permanently’ abrogated in that we don’t have the obligation to attend at all on any given year, but they are still ‘holy days’.

And the Saints like Christopher who aren’t on the calendar per se any more aren’t unsainted. (In fact St. Catherine of Alexandria has been ‘restored’ in the last few years and there will probably be more).

But it can be a hard concept to grasp.

I think it’s wonderful that the U.K. bishops are going to restore year round Friday abstinence and if any of the U.S. bishops happen to read these blogs (and I’ll bet they do), **it might be something that the Holy Spirit is going to inspire y’all to think about for the U.S. too! **

I’m just sayin’. . .
 
Would a Saturday Vigil Mass still fulfill the obligation? I’m going on vacation with my family (who are not/no longer practicing Catholics), of which the accusations of “messing up our vacation” have already flown. 🤷 Which brings up a 2nd question - there’s a 4pm Mass and a 5:15pm Mass. Would the 5:15pm Mass be considered fulfilling it rather than the 4pm one? I’ve read some things like that before. I just want to make sure.
 
Jennifer_G said:
Would a Saturday Vigil Mass still fulfill the obligation?
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Yes. 🙂
I’m going on vacation with my family (who are not/no longer practicing Catholics), of which the accusations of “messing up our vacation” have already flown. 🤷 Which brings up a 2nd question - there’s a 4pm Mass and a 5:15pm Mass. Would the 5:15pm Mass be considered fulfilling it rather than the 4pm one? I’ve read some things like that before. I just want to make sure.
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Either one would probably be fine, assuming both of them are regularly held at your parish on Saturday evenings.

It seems that ex-Catholics are actually worse than non-Catholics - my family members manage to find ways to entertain themselves while I am away at Mass, when we are on holidays - it’s usually no big deal. 🤷
 
Jennifer_G said:
Would a Saturday Vigil Mass still fulfill the obligation? I’m going on vacation with my family (who are not/no longer practicing Catholics), of which the accusations of “messing up our vacation” have already flown. 🤷 Which brings up a 2nd question - there’s a 4pm Mass and a 5:15pm Mass. Would the 5:15pm Mass be considered fulfilling it rather than the 4pm one? I’ve read some things like that before. I just want to make sure.
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Yes, the Saturday Vigil of the Ascension fulfills the privilege 😉
The 5:15 would definitely fulfill the obligation, and I’m pretty sure the 4:00 would also. Check with your pastor.
 
GRATEFULONEjim said:
Do your best to try to observe both days. I am going to rant a little here! Why did the Diocese take it upon themselves to move The Holy Day of the Ascension of our Lord to Sunday? We wonder what is wrong with the Church today, and IMHO this is one of the things that is wrong. Our Traditions our being stripped away in the name of convenience as we sit idly by and watch. I don’t even understand when a Holy Day of Obligation might fall on a Saturday or a Monday and they do this. Why is it that Catholics have found it such an inconvenience to attend Mass? Yes, thank you, I feel better…
Click to expand...
Either the Church holds the keys of the kingdom or she doesn’t.
 
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