Has the Church ever studied why so many people attend Mass on Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday, Easter morning and Christmas morning?

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I don’t know of any studies, nor do I know how you would be able to accurately discern which people are regular mass attendees, but are visiting family and thus at a different parish for the holidays.

Some people attend Christmas and Easter only out of family obligations. If they are vising dear old mom/dad for the weekend, it’s expected and the revert back to their childhood when they simply went because mom/dad went. Not going would cause family strife, so they fake it to get through the holiday peacefully.

My priest welcomes everyone and let’s them know that they are also "welcome to attend the other 50 weeks of the year as well. Which gets a chuckle out of everyone in attendance, but likely irks the ones he is trying to sound welcoming too 🤷‍♀️
 
Rosie11 said:
Not where I live my church is always full on Sunday people even have to stand at the back because there aren’t any seats
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That doesn’t say much. My parish have 7 Masses every Sunday (not a healthy situation) in both English and Spanish. Some of the Masses are decently attended, while some are packed.

On Christmas and Easter Sundays however, we have up to 3 Masses being celebrated simultaneously – one in our church and one in each of our school’s gyms. It is a HUGE increase from normal Sundays.

I have never heard of anyone looking into why so many people show up on these days.
 
I am a convert from atheism so did not grow up in a family that ever went to church. I’ll hazard a guess to say that attending church for some people is part of the celebrations of the season, they are not clearly evangelized but they have an association of going to church as something you do to celebrate the season. Like it doesn’t feel “Christmassy” enough if they don’t visit a church and yet it’s more about a “feel good factor” and not really about faith. Well I guess it’s a very tenuous link to faith. Like my family would sing Christmas carols and sometimes go to carol singing at a secular venue like a theater but not an actual church. People like to go into a beautifully decorated church and get into the “Christmas Spirit” or the same for Easter more for warm fuzzies.

People can be strange. My aunt and uncle always criticized my Catholic faith (my aunt is a non-practicing Catholic). Every time I saw them they were critical and I hardly ever responded because I just felt they were trolling me. Yet they were upset and even offended when I didn’t send them pictures of my daughter’s First Holy Communion! Which I thought was so bizarre as I would’ve assumed they would find it offensive! It’s hard to understand how people are putting together in their minds these different aspects of faith. I think my example illustrates that sometimes there seems to be aspects of tradition and family that people are divorcing or compartmentalizing from faith.
 
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I agree. Generally, these people are persuaded that they, like practically everyone else, are going straight to heaven when they die, and mortal sin is not a possibility. To them, things like premarital sex, cohabitation, contraception, and possibly even homosexual activity, are not really sins because society doesn’t have a problem with them. Mass on Christmas and Easter are nice, cozy, and possibly remind them of their childhood. Their thinking just doesn’t go that deep.

If you’ve ever noticed, whenever someone dies, everyone says “they have gone to heaven” and “they’re in a better place now”. No question as to salvation. No mention of purgatory and even less of hell.

We had a family friend who had lived a homosexual lifestyle and contracted HIV (though that is not what he died of). My son, then about 8, asked if he was in heaven. I told him “He was a good person, he loved everyone very much, and he loved you very much. If we can live and die in God’s friendship, then we can have the pious hope that we will see him again.” But I didn’t canonize him. I don’t canonize anybody.
 
Exegete said:
I’m curious, has the Catholic Church (or diocese or even a large parish) ever actually studied why so many Catholics attend Mass on these days and not others? Serious study including exit polling and statistical analysis, that sort of stuff?
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Respectfully interesting questions and in examining ancient practices, rituals …
Yearly Feast Days lasted for a week…7-8 days of celebrations…when all of the One True Faith and Belief…being commanded and are called to gather yearly before him on his… Holy yearly Feast Days… before God, if this is true…
Feast of Passover…Easter
Feast of Weeks…Pentecost
Feast of Atonement…Ash Wednesday etc
Believe 7 Holy Yearly Feast Days in all in the time of Jesus…

Could be why the churches are so full on theses… Holy Yearly Feast days which in Jesus times…etc… were also celebrated at the… Temple?

Opinion only… more so then…Weekly gathering at mass in Jesus Apostles, St Paul times…those times was celebrated in …family home weekly gatherings, or they would gather …weekly known and called synagogues? : face_with_hand_over_mouth:

Just maybe…a ancient traditions that have still continued till this day, when all gathered from all over…long distance even on his yearly Holy Feast Days…still why maybe …even today…reason why the church…has far, far, far larger numbers come in… celebrating… His yearly Holy Feast Days…Church having only standing room, overflowing…not so during weekly gathering…thou right?

God within… His Spoken Word… tells us…Why he commands and calls us …all to gather from all over… before him…on his Yearly Holy Feast Days…
Remember also in Jesus times they came travelling from other nations, on his… Yearly Holy Feast Days…that lasted a week of celebrations, which was carried out only at … The Temple…maybe?
🤭

Weekly worship… commanded as a day of rest…
To gather give praise glory in reading, studying his word, like in the Epistles of St Paul, Apostles did…many gathered to hear the Word of God…give praise glory…spend time with our Creator…24 hrs…observant in Jesus time right from beginning to end ?..
Today we gather for an hr?

Why gentles not being of the faith or belief in the time of …Jesus, Apostles, St Paul…would come and gather on their weekly gathering… to hear the …Word of God… right?
Many converting to the faith and belief right? 🤭

Peace
 
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joyfulandactive said:
Like it doesn’t feel “Christmassy” enough if they don’t visit a church and yet it’s more about a “feel good factor” and not really about faith.
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I think there is a lot of truth to that. Now going a bit deeper, exactly why do they feel that way, particularly on Ash Wednesday and palm Sunday?
 
It’s strictly cultural… We have the same phenomenon in the Anglican church. Easter Vigil/Sunday results in a 130% increase and Christmas sees a whopping 200% increase over average Sunday attendance.

For many Christians it’s about keeping the lights on. For some reason Easter isn’t Easter or Christmas isn’t Christmas without attending mass. They may not darken the door for any other service (except and wedding or funeral) but the high holy days pull them out. This also results in increased revenue for the church.

Typically, Anglican churches receive 30% of their total giving in December. I would expect a similar pattern in the RC Church.

Another interesting phenomenon in the Church of England is the growth in attendance at cathedrals:

https://archbishopcranmer.com/church-attendance-falling-cathedral-attendance-soaring/

The attached article delves into an explanation of why this is happening.

Pax.
 
What blows me away are those families whose children are in faith formation, yet they do not regularly attend Mass. That’s stunning to me. I could ask the same question there – why do parents do this? I know some people feel called to get defensive and say “at least their kids are becoming catechized!”, but again, I think there are things to be learned if such parents were tactfully debriefed.
 
We see way fewer on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and Easter than we ever did. We do see a dramatic increase at Christmas.

For the most part those who only attend at Christmas do so because it’s what they did with mom & dad decades ago and they don’t do it for God but to feel a connection with their early years. Sadly, my own children don’t even bother going at Christmas anymore.
 
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Exegete said:
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joyfulandactive:
Like it doesn’t feel “Christmassy” enough if they don’t visit a church and yet it’s more about a “feel good factor” and not really about faith.
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I think there is a lot of truth to that. Now going a bit deeper, exactly why do they feel that way, particularly on Ash Wednesday and palm Sunday?
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When I left the faith I still appreciated the message of Ash Wednesday. It’s pretty universal to believe that we are dust and to dust we shall return. Secular folks still believe they do bad things. They likely just don’t agree with the Church’s identification and classification of sin.
 
Not everyone has that option though.
A 2-hour round trip on an old car could mean disaster.
If no car is available, public transportation doesn’t always run at convenient times, if at all, and then the weather is always a factor. In my area, a 2-hour round trip can easily turn into a 4-6 hour trip in the dead of winter.

So, while it’s nice that you would do something, please remember that not everyone is as fortunate.
 
Guilt. People avoid their obligations. And they know it and overcompensate.
 
You are blessed to always have that luxury. Not everyone lives the same sort of life.
 
Probably. And it’s not just a Catholic thing as Protestants walk around with ashes too.
 
TheLittleLady said:
You are blessed to always have that luxury. Not everyone lives the same sort of life.
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What luxury is that? Making Sunday Mass attendance a priority? Willing to drive an hour (or longer) to attend Mass on Sundays or other Holy Days of obligation?
 
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