Holidays? of obligation

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hoping4more

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Are we required to take the day off from work? At what point would you not take the day off? What if you are the sole breadwinner and just don’t want to take 8 days per year off, (probably would work out to 5-6 days with weekends and Christmas being automatic).

My other issue, is all the mass times are in the morning or right when I get off; at best I can get off work and swing into the parking lot just as Communion starts. Why no late mass?
 
You do not have to take the day off from work. Many diocesan employees are working today.

Do the best you can with getting to Mass – the Church does not ask us to do the impossible.
 
Your point is well-taken, but just curious, where are there eight holy days of obligation, other than Sundays? The U.S. has six, and that is on the high end of the scale.
 
Right, the U.S. has 6 Holy Days of Obligation. Two of them (Christmas and January 1) are days that many people already have off from work. The Ascension is transferred to Sunday in 2/3 of the dioceses. So that makes 3 or 4 depending on where you live. And even there, it’s likely that at least one will fall on the weekend.

Even so, I have never heard that one is obligated to take the day off work. Certainly, we should go to Mass. You might make the suggestion for a later Mass time. My parish has two evening Masses on the holy days. But we also have three priests, so that is easier to do.
 
My parish has one Mass very early in the morning, one mid-day where a lot of people go on their lunch break, and one at 7pm. Other area parishes have various times available as well, in addition to vigils sometimes. If you check around and it’s truly impossible to miss work for any of those times, you’re not required to.
 
You do not have to take off from work, but if you are able to, you should – and if not for all of them, then at least some of them.

I know of many people who always take the Assumption off from work because it’s in August and around me, the kids already have that day off from work. So they make it a family day and then attend a 7PM mass in the Extraordinary Form at our Cathedral.

Personally, I have not taken any holy days off from work, but I do take Holy Thursday & Good Friday off every year (and sometimes even the Wednesday).
 
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It’s sad, but Canada only has 2 holidays that aren’t Sundays.
 
I don’t take off work on HDOs. If it is a work day, I go to Mass in the evening - my home parish routinely has a Mass at 7 p.m.

I have had trouble keeping my head above water with available time off work in the past few years, because of health issues. Fortunately, my workplace has a leave donation program, where other employees can donate leave to me to use for medical reasons.

Even so, I try to conserve leave when I can, so that I can make my medical appointments, take a couple vacations a year, and still have some cushion.
 
1ke said:
That is a question for your pastor. Make your needs known.
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@hoping4more

Yes, please make your needs known. I’m sure there are others in your parish who would appreciate a 7PM or 7:30PM mass on the Holy Day or on the evening before the Holy Day.

God bless
 
We should attend Mass and refrain from work (the word “servile” was removed from canon law in 1983, so this applies just as well to non-manual labor) on Sundays and Holy Days. Obviously that only applies when it is reasonably possible to do so.

Can. 1247 On Sundays and other holy days of obligation, the faithful are obliged to participate in the Mass.

Moreover, they are to abstain from those works and aVairs which hinder the worship to be rendered to God, the joy proper to the Lord’s day, or the suitable relaxation of mind and body.

American reasonable accommodation laws should in principle make taking 2-4 (unpaid) days off per year possible for nearly anyone, since only a few businesses would suffer an “undue burden” from it. But many people in today’s world are understandably weary of pressing the matter.
 
Those people who work in dioceses and don’t get the day off do usually get time to attend Mass at noon. But not everyone gets holy days off, even when they are employed by the Church.
 
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