I know. We’ve been debating this, as I stated. I meant for Thistle to understand that there will be arguments on both sides over on the other thread.
I take it very seriously as well and you are wrong on this with respect to the Eastern Catholic liturgies. You were also wrong about your comment regarding sanctus bells on another thread.
If you carefully read my posts, I have indicated tha tmy comments were restricted to the Latin Rite observances of the Holy Days of Obligation. In your apparent zeal to be combative, you did not take this into account and launched salvos in my direction. Nonetheless, I do maintain my position that I am right.
People may wish to visit the thread in question to understand what you’re discussing.
)Thanks, Digitonomy. It’s been a very trying week (and we’re only at Tuesday). I just didn’t want to hijack someone else’s thread.
I try to help when I can.
Jimmy Akin is more famous, but he is no better educated than the rest of us. I have found that his conclusions often contradict the teachings of my own Bishop, for example on the issues of chewing gum in Church (Jimmy Akin says it’s rude but doesn’t violate the fast; my Bishop says it violates the fast) and Friday abstinence from meat (Jimmy Akin says it is not required; my Bishop says it is required for all except those for whom it would be medically dangerous or seriously inconvenient; these have the option of substituting a different penance but there is nobody, having reached their 14th birthday, who should be ignoring the day of penance altogether - and persons younger than 14 should also be receiving training on Friday penance, as well, according to their ability to understand.)
In a presentation given on November 25th in Saint Louis, Bishop Fabian Bruskewicz of Lincoln, NE addressed this concept. Bishop Bruskewicz, who had been welcomed and introduced by Saint Louis’ Archbishop Raymond Burke, spoke about a number of issues important to today’s Catholic, including liturgy. In the course of his talk, he made it a point to state clearly (in fact, he repeated it for emphasis) the the USCCB is not a legislative or regulatory body. It is a collegial group of prelates who address and discuss issues and concerns that are common to them all and to their people. The statements and decisions made by that body are not binding on individual bishops.
Like I said, you have a duty of obedience to your bishop. And Akin is better-educated than most of the rest of us, as he studies and nitpicks canon law as part of his job. The bishop may have pastoral reasons for coming down on one side or another of an issue that is not clear-cut, and that’s fine - it’s his job.
Final word is it IS a Holy Day of Obligation. As to why there is no mass at your parish, call them to ask.
Thank you!Final word is it IS a Holy Day of Obligation. As to why there is no mass at your parish, call them to ask.
While the role of the USCCB as a regulatory body may have been exaggerated somewhat at points in this thread, I don’t claim to know exactly how extensive that role is and thought it prudent to concede the point. However, I think your post overlooks the legitimate regulatory role the USCCB has - they regulate what days count as holy days, when those days are moved to Sunday, various liturgical norms, translation issues, procedural matters such as abuse cases, etc. In all situations, these decisions must be confirmed by the Vatican to become particular law, but it is the USCCB that originates these regulations.
Digit, you bring up some excellent points too about obedience to the bishop(s). Is it possible that we have a situation here in which according to a plain reading of Canon Law we would say that one’s bare moral obligation is fulfilled attending any Catholic mass on Saturday evening or Sunday regardless of the readings BUT one also has an additional obligation of obedience to local authority on the timing and celebration of the mass. For instance, isn’t it under the competency of the bishop(s) to say whether or not a wedding or a funeral mass can be celebrated on such and such a day? Could the issue of Dec 8 be similar in the respect that you could fulfill your obligation by attending the anticipated Sunday Mass on Saturday and then Sunday Mass on Sunday but that it is not legitimate (in light of the your local bishop(s)) to do so?
Actually, it’s more of an advisory or consultative role. In each of the areas you list, including the handling of abuse cases, an individual Ordinary makes the final decision for his See. That’s why in some dioceses, the feast of the Ascension was celebrated on Thursday instead of Sunday, why some dioceses do not have female altar servers, etc.