Mary, Mother of God Holy Day of Obligation?

  • Thread starter Thread starter newguy40
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
N

newguy40

Guest
Could I please get some clarification on this one?

Is the Friday, Jan 1, 2010 Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God a Holy Day of Obligation in the US?

I thought it was but my parish Christmas bulletin says that it’s not.

usccb.org/liturgy/current/2010cal.pdf

I checked as the above site and it is rather ambiguous to me. The table at the begining of the document does not show Mary, Mother of God as a holy day of obligation but if you scroll thru the calender, it does show it as a holy day of obligation when listed for that particular date.

Thanks!
 
newguy40 said:
Could I please get some clarification on this one?

Is the Friday, Jan 1, 2010 Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God a Holy Day of Obligation in the US?
Click to expand...
Yes, it is.

**In addition to Sunday, the days to be observed as holy days of obligation in the Latin Rite dioceses of the United States of America, in conformity with canon 1246, are as follows:

**** January 1, the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God;
Thursday of the Sixth Week of Easter, the solemnity of the Ascension;
August 15, the solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary;
November 1, the solemnity of All Saints;
December 8, the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception;
December 25, the solemnity of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ. **

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.

*USCCB

*James
 
Are you in Hawai’i? I think Hawai’i has (through its bishop) a slightly different requirement for Holy Days.
 
newguy40 said:
Could I please get some clarification on this one?

Is the Friday, Jan 1, 2010 Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God a Holy Day of Obligation in the US?

I thought it was but my parish Christmas bulletin says that it’s not.

usccb.org/liturgy/current/2010cal.pdf

I checked as the above site and it is rather ambiguous to me. The table at the begining of the document does not show Mary, Mother of God as a holy day of obligation but if you scroll thru the calender, it does show it as a holy day of obligation when listed for that particular date.

Thanks!
Click to expand...
There is no table showing the Holy Days of Obligation.

If you’re in the US it is a Holy Day of Obligation unless you live in Hawaii.

For the other states it is a Holy Day of Obligation but the obligation to attend Mass is abrogated if it falls on a Saturday or a Monday. This year the obligation to attend Mass exists.
 
Great! Thanks to all of you for your quick (an unambigous) answers!

I’m not in Hawaii, btw (although at times I sure wish I was)

Keith
 
here in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, the feast of the Ascension is transferred to the following Sunday.
 
newguy40 said:
Could I please get some clarification on this one?

Is the Friday, Jan 1, 2010 Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God a Holy Day of Obligation in the US?

I thought it was but my parish Christmas bulletin says that it’s not.

usccb.org/liturgy/current/2010cal.pdf

I checked as the above site and it is rather ambiguous to me. The table at the begining of the document does not show Mary, Mother of God as a holy day of obligation but if you scroll thru the calender, it does show it as a holy day of obligation when listed for that particular date.

Thanks!
Click to expand...
In the PDF document from the USCCB

On page 12, it is listed as a Holy Day of Obligation

The reason why it’s not listed on page 3 (I guess that’s what you mean by “The table at the begining of the document”?) is because that page isn’t meant to be a list of the Holy Days of Obligation. That chart is meant only as a reference to indicate when certain days fall, for the purpose of calculating the rest of the calendar (example: if one wants to know when is the 3rd Sunday after Easter? or when does Advent begin?)

Did your parish bulletin give any indication of why the bulletin says it’s not a Holy Day of Obligation? Because in the United States, that day is definately a HDO, with the exception of the Diocese of Honolulu (see note on p. 7)

Since the PDF is a 46 page document, if you have any other questions, please list the page number–that would be a huge help.

PS–my browser didn’t show the previous responses before I typed the above, so I didn’t know it had already been answered.
 
newguy40 said:
Great! Thanks to all of you for your quick (an unambigous) answers!

I’m not in Hawaii, btw (although at times I sure wish I was)

Keith
Click to expand...
If you live in certain dioceses in California (and some neighboring states) it is has become something of a “tradition” (note the quotes) that the obligation to attend Mass is dispensed by the bishop each year.

So if you live in California that may be why your parish bulletin has that information.
 
Wow. That was interesting. I called the Diocese office (Monterey) and was told by one of the Fr’s that it is not a holy day of obligation for the whole state of CA. Not the Diocese alone.

Fr. David – No there was no mention as to why it was not a holy day of obligation.

I still plan to go to Mass that day. 🙂

Thanks very much for the help.

Keith
 
newguy40 said:
Wow. That was interesting. I called the Doicese office (Monterey) and was told by one of the Fr’s that it is not a holy day of obligation for the whole state of CA. Not the Diocese alone.

Fr. David – No there was no mention as to why it was not a holy day of obligation.

I still plan to go to Mass that day. 🙂

Thanks very much for the help.

Keith
Click to expand...
This is a policy at the provincial level. (There are two ecclesiastical provinces in California: Los Angeles and San Fransisco. Parts of some neighboring states are also in one of those two provinces.) But I believe the local diocesan bishops are the ones who actually make the determination and I think there are a few who have not chosen to dispense with the obligation to attend Mass. However most California bishops do give an annual dispensation for their diocese.

As to why, I have some personal guesses but I don’t think there has ever been an official reason given.
 
newguy40 said:
Wow. That was interesting. I called the Diocese office (Monterey) and was told by one of the Fr’s that it is not a holy day of obligation for the whole state of CA. Not the Diocese alone.

Fr. David – No there was no mention as to why it was not a holy day of obligation.

I still plan to go to Mass that day. 🙂

Thanks very much for the help.

Keith
Click to expand...
This is subtle, yet also important.

January 1 is still a Holy Day of Obligation in the entire Continental US.

However, what the person at the diocese meant by that was “yes, it’s a HDO, however the bishops of California have all decided to dispense their parishioners from the obligation on that day.”

The local bishop(s) can dispense from the obligation to attend Mass, but they can’t change the fact that the day itself is a HDO. It’s just like a Sunday. A bishop can dispense his entire diocese from the obligation to attend Mass on a given Sunday, but he can’t change the fact that every Sunday is a Holy Day of Obligation.
 
SMHW said:
As to why, I have some personal guesses but I don’t think there has ever been an official reason given.
Click to expand...
Recognizing that the majority of Catholics would not attend Mass (perhaps due to self- inflicted indisposition) and therefor they opt to dispense them from the obligation to prevent mass sinning?
 
FrDavid96 said:
This is subtle, yet also important.

January 1 is still a Holy Day of Obligation in the entire Continental US.

However, what the person at the diocese meant by that was “yes, it’s a HDO, however the bishops of California have all decided to dispense their parishioners from the obligation on that day.”

The local bishop(s) can dispense from the obligation to attend Mass, but they can’t change the fact that the day itself is a HDO. It’s just like a Sunday. A bishop can dispense his entire diocese from the obligation to attend Mass on a given Sunday, but he can’t change the fact that every Sunday is a Holy Day of Obligation.
Click to expand...
Father; I guess I’m a little confused by your statement: The local bishop(s) can dispense from the obligation to attend Mass I would assume by this you mean that the clergy and laity who are (“sick”) would be given dispensation to attend any Mass unless I’m mistaken.

Is there really any other reason that The local bishop(s) can dispense from the obligation to attend Mass?

I can’t think of any other reason other than in time of catastrophic event or war itself.
 
centurionguard said:
Father; I guess I’m a little confused by your statement: The local bishop(s) can dispense from the obligation to attend Mass I would assume by this you mean that the clergy and laity who are (“sick”) would be given dispensation to attend any Mass unless I’m mistaken.

Is there really any other reason that The local bishop(s) can dispense from the obligation to attend Mass?

I can’t think of any other reason other than in time of catastrophic event or war itself.
Click to expand...
The bishop has to have some legitimate reason to dispense from the Holy Day obligation (whether that’s a feast-day or any Sunday), yet this is left to the bishop’s own discretion.

There are all sorts of legitimate reasons why he might do this. Yes, illness is one of those reasons, although people who are sick usually don’t need a dispensation (this is done more to ease their consciences than it is something necessary).

As long as the bishop himself feels that he has a good enough reason, he can grant a dispensation from any Sunday/HDO Mass. That’s his decision to make.

Apparently (or it might be better if I say “obviously”), the bishops of California all feel that they have some legitimate reason to dispense from the obligation. I don’t know what those reasons are. Each bishop decides to dispense his own diocese, so when we say “all of California” that’s more coincidental.
 
FrDavid96 said:
The bishop has to have some legitimate reason to dispense from the Holy Day obligation (whether that’s a feast-day or any Sunday), yet this is left to the bishop’s own discretion.

There are all sorts of legitimate reasons why he might do this. Yes, illness is one of those reasons, although people who are sick usually don’t need a dispensation (this is done more to ease their consciences than it is something necessary).

As long as the bishop himself feels that he has a good enough reason, he can grant a dispensation from any Sunday/HDO Mass. That’s his decision to make.

Apparently (or it might be better if I say “obviously”), the bishops of California all feel that they have some legitimate reason to dispense from the obligation. I don’t know what those reasons are. Each bishop decides to dispense his own diocese, so when we say “all of California” that’s more coincidental.
Click to expand...
…

In my own country Canada there is regrettably only two Holy Days of Obligation aside from every Sunday that seem to stick out with more significance because the other Holy Days of Obligation fall into a lesser category for what ever reason I blame on the Bishops resolve to make more strict.

I have always had a great respect for the strict adherence of the American Catholic Church upholding the following list that my own country seems to be lacking in the Canadian Catholic Church.

**The following is a list of the dates of the Holy Days of Obligation in the United States for 2009, as well as the dates of moveable feasts (holy days whose dates change from year to year). Please note that only those days that have “Holy Day of Obligation” listed beneath their entries are Holy Days of Obligation; all others are moveable feasts.
• Mary, Mother of God (Thursday, January 1, 2009)
Holy Day of Obligation
• Ash Wednesday (Wednesday, February 25, 2009)
• Palm Sunday (Sunday, April 5, 2009)
• Holy Thursday (Thursday, April 9, 2009)
• Good Friday (Friday, April 10, 2009)
• Holy Saturday (Saturday, April 11, 2009)
• Easter (Sunday, April 12, 2009)
• Divine Mercy Sunday (Sunday, April 19, 2009)
• Ascension (Thursday, May 21, 2009)
Holy Day of Obligation (transferred to Sunday, May 24, 2009 in most dioceses of the United States; for more details, see When Is Ascension 2009?)
• Pentecost (Sunday, May 31, 2009)
• Trinity Sunday (Sunday, June 7, 2009)
• Corpus Christi (Thursday, June 11, 2009; transferred to Sunday, June 14, 2009)
• Assumption of Mary (Saturday, August 15, 2009)
Holy Day of Obligation (abrogated because it falls on a Saturday)
• All Saints Day (Sunday, November 1, 2009)
Holy Day of Obligation
• Christ the King (Sunday, November 22, 2009)
• First Sunday of Advent (Sunday, November 29, 2009)
Complete Advent schedule
• Immaculate Conception (Tuesday, December 8, 2009)
Holy Day of Obligation
• Christmas (Friday, December 25, 2009)
Holy Day of Obligation

Holy Days of Obligation In Canada

Christmas Day December 25th
Mary, Mother of God January 1st

I must note with sadness here in my own country that all other Holy Days of Obligation seem to fall by the wayside into a category of lesser importance and is optionally allocated to the nearest Sunday. We have the same Holy Days that the USCCB mention, but it never seems to be emphasized.**
 
Phemie said:
Recognizing that the majority of Catholics would not attend Mass (perhaps due to self- inflicted indisposition) and therefor they opt to dispense them from the obligation to prevent mass sinning?
Click to expand...
I imagine that is a factor. But I don’t think it is the only one.
 
Phemie said:
Recognizing that the majority of Catholics would not attend Mass (perhaps due to self- inflicted indisposition) and therefor they opt to dispense them from the obligation to prevent mass sinning?
Click to expand...
Yes, that seems to be the most charitable reading. although my family generally goes for the Vigil Mass.
 
Spirithound said:
Yes, that seems to be the most charitable reading. although my family generally goes for the Vigil Mass.
Click to expand...
That is one time that I don’t attend the anticipated Mass, preferring instead to volunteer to read at the New Year’s Day Mass, always a hard ministry slot to fill.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top