Question about Ascension Thursday . .

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Hi. I usually don’t places posts on forums, but I have a bit of tricky situation . . .

I usually attend mass according to the Extraordinary Form whenever possible. Unfortuately, I will be unable to go to the services held for Ascension Thursday today. In the Ordinary Form calendar, my diocese transfers Ascension Thursday to the next Sunday. Does this mean that I have to attend Sunday mass in the OF, as the propers for the EF will not be for the Feast of the Ascension?
 
GC101 said:
Hi. I usually don’t places posts on forums, but I have a bit of tricky situation . . .

I usually attend mass according to the Extraordinary Form whenever possible. Unfortuately, I will be unable to go to the services held for Ascension Thursday today. In the Ordinary Form calendar, my diocese transfers Ascension Thursday to the next Sunday. Does this mean that I have to attend Sunday mass in the OF, as the propers for the EF will not be for the Feast of the Ascension?
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I’d go and ask your EF priest, and see what he says.

He will know your situation best.
 
Is Ascension a Holy Day of Obligation? I can’t see how it could be if it’s on different days in different dioceses of the US. If it isn’t, it doesn’t matter in the slightest.

You could even attend an Eastern Liturgy, which would probably have a different calendar again - some Eastern Churches have the same calendar as the Orthodox, meaning Ascension might not be this week at all.
 
LilyM said:
Is Ascension a Holy Day of Obligation? I can’t see how it could be if it’s on different days in different dioceses of the US. If it isn’t, it doesn’t matter in the slightest.

You could even attend an Eastern Liturgy, which would probably have a different calendar again - some Eastern Churches have the same calendar as the Orthodox, meaning Ascension might not be this week at all.
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Yes, it is.

But our lovely bishops in the USA typically decide to shift the celebration of Ascension Thursday to Sunday (which makes absolutely NO SENSE whatsoever). This is not done, and unprecedented in the EF calendar.
 
OraProNobisIHM said:
But our lovely bishops in the USA typically decide to shift the celebration of Ascension Thursday to Sunday…
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NB: *Most *of the USA – A handful of episcopal provinces retain the feast and the associated obligation on Thursday.

My understanding of the OP’s situation: Regardless of what Mass he prefers and/or in fact attends, he is not obliged to assist at Mass today. He is, naturally, obliged to assist at Mass on Sunday, again: regardless of which Catholic Rite and the Propers are celebrated.

tee
Whose understanding could be completely wrong.
 
This is an interesting topic. I fall into the same category of the original poster–I assisted at the ordinary form of the Roman Rite this morning and rather than Ascension Thursday, the Thursday of the Sixth Week of Easter was observed. On Sunday, I usually drive 45 miles to assist at the extraordinary form, but if I do that this week, I will miss the Feast of the Ascension completely.

My assumption is that I am still obligated to assist at Mass for Ascension Thursday, only it happens to coincide with the seventh Sunday of Easter in my diocese. We really need a Canon Lawyer to settle this.

Probably I’ll assist at the ordinary form. If it is the will of God, hopefully someday the extraordinary form will be offered everyday throughout all of Christendom as it was for over a thousand years, back when it was “ordinary.”

John
 
jboss said:
This is an interesting topic. I fall into the same category of the original poster–I assisted at the ordinary form of the Roman Rite this morning and rather than Ascension Thursday, the Thursday of the Sixth Week of Easter was observed. On Sunday, I usually drive 45 miles to assist at the extraordinary form, but if I do that this week, I will miss the Feast of the Ascension completely.

My assumption is that I am still obligated to assist at Mass for Ascension Thursday, only it happens to coincide with the seventh Sunday of Easter in my diocese. We really need a Canon Lawyer to settle this.

Probably I’ll assist at the ordinary form. If it is the will of God, hopefully someday the extraordinary form will be offered everyday throughout all of Christendom as it was for over a thousand years, back when it was “ordinary.”

John
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Anyone know a trad priest we can ask and then have it posted?
 
jboss said:
This is an interesting topic. I fall into the same category of the original poster–I assisted at the ordinary form of the Roman Rite this morning and rather than Ascension Thursday, the Thursday of the Sixth Week of Easter was observed. On Sunday, I usually drive 45 miles to assist at the extraordinary form, but if I do that this week, I will miss the Feast of the Ascension completely.

My assumption is that I am still obligated to assist at Mass for Ascension Thursday, only it happens to coincide with the seventh Sunday of Easter in my diocese. We really need a Canon Lawyer to settle this.

Probably I’ll assist at the ordinary form. If it is the will of God, hopefully someday the extraordinary form will be offered everyday throughout all of Christendom as it was for over a thousand years, back when it was “ordinary.”

John
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If it’s available, go to an evening Sat vigil Mass and then to your regular Mass Sunday.
 
jboss said:
This is an interesting topic. I fall into the same category of the original poster–I assisted at the ordinary form of the Roman Rite this morning and rather than Ascension Thursday, the Thursday of the Sixth Week of Easter was observed. On Sunday, I usually drive 45 miles to assist at the extraordinary form, but if I do that this week, I will miss the Feast of the Ascension completely.

My assumption is that I am still obligated to assist at Mass for Ascension Thursday, only it happens to coincide with the seventh Sunday of Easter in my diocese. We really need a Canon Lawyer to settle this.

Probably I’ll assist at the ordinary form. If it is the will of God, hopefully someday the extraordinary form will be offered everyday throughout all of Christendom as it was for over a thousand years, back when it was “ordinary.”

John
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According to Canon Law, one can fulfil one’s obligation on any Sunday or Holy Day by attending Mass or liturgy of any rite.
*
Can. 1247 On Sundays and other holy days of obligation, the faithful are obliged to participate in the Mass …

Can. 1248 §1. A person who assists at a Mass **celebrated anywhere in a Catholic rite *either on the feast day itself or in the evening of the preceding day satisfies the obligation of participating in the Mass.

That being the case, and as I pointed out the different rites having different calendars, there wouldn’t be a problem in attending an EF on Sunday regardless of what readings are used.
 
(If I’m reading it correctly), this section of the 1962 Missal indicates that the EF Mass could be transferred as well:
  1. Solemnitas externa, si ipso iure competat,
    nec supra, n. 358, pro quibusdam solemnitatibus
    externis aliter statuatur, fieri potest aut ipso die quo
    festum impeditur, aut in dominica immediate praecedenti
    vel immediate sequenti Officium festi impediti,
    aut alio die ab Ordinario loci determinando,
    iuxta rubricas.
 
The_Prodigal said:
(If I’m reading it correctly), this section of the 1962 Missal indicates that the EF Mass could be transferred as well:
  1. Solemnitas externa, si ipso iure competat,
    nec supra, n. 358, pro quibusdam solemnitatibus
    externis aliter statuatur, fieri potest aut ipso die quo
    festum impeditur, aut in dominica immediate praecedenti
    vel immediate sequenti Officium festi impediti,
    aut alio die ab Ordinario loci determinando,
    iuxta rubricas.
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Yes, but know that this refers to the “external solemnity,” such as processions and other public devotions, rather than the Mass of the day itself.
 
Chatter163 said:
Yes, but know that this refers to the “external solemnity,” such as processions and other public devotions, rather than the Mass of the day itself.
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What do you make of CIC-1917 1247.3?
Can. 1247. § 1. Dies festi sub praecepto in universa Ecclesia sunt tantum: Omnes et singuli dies dominici, festa Nativitatis, Circumcisionis, Epiphaniae, Ascensionis et sanctissimi Corporis Christi, Immaculatae Conceptionis et Assumptionis Almae Genitricis Dei Mariae, sancti Ioseph eius sponsi, Beatorum Petri et Pauli Apostolorum, Omnium denique Sanctorum.
§ 2. Ecclesiastico praecepto dies festi Patronorum non subiacent; locorum autem Ordinarii possunt sollemnitatem exteriorem transferre ad dominicam proxime sequentem.
§ 3. Sicubi aliquod festum ex enumeratis legitime sit abolitum vel translatum, nihil inconsulta Sede Apostolica innovetur.

tee
 
Chatter163 said:
Yes, but know that this refers to the “external solemnity,” such as processions and other public devotions, rather than the Mass of the day itself.
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I belive you are mistaken. Definition of the term is given here from the Missal:
  1. Nomine solemnitatis externae alicuius festi
    intellegitur celebratio ipsius festi absque Officio, in
    bonum fidelium, vel die quo festum impeditur, vel
    in dominica quando ipsum festum occurrit infra
    hebdomadam, vel alio statuto die.
“By the term of external solemnity of any feast is meant celebration of the same feast without the Office.”

You can translate [move] the Mass, you can’t translate the Office.
 
Our diocese is one of the ones that doesn’t require us to attend Mass on Ascension Thursday. But our Bishop and I both dislike the idea of moving the “obligation” to Sunday.

Our FSSE priest told us last Sunday that we will have a Latin Mass this Thursday for Ascension. He did mention the transfer of the holy day to Sunday but also said that if any of us don’t make it to Mass Thursday than we shouldn’t complain about it. I did make it to his Ascension Mass and we had a very good turnout.👍
 
sparkielee said:
Our diocese is one of the ones that doesn’t require us to attend Mass on Ascension Thursday. But our Bishop and I both dislike the idea of moving the “obligation” to Sunday.
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I wonder why your bishop doesn’t reinstate the obligation, then.
 
The_Prodigal said:
I wonder why your bishop doesn’t reinstate the obligation, then.
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I am not sure it is within the prerogative of an individual bishop to do so?

Canon Law empowers the several conferences of bishops to suppress or translate holy days. In the US, the conference seems to have further delegated this to the several episcopal provinces.

tee
Who might be wrong
 
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