Shifting Holy Days of Obligation to Sunday

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Originally Posted by Kielbasi
*The principal reason why some of the bishops have been celebrating these days on Sundays is that many folks hadn’t been able to make it during the week, particularly in the US and other nations where the holy days aren’t civil holidays(like in Europe/Latin America). Some people who work in offices or in the field can cut out for an hour, but an assembly line worker or the window clerk at Taco Bell, its a different story.

Moving the holy days of obligation to Sunday enables a lot more folks to participate.*

This is an extremely weak case considering that Ash Wednesday is not a Holy Day of Obligation, and yet, the Mass (or service if only ashes are distributed) is typically standing room only. So tell me why those same folks cannot make Ascension Thursday such that, in order to ‘enable a lot more folks to participate,’ the bishops move the holy day to be observed on the following Sunday? Let’s face it, many bishops are wimps when it comes to their pastoral duties, and too many of the ‘faithful’ are truly not that faithful.

The ‘typical’ American Catholic is a disobedient spoiled brat who won’t take the effort to attend Mass if it’s not sufficiently convenient, while Catholics who live in oppressed countries often risk their own safety and that of their families just to have the opportunity to attend Mass.

Let’s get real, and quit making excuses.

In Christ,
Irenaeus
 
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Kielbasi:
The ‘typical’ American Catholic is a disobedient spoiled brat
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Please list the qualifications which enable you to make this pronouncement.
 
Please list the qualifications which enable you to make this pronouncement.
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I’m sorry if it wasn’t clear, but the first part was written by me, the second by another poster “Ireneaus.”
 
I’m not sure how I feel about this. While I’m sure many people just make excuses, for others, work really does get in the way.

On holy days, I usually can’t attend Mass in my own parish, due to work hours (my home and my job are in two different states). I’m fortunate enough to have, where I work, a church that has Mass at 12:15 PM on holy days, so I go there during lunch time. But what about people who don’t have that opportunity?
 
On holy days, I can easily make it, as there is a church just a few blocks from my office and people will cover for me.

I have some empathy for individuals chained to an assembly line situation all day who can’t get away. People should definitely be aware that the holy days are all civil holidays in the traditional Catholic nations, and most folks are home those days.
 
They could move them, but it wouldn’t change my belifes or anything. I think they should keep them where they are, but only if they are 100% necessary, they shouldn’t move them.
 
The “dumbing down” of the faith is a pathetic, sad, and regrettable movement in the western church.

I have an idea, it is hard for teenagers to get up early, shower, dress, eat breakfast and then go to school to learn, so let’s do away with the mandatory status of school attendance on weekdays and limit to voluntary attendance of Sundays…

Very sad really…
 
I had a boss that wanted me to work on Sundays. I told him no that it was against my religion. The other guys on the crew would put up siding all day Sunday and I’d join them again on Monday.

If you look a little you will find morning and evening masses on Holy Days of Obligation. If not at your parish then at neighboring ones. If you work days go to an evening mass, If you work evenings, go to a morning mass. If absolutely necesary tell your boss, “I’ve got to leave about an hour early next Thursday so I can get to mass.” This way the boss can schedule accordingly.

As I said in another thread, I cannot believe how watered down the faith is getting these days. half the folks don’t genuflect, nobody blesses themselves with Holy Water, The girls dress like tramps, and the boys like they just came from the playground. the votive candles have been replaced by tacky electric bulbs that burn for a set time based on the amount of your donation. etc, etc, etc…
 
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dcmac:
The “dumbing down” of the faith is a pathetic, sad, and regrettable movement in the western church.
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Please list the qualifications which enable you to make this pronouncement.
 
As I said in another thread, I cannot believe how watered down the faith is getting these days.
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I don’t think that strict rules and many obligations are what the basis of the faith is.

Catholicism has traditionally had a wide range of piety levels, from cloistered monks under a vow of silence wearing a hair shirt, to daily mass attenders, to those with average piety of attending on Sunday, to those of less than average attending on a less regular basis.

For many, many people , attending holy day mass when they have to work as well is a pretty big hardship. It might be easy for some, the retired, those who can easily cut out of their workplace for a while, single folks who don’t have large responsibilities at home after work to get kids out of day care, people without good transport, whatever.

And many folks aren’t attending on the holy days, that’s the plain fact.

For all of the automation and supposed labor -saving devices out there, we sure dont seem to have as much time as we seem to have had in the past.
 
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travellinmike:
If you look a little you will find morning and evening masses on Holy Days of Obligation. If not at your parish then at neighboring ones. If you work days go to an evening mass, If you work evenings, go to a morning mass. If absolutely necesary tell your boss, “I’ve got to leave about an hour early next Thursday so I can get to mass.” This way the boss can schedule accordingly.
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One shouldn’t be working on a Holy Day of Obligation.
 
It looks like I’ll be supporting the minority opinion.

The only Holy Days of Obligation absolutely required by Scripture are the 52 or so Sundays of the year. All others are created through the rightful authority of the Church.

If the Church has the rightful authority to create a Holy Day of Obligation, She also has the rightful authority to say when that Holy Day of Obligation will be celebrated–which includes shifting it to a Sunday.

So, if the Church is doing something that’s within Her rightful authority, for me to complain would make me a dissident. It would make me no different than those who stand up and demand a married priesthood.
 
Having HDoO during the week is a phenomenon that began after the legalization of Christianity when it was possible for people who wished to attend Mass to do so during the week without having to worry about being caught, loosing jobs, or anything else.

In the ancient Church, Sundays (beginning with Sunset on Saturday) were observed as Holy days. For example, the earliest form of the Easter Vigil included the Passion, Crucifixion, Burial, and Resurrection of Christ on the same night.

While it is true that many would gather at the tombs of the martyrs to celebrate their martyrdom days, these were not quite akin to what we would call Holy Days of Obligation.

We now livein a world that is becoming increasingly hostile to our Christian faith. We live in a world where we have the appearance of freedom of religion, but where a pharmicist is told they have to distribute birth control regardless of their beliefs, where a cashier is told to work Sunday or loose her job.

If a bishop or liturgical commission with proper authority determines that it is most appropriate to move such Holy Days, than I am fine with that.

Rob+
 
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Kielbasi:
For many, many people , attending holy day mass when they have to work as well is a pretty big hardship. It might be easy for some, the retired, those who can easily cut out of their workplace for a while, single folks who don’t have large responsibilities at home after work to get kids out of day care, people without good transport, whatever.
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Hanging on a cross for our sins was a “pretty big hardship” for our Lord. I’m sure that if a person truely wanted to get to church they would find a way. If a person’s life is too hectic to get to church a few extra days outside of Sundays, maybe they need to examine their life.

I do agree with the message that stated that only the 52 Sundays a year are scripturally defined. And since Holy Days are a Catholic thing then if the powers that be deem to allow Sunday observation I guess it’s OK. I didn’t think of it that way. I still hold to the fact however that Catholicism is being watered down and protestantized to make it easier for people to follow and get new recruits.

Mike
 
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