Transferring Holy Days of Obligation

[campion]

Why did the American Bishops un-obligate the Day of Holy Obligation for December 8? I understand (kind of) moving the Holy Days to Sunday when they fall on Saturdays or Mondays, but Wednesday???

Is anyone else concerned with losing our Catholic identity???

 

[mercygate]

Why do you think it is “un-obligated?” Here’s the quote from the USCCB:

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.

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

campion:

Why did the American Bishops un-obligate the Day of Holy Obligation for December 8? I understand (kind of) moving the Holy Days to Sunday when they fall on Saturdays or Mondays, but Wednesday???

Is anyone else concerned with losing our Catholic identity???

Tomorrow IS a Holy day of Obligation.

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

campion:

Why did the American Bishops un-obligate the Day of Holy Obligation for December 8? I understand (kind of) moving the Holy Days to Sunday when they fall on Saturdays or Mondays, but Wednesday???

Is anyone else concerned with losing our Catholic identity???

Tomorrow IS a Holy day of Obligation.

They do move Ascension Thursday, which I do not agree

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

campion:

Why did the American Bishops un-obligate the Day of Holy Obligation for December 8? I understand (kind of) moving the Holy Days to Sunday when they fall on Saturdays or Mondays, but Wednesday???

Is anyone else concerned with losing our Catholic identity???

Tomorrow IS a Holy day of Obligation.

They do move Ascension Thursday, which I do not agree with.

 

[thann]

Last week at choir I asked my director whether there would be rehearsal this week (we rehearse on Wednesdays and this week it is Immaculate Conception). She said, “Oh, it’s not a Holy Day of Obligation this year, so we’ll rehearse.”

That didn’t sound right to me at all – and indeed I was right: we have the usual three Masses for a holy day. So SOMEONE has some sort of idea that it isn’t obligatory this year. I’ll have to ask her where she got the idea it wasn’t a holy day.

'thann

 

[dts]

Does attendance at a vigil mass (e.g., evening of 12/7) satisfy the obligation?

 

[campion]

dts:

Does attendance at a vigil mass (e.g., evening of 12/7) satisfy the obligation?

Yes.

But are you sure that in some Provinces, the decision could have been made locally to remove the obligation? I could have sworn that my parish’s bulletin made it sound like it was optional. I’ll look into it to find a quote…

 

[campion]

My apologies for dissing the Bishops without having my facts straight. I assumed that Dec. 8 was not obligatory since my parish bulletin stated: “For those who wish to attend Mass on Dec 8…”

Odd wording, since it used to mention the obligation part in the past.

Anyway, I still have a bone to pick with the Bishops for transferring Ascension Thursday to Sunday.

 

[Ray_Marshall]

mercygate:

Here’s the quote from the USCCB:

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.

What’s with this “solemnity” word? Are four syllables better than one (“feast”)? I take more offense at the pomposity of stuff like this than I do at liturgical abuses.

[Aside: What happend to the Feast of the Circumcison - Jan. 1?]

Anyway. . .

We haven’t celebrated “Ascension Thursday” (now, doesn’t that sound better) for a good number of years in the St. Paul-Minneapolis Archdiocese. But I don’t recall ever seeing a formal announcement as to the reason. Maybe because it was time for the “Bishop’s Invitational Golf Tourney” or the “Diocesan Fishing Derby.” I’m not sure.

 

[Sunniva]

The solemnity of the Immaculate Conception is not a holy day of obligation in Canada. I wish it was and don’t know why it’s not.

Holy days of obligation in Canada:

• Mary, the Mother of God
• The Epiphany (observed on following Sunday)
• The Ascension (observed on following Sunday)
• Corpus Christi (observed on following Sunday)

 

[katherine2]

Sunniva:

The solemnity of the Immaculate Conception is not a holy day of obligation in Canada. I wish it was and don’t know why it’s not.

Holy days of obligation in Canada:

• Mary, the Mother of God
• The Epiphany (observed on following Sunday)
• The Ascension (observed on following Sunday)
• Corpus Christi (observed on following Sunday)

reducing holydays to simply an obligation to attend a “quickie” Mass is an impoverishment of the concept. Properly it is a paid holiday, a festival liturgy and a day of family gathering and feasting.

 

[puzzleannie]

the differences between solemnities, feasts and memorials is discussed in the intro to the LOTH and of the daily Roman Missal, where the Calendar is. This is the short version, please read the whole thing in the Roman calendar. The reason for the distinction is deciding precedence, when one of these days can replace the Sunday observance. A solemnity “outranks” a Sunday (except Easter, Sundays of Lent and Advent) so that if it falls on Sunday, the readings for the solemnity are used, i.e. if Christmas falls on Sunday we observe Christmas. A feast does not replace Sunday readings, but does replace weekday readings even in penitential seasons. A feast of the Lord does outrank Sunday. A memorial of a saint is optional. All Holy Days of obligation are solemnities, so if their observance is moved to Sunday its readings are substituted. The reason for moving it to Sunday is to allow more people to observe it, in this day and age when the secular world allows no holidays for religious reasons.

 

[katherine2]

The reason for moving it to Sunday is to allow more people to observe it, in this day and age when the secular world allows no holidays for religious reasons

Well, let’s not overstate it. Christmas and New Years are legal holiday here in our Protestant society. Many unions have negotiated Good Friday as a holiday as well.

In Western Europe, most holydays are also civil holidays.