Was today a Holy day of obligation?

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Lenten_ashes

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No mention of it in our bulletin. But i noticed it in red on my catholic calender. Then looked online and some websites were saying yes it’s obligatory.

I did go but still not sure if it was required
 
Lenten_ashes said:
No mention of it in our bulletin. But i noticed it in red on my catholic calender. Then looked online and some websites were saying yes it’s obligatory.

I did go but still not sure if it was required
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It varied, depending on where you were at. Some dioceses, yes, others, no.

Now that it is water over the dam, and you went anyhow, its a historical curiosity whether 2017 Ascension Thursday was a HDO for your diocese.

Next year, check your church’s bulletin, they’ll let you know what the the story is where you are at.
 
You give your location as “somewhere over the rainbow” so I can’t give a definitive answer.

In the United States, the decision of whether to celebrate the Ascension on Thursday or move it to Sunday is decided by ecclesiastical provinces. It has been moved to Sunday everywhere except the provinces of Boston, Hartford, New York, Newark, Omaha, and Philadelphia. Since a province includes several dioceses this affects the dioceses of:

Boston
  • Boston
  • Burlington
  • Fall River
  • Manchester
  • Portland
  • Springfield in Massachusetts
  • Worcester
Hartford
  • Hartford
  • Bridgeport
  • Norwich
  • Providence
New York
  • New York
  • Albany
  • Brooklyn
  • Buffalo
  • Ogdensburg
  • Rochester
  • Rockville Centre
  • Syracuse
Newark
  • Newark
  • Camden
  • Metuchen
  • Paterson
  • Trenton
Omaha
  • Omaha
  • Grand Island
  • Lincoln
Philadelphia
  • Philadelphia
  • Allentown
  • Altoona-Johnstown
  • Erie
  • Greensburg
  • Harrisburg
  • Pittsburgh
  • Scranton
 
SuscipeMeDomine said:
You give your location as “somewhere over the rainbow” so I can’t give a definitive answer.
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😃
In the United States, the decision of whether to celebrate the Ascension on Thursday or move it to Sunday is decided by ecclesiastical provinces. It has been moved to Sunday everywhere except the provinces of Boston, Hartford, New York, Newark, Omaha, and Philadelphia. Since a province includes several dioceses this affects the dioceses of:
Click to expand...
Boston
  • Boston
  • Burlington
  • Fall River
  • Manchester
  • Portland
  • Springfield in Massachusetts
  • Worcester
Click to expand...
Hartford
  • Hartford
  • Bridgeport
  • Norwich
  • Providence
Click to expand...
New York
  • New York
  • Albany
  • Brooklyn
  • Buffalo
  • Ogdensburg
  • Rochester
  • Rockville Centre
  • Syracuse
Click to expand...
Newark
  • Newark
  • Camden
  • Metuchen
  • Paterson
  • Trenton
Click to expand...
Omaha
  • Omaha
  • Grand Island
  • Lincoln
Click to expand...
Philadelphia
  • Philadelphia
  • Allentown
  • Altoona-Johnstown
  • Erie
  • Greensburg
  • Harrisburg
  • Pittsburgh
  • Scranton
Click to expand...
Yeah so it was not for us. Rotating Holy days are a little confusing.

Thanks
 
Here in Morgantown, WV we are close to the WV / PA border. Thursday was a HDO just over the line in PA (Diocese of Greensburg), but not here in Morgantown.

A significant number of people live in southwestern PA, but commute across the state line to jobs in the Morgantown area.
 
Kielbasi said:
Now that it is water over the dam, and you went anyhow, its a historical curiosity whether 2017 Ascension Thursday was a HDO for your diocese.
Click to expand...
As a rule, Ascension Thursday is always a Holy Day of Obligation.

The question is: In your locale is the Solemnity of the Ascension celebrated on the Thursday following the VI Sunday of Easter? Or is it celebrated in place of the VII Sunday of Easter?

😉

tee
Will Pick Nits for Food
 
tee_eff_em said:
As a rule, Ascension Thursday is always a Holy Day of Obligation.

The question is: In your locale is the Solemnity of the Ascension celebrated on the Thursday following the VI Sunday of Easter? Or is it celebrated in place of the VII Sunday of Easter?

😉

tee
Will Pick Nits for Food
Click to expand...
That is what I was thinking. I live in the Southwest and we have always celebrated on
Sunday the Ascension, not Thursday. Why are those Eastern provinces and Nebraska different I wonder?
 
7_Sorrows said:
That is what I was thinking. I live in the Southwest and we have always celebrated on
Sunday the Ascension, not Thursday. Why are those Eastern provinces and Nebraska different I wonder?
Click to expand...
Ability of the parish to actually get there on time for Mass without calling in sick.
We live in a HUGE metropolitan area. Sometimes it takes commuters 1.5 to 2 hours to get home and grab the kids, then head off to Mass.

Some places prefer that the church be packed, as it is on Sunday to hear the reading and homily for such important days.

There’s probably other reasons though. You’d have to poll the Bishops.
 
7_Sorrows said:
That is what I was thinking. I live in the Southwest and we have always celebrated on
Sunday the Ascension, not Thursday. Why are those Eastern provinces and Nebraska different I wonder?
Click to expand...
:rotfl:

And now, you understand the Protestant perspective that asks, “why did those Catholics add books to the Bible?!?”

:rotfl:

Here’s the thing: when we look at a given situation, we tend to presume that our own position is normative, and anybody else who does things differently… well, they’re the ones who are different!

So, although we know that it was Protestants who removed those books from the Bible, some Protestants ask “why did Catholics add them?”

Same thing here: it’s not that the provinces you mention are different – it’s you who’s different!

Ascension Thursday was always celebrated on, well… Thursday! But, when authority to move the celebration to Sunday was granted, some provinces (ahem… us) kept it on Thursday. Other provinces (ahem… ya’ll) were the ones who decided to be different and move it to Sunday!

So, the real question is: why are ya’ll different? 😉 :rotfl:
 
Lenten_ashes said:
No mention of it in our bulletin. But i noticed it in red on my catholic calender. Then looked online and some websites were saying yes it’s obligatory.

I did go but still not sure if it was required
Click to expand...
It was for me…
 
Gorgias said:
:rotfl:

And now, you understand the Protestant perspective that asks, “why did those Catholics add books to the Bible?!?”

:rotfl:

Here’s the thing: when we look at a given situation, we tend to presume that our own position is normative, and anybody else who does things differently… well, they’re the ones who are different!

So, although we know that it was Protestants who removed those books from the Bible, some Protestants ask “why did Catholics add them?”

Same thing here: it’s not that the provinces you mention are different – it’s you who’s different!

Ascension Thursday was always celebrated on, well… Thursday! But, when authority to move the celebration to Sunday was granted, some provinces (ahem… us) kept it on Thursday. Other provinces (ahem… ya’ll) were the ones who decided to be different and move it to Sunday!

So, the real question is: why are ya’ll different? 😉 :rotfl:
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I am glad I live where it is on Sunday then.
I don’t like it when Holy Days of Obligation fall during the weekdays. Too hard to get to
Mass.
 
Gorgias said:
Ascension Thursday was always celebrated on, well… Thursday!
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Of course it has.

I’m not saying anyone on this thread has done what I am about to describe, but I see it frequently enough to want to try to wave it off. I sometimes see people moan about *“celebrating Ascension Thursday on Sunday” *-- Please note that while that is the appropriate weekday for the celebration, the name of the feast is the Solemnity of the Ascension, and the word “Thursday” only creeps in there colloquially.
(As opposed to say, Ash Wednesday, which must of necessity fall on a Wednesday)

tee
Liturgical Calendar Nerd 🤓
 
For Byzantines, it’s always a holy day of obligation with Liturgy on Thursday
 
7_Sorrows said:
That is what I was thinking. I live in the Southwest and we have always celebrated on
Sunday the Ascension, not Thursday. Why are those Eastern provinces and Nebraska different I wonder?
Click to expand...
I’m in Lincoln. Always has been 40 days after Easter here…which is a Thursday. Pentecost is ten days later…Always a Sunday
 
The Church has enough trouble getting people to Mass once a week on Sunday, so they are probably trying to eliminate unnecessary extra days of obligation.
 
truetofaith said:
The Church has enough trouble getting people to Mass once a week on Sunday, so they are probably trying to eliminate unnecessary extra days of obligation.
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I think moving the observance to Sunday is fine and people understand. What I think really confuses people is that sometimes if a holy day falls on Saturday or Monday it is dispensed, but if the Immaculate Conception falls on those days it’s still a day of obligation. It’s hard enough to remember an extra obligation during the week, but when the obligation comes and goes I think it simply causes confusion.
 
From what I have read, many Catholic bishops in USA asked for the change due to declining Mass attendance on the Thursday.

Can’t speak for all the dioceses, but I know in Philadelphia, New York and Boston, there are large concentrations of practicing Catholics, so declining Mass attendance may not be an issue for them. I have spent considerable time in two of those areas and the churches are always very busy.
 
7_Sorrows said:
That is what I was thinking. I live in the Southwest and we have always celebrated on
Sunday the Ascension, not Thursday. Why are those Eastern provinces and Nebraska different I wonder?
Click to expand...
I know you’re a convert, so “always” for you only goes back so far. 😉

It was actually celebrated on Thursday in all the dioceses of the U.S. up until the late 90’s. At that point, it was up to each ecclesiastical province (i.e. an archdiocese and the dioceses attached to them) to decide for themselves whether or not to transfer the feast to Sunday. Most places opted to transfer it to the following Sunday, but some did not.
 
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