Why in some dioceses Ascension Thursday still considered a holy day and others don't?

[MissRose73]

I remember when I was younger, that Ascension Thursday was a holy day of obligation & going to Mass (sometimes before school, sometimes in the evening). Now, its often transferred to the Sunday instead. I do know of a few dioceses still consider it the holy day that it is supposed to be, and the diocesan TLM’s / EF Masses list it as such (and I will go to one of those evening Masses for the holy day).

Any reason why that day is not consider a holy day of obligation like Assumption of the BVM or Immaculate Conception is?

 

[YoungTradCath]

Oh, I don’t know. For some reason, the bishops of this country transferred it. I wish they’d restore it to the proper Thursday.

 

[marytk]

I remember when I was younger, that Ascension Thursday was a holy day of obligation & going to Mass (sometimes before school, sometimes in the evening). Now, its often transferred to the Sunday instead. I do know of a few dioceses still consider it the holy day that it is supposed to be, and the diocesan TLM’s / EF Masses list it as such (and I will go to one of those evening Masses for the holy day).

Any reason why that day is not consider a holy day of obligation like Assumption of the BVM or Immaculate Conception is?

The Ascension is still a Holy Day of Obligation but the dioceses have the choice of moving the obligation and celebration to Sunday. They have moved other solemnities to Sunday, like Epiphany. When I go to Mass this Thursday it will be a week day of Easter. I think they want more people to celebrate the Feasts. Personally I would like it on Thursday.

 

[JackVk]

A lot of people forget about it/neglect it, so the bishops (like mine in KCK) moved it then. I go to daily Mass anyway, so it wouldn’t matter for me. But still go on Thursday.

 

[tee_eff_em]

I remember when I was younger, that Ascension Thursday was a holy day of obligation & going to Mass (sometimes before school, sometimes in the evening). Now, its often transferred to the Sunday instead. I do know of a few dioceses still consider it the holy day that it is supposed to be, and the diocesan TLM’s / EF Masses list it as such (and I will go to one of those evening Masses for the holy day).

Any reason why that day is not consider a holy day of obligation like Assumption of the BVM or Immaculate Conception is?

Are we not obligated to assist at Mass on Sundays? The day remains a Holy Day of Obligation.

The episcopal conference has the canonical authority to translate and/or suppress Holy Days. In the US, the USCCB seems to have delegated this decision to the several ecclesiastical provinces. Unless any have changed recently, the provinces of New York, Newark, Hartford, Boston, Philadelphia, and Omaha maintain the celebration on Thursday.

tee

 

[MissRose73]

Are we not obligated to assist at Mass on Sundays? The day remains a Holy Day of Obligation.

The episcopal conference has the canonical authority to translate and/or suppress Holy Days. In the US, the USCCB seems to have delegated this decision to the several ecclesiastical provinces. Unless any have changed recently, the provinces of New York, Newark, Hartford, Boston, Philadelphia, and Omaha maintain the celebration on Thursday.

tee

Yes, we are obligated to go to Mass on Sundays (or Saturday evening as I do as I cannot go on Sunday morning due to work obligations). I just wish that some holy day celebrations were not transferred to Sunday like Ascension has been in my area of the USA and if they fall on certain days of the week pushed to Sunday instead of being celebrated the day they fall on in my opinion.

 

[Cavaille-Coll]

I believe that the reason why so many Catholics do not attend Mass on Holy Days of Obligation is precisely because so many of them have been transferred. They are unaccustomed to them.

 

[YoungTradCath]

I believe that the reason why so many Catholics do not attend Mass on Holy Days of Obligation is precisely because so many of them have been transferred. They are unaccustomed to them.

Right. We end up having maybe two non-Sunday HDOs a year and people don’t even really know the concept anymore.

 

[MarkThompson]

Oh, I don’t know. For some reason, the bishops of this country transferred it. I wish they’d restore it to the proper Thursday.

But first things first, you know. Corpus Christi “Sunday” is actually supposed to be Corpus Christi Thursday (feria quinta post Sanctissimae Trinitatis), but those wascally American bishops (modernists, clearly) at the Council transferred it – along with the Feast of Ss. Peter and Paul – to Sunday ("[E]jusdem Festi solemnitas in diem Dominicam proxime sequentem transferatur"). Now, granted, I’m talking about the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore (1884), but isn’t it enough that it was a council, so that we can attribute these weak-spined bishops and this slackening of religious fervor to a “conciliarist spirit”? Let’s start with undoing the dirty work of '84.

 

[ByzCathCantor]

Right. We end up having maybe two non-Sunday HDOs a year and people don’t even really know the concept anymore.

That truly is the concern. I never understood this notion of transferring a feast, especially for those which are considered great ancient feasts of the Church (Epiphany and Ascension included).

FWIW, your Eastern Catholic brothers and sisters are obligated to be in church on Thursday for the feast of the Ascension, which also marks the passage of the Paschal season.

The Paschal greeting is replaced with a verse from the Psalms, appropriate for the feast of the Ascension:

Be exalted above the heavens, O God, and let Your glory be over all the earth!

 

[YoungTradCath]

But first things first, you know. Corpus Christi “Sunday” is actually supposed to be Corpus Christi Thursday (feria quinta post Sanctissimae Trinitatis), but those wascally American bishops (modernists, clearly) at the Council transferred it – along with the Feast of Ss. Peter and Paul – to Sunday ("[E]jusdem Festi solemnitas in diem Dominicam proxime sequentem transferatur"). Now, granted, I’m talking about the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore (1884), but isn’t it enough that it was a council, so that we can attribute these weak-spined bishops and this slackening of religious fervor to a “conciliarist spirit”? Let’s start with undoing the dirty work of '84.

 

[MarkThompson]

Translation: there is a long history of eliminating and transferring holy days of obligation. For instance, in 1884 the collected bishops of the United States (with Vatican approval) transferred the obligated days of Corpus Christi and Ss. Peter and Paul to the nearest respective Sundays (thus essentially eliminating them as separate days of obligation, in just the same way as the more recent change concerning the Ascension does). Indeed, if you were to trace through the developments of what has been done concerning holy days of obligation, you would find a rather steep, and centuries-long, trajectory toward laxity and the elimination of feasts and obligations.

It is therefore irritating – and I’m not saying you are among this number, I simply used your representative post as a springboard for my comment – when people like Father Z and various people on this forum make it sound as though transferring feasts and removing obligations is some sort of uniquely post-Vatican II syndrome, which must be tied up with modernism, “flower power,” and the like.

 

[TrueLight]

We’ll we’re having a solemn mass on Thursday. Thanks be to God!

 

[A2SciTeach]

Extraordinary Form on Thursday evening as well. Even though the day has been transferred in my diocese, I still take the day off from work and treat it as a Sunday feast day. Several of my Catholic co-workers (we are public school teachers) do likewise which serves as a silent testament to our faith.

 

[Kielbasi]

In many nations- most of Europe, Ascension Thursday is a civil holiday- banks and government offices are closed and most people have the day off from work.

Ideally, the holy days of obligation are supposed to be days where the people are not supposed to be working either- just like Sunday.

But of course that is pretty impossible for most people with jobs in America- very few places close their doors for the Ascension.

In light of the realities of life here in the United States and the number of people who really can’t attend or rest during the day, some bishops have understandably laid the obligation aside and moved it to the weekend.

 

[ConstantineTG]

We’ll we’re having a solemn mass on Thursday. Thanks be to God!

Nice. Our have Great Vespers on Wednesday evening and if work doesn’t get in the way, I’ll be at Divine Liturgy for 8:30am then.

 

[TimothyH]

Ya’ll come down south to ‘Lanta some time, and we’ll be more n’ happy to show ya’ll some packed parking lots on the Feast of St. Joseph, All Saints Day, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, Feast of St. Jude, and all the other major feasts.

We’d love to have ya. Holy days of obligation don’t mean much to us down here. Were too busy fighting over seats in the adoration chapel.

Polo shirts in February don’t hurt either.

-Tim-

 

[YoungTradCath]

Translation: there is a long history of eliminating and transferring holy days of obligation. For instance, in 1884 the collected bishops of the United States (with Vatican approval) transferred the obligated days of Corpus Christi and Ss. Peter and Paul to the nearest respective Sundays (thus essentially eliminating them as separate days of obligation, in just the same way as the more recent change concerning the Ascension does). Indeed, if you were to trace through the developments of what has been done concerning holy days of obligation, you would find a rather steep, and centuries-long, trajectory toward laxity and the elimination of feasts and obligations.

It is therefore irritating – and I’m not saying you are among this number, I simply used your representative post as a springboard for my comment – when people like Father Z and various people on this forum make it sound as though transferring feasts and removing obligations is some sort of uniquely post-Vatican II syndrome, which must be tied up with modernism, “flower power,” and the like.

I understand what you wrote, but I am not sure exactly how my post was understood to represent this exact line of thought.

 

[The_Curt_Jester]

For some reason, people think that it looks good because suddenly we have more people at the Mass than ever before, even if it’s only because they get the regular Sunday-goers. Watch out for this trend to take over for other feasts. I know someone who wants to transfer Christmas to the nearest Sunday.

Also, I vote that Easter be moved to the nearest Tuesday.

 

[EcceAgnusDei]

Ya’ll come down south to ‘Lanta some time, and we’ll be more n’ happy to show ya’ll some packed parking lots on the Feast of St. Joseph, All Saints Day, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, Feast of St. Jude, and all the other major feasts.

We’d love to have ya. Holy days of obligation don’t mean much to us down here. Were too busy fighting over seats in the adoration chapel.

Polo shirts in February don’t hurt either.

-Tim-

Since it is a feast day, if I do come can I get some collard greens after?

• PAX