Why Wasn't the Feast of the Sacred Heart Transferred to a Sunday

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raalongi

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I went to mass this past Friday June 15, the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart. I try to go every year as this is one of my favorite feasts. When I arrived there I was very disappointed; there were only about a dozen people at mass.

I started thinking, why wasn’t the Sacred Heart transferred to the following Sunday like Corpus Christi was??? Corpus Christi was formerly the Thursday after Trinity Sunday and was moved to the following Sunday. I believe this should also be done for the Sacred Heart. This would stress the importance of the feast and also many more people would attend mass. I know it is traditionally held on a Friday but so was Corpus Christi on a Thursday & it was moved. The Sacred Heart is equally as important as Corpus Christi and should be treated in the same manner.
 
raalongi said:
I went to mass this past Friday June 15, the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart. I try to go every year as this is one of my favorite feasts. When I arrived there I was very disappointed; there were only about a dozen people at mass.

I started thinking, why wasn’t the Sacred Heart transferred to the following Sunday like Corpus Christi was??? Corpus Christi was formerly the Thursday after Trinity Sunday and was moved to the following Sunday. I believe this should also be done for the Sacred Heart. This would stress the importance of the feast and also many more people would attend mass. I know it is traditionally held on a Friday but so was Corpus Christi on a Thursday & it was moved. The Sacred Heart is equally as important as Corpus Christi and should be treated in the same manner.
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Its not a Holy Day of Obligation. Also the Sacred Heart is a private devotion and I do not believe that there is any requirements upon Catholics to have any devotion to it.

For myself it is a very foreign think to my thinking and my spirituality. But then I am Byzantine.
YoungTradCath said:
I find most transferals very sad. :confused:
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I detest them but then in the East we do not transfer any Holy Days.

I always get funny looks when I call it Ascension Thursday Sunday.
 
raalongi said:
I went to mass this past Friday June 15, the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart. I try to go every year as this is one of my favorite feasts. When I arrived there I was very disappointed; there were only about a dozen people at mass.

I started thinking, why wasn’t the Sacred Heart transferred to the following Sunday like Corpus Christi was??? Corpus Christi was formerly the Thursday after Trinity Sunday and was moved to the following Sunday. I believe this should also be done for the Sacred Heart. This would stress the importance of the feast and also many more people would attend mass. I know it is traditionally held on a Friday but so was Corpus Christi on a Thursday & it was moved. The Sacred Heart is equally as important as Corpus Christi and should be treated in the same manner.
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I can think of 3 reasons:

(1) The aim of the current calendar is not to supplant, as far as possible, the primacy of the Sunday liturgy. If the liturgy were transferred, it would mean the loss of another Sunday of Ordinary Time, with the result that given the way the calendar works, you’d barely hear the prayers of certain Sundays.

Corpus Christi is an exception in this regard, because of the popular solemnity that accompanies the day in the form of processions and the like. Even before the revision of the calendar, it was common to actually celebrate Corpus Christi on the Sunday following (the “external solemnity”, which meant that the Mass before the procession, but not the Divine Office – aside from parish Vespers, if celebrated – was of Corpus Christi)

(2) If one takes the feast as being founded on a revelation, then the Friday was specifically requested in the revelation to St. Margaret Mary. If memory serves me correctly – and I might be wrong – there was no parallel case with St. Juliana. Granted this is a weak argument because the Church is not bound by private revelations in establishing feasts.

(3) While both the Sacred Heart and Corpus Christi are “devotional” feasts, Corpus Christi treats a matter of fundamental importance - the Eucharist – which is also the center of the Sunday liturgy. The Sacred Heart only indirectly pertains, and as a devotion, is no where as important as the Blessed Sacrament, since the Eucharist must be the fundamental foundation of the Christian life. Granted this is also a slightly weak argument, since the fact that the Eucharist is fundamental does not necessarily mean that a devotional feast in honour of the Holy Eucharist is fundamental. But I think it justifies a hierarchy in treating the devotional feasts.
 
Because it’s not a holy day of obligation. If it were, it’d be transferred so people wouldn’t have to make an extra Mass!
 
CIC Can. 1246
§1. Sunday, on which by apostolic tradition the paschal mystery is celebrated, must be observed in the universal Church as the primordial holy day of obligation. The following days must also be observed: the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Epiphany, the Ascension, the Body and Blood of Christ, Holy Mary the Mother of God, her Immaculate Conception, her Assumption, Saint Joseph, Saint Peter and Saint Paul the Apostles, and All Saints.
§2. With the prior approval of the Apostolic See, however, the conference of bishops can suppress some of the holy days of obligation or transfer them to a Sunday.

CCEO Canon 880
1. Only the supreme authority of the Church can establish, transfer or suppress feast days and days of penance which are common to all of the Eastern Churches, with due regard for 3.
2. The authority of a Church sui iuris which is competent to establish particular law can constitute, transfer or suppress feast days and days of penance for that Church sui iuris, however having sought the opinions of the other Churches sui iuris and with due regard for can. 40, 1.
3. Holy days of obligation common to all the Eastern Churches, beyond Sundays, are the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Epiphany, the Ascension, the Dormition of the Holy Mary Mother of God and the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul except for the particular law of a Church sui iuris approved by the Apostolic See which suppresses a holy days of obligation or transfers them to a Sunday.
 
At my parish it was celebrated on Friday, and then there was an External Solemnity on Sunday. Any celebration of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is good with me! Most Sacred Heart of Jesus,have mercy on us!
 
AJV said:
I can think of 3 reasons:

(1) The aim of the current calendar is not to supplant, as far as possible, the primacy of the Sunday liturgy. If the liturgy were transferred, it would mean the loss of another Sunday of Ordinary Time, with the result that given the way the calendar works, you’d barely hear the prayers of certain Sundays.

Corpus Christi is an exception in this regard, because of the popular solemnity that accompanies the day in the form of processions and the like. Even before the revision of the calendar, it was common to actually celebrate Corpus Christi on the Sunday following (the “external solemnity”, which meant that the Mass before the procession, but not the Divine Office – aside from parish Vespers, if celebrated – was of Corpus Christi)

(2) If one takes the feast as being founded on a revelation, then the Friday was specifically requested in the revelation to St. Margaret Mary. If memory serves me correctly – and I might be wrong – there was no parallel case with St. Juliana. Granted this is a weak argument because the Church is not bound by private revelations in establishing feasts.

(3) While both the Sacred Heart and Corpus Christi are “devotional” feasts, Corpus Christi treats a matter of fundamental importance - the Eucharist – which is also the center of the Sunday liturgy. The Sacred Heart only indirectly pertains, and as a devotion, is no where as important as the Blessed Sacrament, since the Eucharist must be the fundamental foundation of the Christian life. Granted this is also a slightly weak argument, since the fact that the Eucharist is fundamental does not necessarily mean that a devotional feast in honour of the Holy Eucharist is fundamental. But I think it justifies a hierarchy in treating the devotional feasts.
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Wow! Great reply. This is exactly what I wanted to say but failed to do so in my post.

Great job!
 
We had a 24 hour Eucharistic Adoration from the Friday mass of the Sacred Heart to the Saturday mass of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. It was really a nice 3 days: Fri Sat Sun.

I prefer the feasts in their proper place and still desire that Ascension Thursday be returned to it’s proper day along with Corpus Christi. But, the magisterium may be more wise in their choices than I am.
 
As far as I know the feasts are still remembered on their proper days and only the celebration gets moved to the next sunday.
In those parts of Germany that are traditionally mainly catholic Corpus Christi is still an official holiday and the processions are held on the original thursday.
Now I live way up in the protestant northeast and on Corpus Christi thursday everyone has to work. At our parish there was a special mass said for that day but the festive mass and procession was moved to the next sunday so everyone could attend as it still is a day of obligation.

As the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is not a day of obligation there is no need to move it to the next sunday.
 
Hoernchen said:
As far as I know the feasts are still remembered on their proper days and only the celebration gets moved to the next sunday.
In those parts of Germany that are traditionally mainly catholic Corpus Christi is still an official holiday and the processions are held on the original thursday.
Now I live way up in the protestant northeast and on Corpus Christi thursday everyone has to work. At our parish there was a special mass said for that day but the festive mass and procession was moved to the next sunday so everyone could attend as it still is a day of obligation.

As the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is not a day of obligation there is no need to move it to the next sunday.
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Some of us would argue that even if it was a day of obligation there is no need to move it to the next Sunday.

It is also my understanding that when a day is moved, it is fully moved and it is not celebrated on its “scheduled” day.

Like Ascension Thursday, in the majority of dioceses within the United States it is moved to the following Sunday which becomes Ascension (Thursday) Sunday. The Thursday that it would have fallen on became Thursday of the sixth week of Easter.
 
Evan said:
Purpose of what?
of the feast?
of a midweek holy day?
of special devotions?
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Sunday (Resurrection Day) is already a Holy Day of Obligation.

If another important event or saint or devotion is to have an obligatory Feast Day, moving it to Sunday just negates that. People are already worshiping on Sunday, but now they are not called upon to do anything extra.

Sure, it’s easier for everyone, it has really become nothing. Moving the Feast to Sunday is just exactly the same as removing the obligation altogether. It defeats the original purpose of being a Holy Day of Obligation.

Get the kids together after school and go to mass!

Missed dinner? Too bad, this is much more important. Just do it.

🙂
 
For example (Latin Church, USA):

There are two types of action regarding Holy Days of Obligation: transfer and abrogation (not even having it). I believe the way it works is that a transfer overrides the Sunday. and that when a Holy Day of Obligation (other than Sunday itself) falls on a Sunday it overrides the Sunday.

Canon 1246.2:

“The Solemnity of the Epiphany shall be transferred to the first Sunday following January 1; the Solemnity of Corpus Christi shall be observed on the second Sunday following Pentecost.” 1984

“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.” 1993

old.usccb.org/liturgy/q&a/general/obligation.shtml

usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/what-we-believe/canon-law/complementary-norms/canon-1246.cfm
 
Hesychios, sure, but which one?

Name your irony.

Merriam-Webster irony:

1 : a pretense of ignorance and of willingness to learn from another assumed in order to make the other’s false conceptions conspicuous by adroit questioning —called also Socratic irony

2
a : the use of words to express something other than and especially the opposite of the literal meaning
b : a usually humorous or sardonic literary style or form characterized by irony
c : an ironic expression or utterance

3 a
(1) : incongruity between the actual result of a sequence of events and the normal or expected result
(2) : an event or result marked by such incongruity

3 b : incongruity between a situation developed in a drama and the accompanying words or actions that is understood by the audience but not by the characters in the play —called also dramatic irony, tragic irony
 
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