Catholic Caucus: Holy Days of Obligation

CatholicCulture.org ^ | not available | Brother John M. Samaha, S.M.,

[Salvation]

Should the United States have more holy days?

[Salvation]

I found this on another chat site, but the link to Creighton University in Nebraska doesn't work.

http://www.creighton.edu/~alackamp/holydays/answer.html

The 1983 Code of Canon Law identifies Sunday as "the primordial
holy day of obligation" in the universal Church.

In addition to Sunday there are 10 other days of obligation:

1. The Nativity of the Lord Jesus Christ (Christmas)
2. The Epiphany (Jan. 6.)
3. The Ascension (40 days after Easter)
4. The Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi) not observed in the United States
5. Holy Mary, the Mother of God (octave day of Christmas, Jan. 1)
6. The Immaculate Conception (Dec. 8)
7. The Assumption (Aug. 15)
8. St. Joseph (March 19) not observed in the United States
9. Ss. Peter and Paul (June 29) not observed in the United States
10. All Saints (Nov. 1)
The 1983 Code of Canon Law also states that the conference of Bishops
(usually the bishops of a particular country of a region) can suppress or
transfer the observance of these days, after approval from the Apostolic See (i.e. the Vatican)

Several years ago the National Conference of Catholic Bishops determined that the holy days of Mary, the Mother of God (Jan. 1), the Assumption (Aug. 15) and All Saints (Nov. 1) would not be observed with the obligation of participating in Mass whenever they would be a Saturday or Monday. Whenever these holy days are a Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday then they would be observed with the obligation of participation in Mass. This decision was approved by the Vatican.
In the past year the conference of Bishops received approval to transfer the holy days of Ascension Thursday to Sunday. The bishops of each province had to agree to this transfer before it was permissible. In Nebraska, which is the Metropolitan Province of Omaha or the the dioceses of Omaha, Lincoln, Grand Island, the bishops determined that Ascension Thursday should be observed on the 40th day after Easter rather than moving it to a Sunday.

[Salvation]

Catholic Discussion Ping!

Please notify me via FReepmail if you would like to be added to or taken off the Catholic Discussion Ping List.

[Heartofsong83]

YES!!! Absolutely.

[Salvation]

I think so, too. At least get it back up to the ten listed by the (not working) Creighton link.

[Heartofsong83]

Agreed, plus several well-observed days such as the other days of the Christmas and Easter seasons (some of which should be federal, legal holidays as well).

[Desdemona]

Not only should we get it back up to ten, I think we should REALLY observe the bit about servile work and take the day off.

[kstewskis]

Should the United States have more holy days?

Absolutely!

The U.S. Church needs to stop watering down the importance of these days, and making it's own rules up in these Feasts of Our Lord....and get with the rest of The Church.

*In* my own humble opinion, of course. :o)

[Flavius Josephus]

So I've got some time before the next one. Great. :)

Seriesly, I think I need a revival about every 90 days, and it seems like the HDOs are spread out just perfectly to provide that... though I don't know that Catholics take advantage of the opportunity presented.

Also, I've always wondered why people don't eat a feast on a feast day.

[jrny]

Yes, absolutely.

For starters, I have always lamented the fact that the Epiphany (celebrated on its correct day - Jan. 6th.) is not a day of obligation in the US, but is in Canada, and nearly most other countries of sizeable Catholic populations.

Besides this, we definitely need to reverse course and start restoring the observances of some of these feasts on their correct days in ADDITION to and not in place of Sundays.

[Salvation]

Can't disagree with you at all.

I went to the funeral of a parishioner who died suddenly this morning and the church was packed. Amazing -- how many people took the day off!

[Salvation]

Maybe we should all start sending messages to the usscb.org?

[Salvation]

**the Epiphany (celebrated on its correct day - Jan. 6th.) is not a day of obligation in the US, but is in Canada**

Agree with you all the way. It's too easy when they put it to the next Sunday!

[kstewskis]

Wouldn't hurt!

[Dajjal]

The Feast of the Annunciation used to be a universally honored Holy Day of Obligation in both the Eastern and Western Churches from the early Middle Ages until the 1800s, when first France and then the United States opted out.

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01542a.htm
This feast was always a holy day of obligation in the Universal Church. As such it was abrogated first for France and the French dependencies, 9 April, 1802; and for the United States, by the Third Council of Baltimore, in 1884.

Exactly nine months before Christmas, it also makes a strong pro-life statement.

The Greek Church in the Trullan Synod even suspended Lenten fasting in order to celebrate March 25th. I would be in favor of that, too.

[Heartofsong83]

There's one that should be added, another is Good Friday...

[Heartofsong83]

EXACTLY! (BTW, it also makes a great time to end the secular Christmas season as well)

[Salvation]

BTTT!

[Nihil Obstat]

1. The Nativity of the Lord Jesus Christ (Christmas)
2. The Epiphany (Jan. 6.)
3. The Ascension (40 days after Easter)
4. The Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi) not observed in the United States
5. Holy Mary, the Mother of God (octave day of Christmas, Jan. 1)
6. The Immaculate Conception (Dec. 8)
7. The Assumption (Aug. 15)
8. St. Joseph (March 19) not observed in the United States
9. Ss. Peter and Paul (June 29) not observed in the United States
10. All Saints (Nov. 1)

It would be great if all these days and Good Friday were Holy Days of Obligation in the US......... and everyone attended.

But also it is great to go to mass because you want to go and not because people think they have to go.

I like going to daily mass - it's beautiful because the people want to be there and they are attentive and involved with the mass. I prefer that to Sunday mass when it is ovious a lot of the people don't want to be there, don't know why they are there, are thinking about other things, are dressed for a picnic, chewing gum, etc. Priests I think know this too and so the homilies tend to be a lot better at daily mass.

Thank God we are free to go to daily mass.

[Salvation]

**It would be great if all these days and Good Friday were Holy Days of Obligation in the US......... and everyone attended. **

I think we ALL need to pray fervently for this to happen!