โ๐๐ง ๐๐ฎ๐ง๐๐๐ฒ๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ ๐ก๐จ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฌ ๐จ๐ ๐จ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง, ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ข๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฎ๐ฅ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ซ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ข๐ง ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ค ๐จ๐ซ ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐๐๐ซ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ฌ๐ก๐ข๐ฉ ๐จ๐ฐ๐๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐จ๐.โโฃ
๐๐๐ญ๐๐๐ก๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ญ๐ก๐จ๐ฅ๐ข๐ ๐๐ก๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐ก ๐๐๐๐โฃ
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If the nightmare of trying to get your family to Mass before the priest is consecrating the host each Sunday is preventing you from experiencing the peace of the Divine Mysteries, youโre probably wondering why you should even bother with Holy Days of Obligation, which often fall during the week. Coordinating around work and school schedules certainly does not make the experience of going to Mass any easier than it should be. So why heed the Churchโs directive to do so?โฃ
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Not too long ago, Catholics were expected to observe 36 Holy Days throughout the year, meaning previous generations had a much different expectation than we do today. At present, the Vatican celebrates ten days of Obligation a year, but this number can fluctuate depending on where Mass is being celebrated. Sometimes, the burden of attending Mass is automatically covered by the regular Sunday expectation, as the United States does with the Ascension (which occurred this past Thursday but falls under this Sundayโs jurisdiction).โฃ
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But when it comes to requiring Catholics to attend Mass during days outside the regular schedule, people can understandably grow frustrated. Life can be challenging and busy, and asking Catholics to re-plan their days to ensure they can receive Christ sacramentally is sometimes met with complaint. Rather than seeing this ordinance as an arbitrary order from an institution, we ought to accept it as a directive to grow in charity and grace. Says the Catechism on maintaining the Holy Day order: โthe precepts of the Church are set in the context of a moral life bound to and nourished by liturgical life. The obligatory character of these positive laws decreed by the pastoral authorities is meant to guarantee to the faithful the very necessary minimum in the spirit of prayer and moral effort, in the growth in love of God and neighbor.โ (CCC 2041)โฃ
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I invite you to read this text as an invitation to grow in holiness, not as an order to do something. The Church, in her two thousand year wisdom, has the appropriate knowledge and thus authority to guide her members in worship attendance, not to flaunt clerical power, but to nourish souls. The source and summit of the Christian life – the celebration of the Eucharist – is integral in forming individuals of faith and should be an important aspect of the Christian life. Attending Mass is our grounding point and compass for the rest of our life. Without regular attendance, we are apt to fall away from those devotions in our lives that sanctify us – the small sacrifices, regular striving, and everyday choices to do good – all these things are credit to the Mass.โฃ
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Each Holy Day is a distinct celebration that may otherwise go unnoticed if special attention were not given to its grandeur. For example, the Marian days recall the crucial points of Maryโs perfect example and lead us into a deeper understanding of Jesusโ motherโs role in the Church. Likewise, All Saints Day invites us to recall the recognized and unrecognized saints of the Church, celebrating and making examples of Christians who have come before us. Each day specifically and intentionally calls to mind aspects of the tradition necessary for our own personal formation.โฃ
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This post was made possible by the information of the following sources:โฃ
https://brisbanecatholic.org.au/life/holy-days-of-obligation/โฃ
https://www.catholic.com/magazine/online-edition/what-are-the-holy-days-of-obligationโฃ
https://www.learnreligions.com/holy-days-of-obligation-541520โฃ
http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p3s1c3a3.htm#2041โฃ
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For more information, click the links above!โฃ
Catholicism Rekindled 