“Holy Days of Opportunity”
By Fr. Isaiah Schick
This upcoming Thursday, August 15th, is the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, when we celebrate her being taken up body and soul into heaven by God’s power and grace when the course of her earthly life was finished. It is a celebration of an early fruit of God’s promise to us that what was begun in Christ, the Head of his Body, the Church, will be accomplished also in us, the Church! It is also a holy day of obligation, one of only five holy days of obligation throughout the year that we Catholics have the obligation to attend Mass in addition to the usual Sunday obligation. The five holy days of obligation in our Diocese of Superior and in most of the United States are as follows:
- Jan. 1st (Mary, Mother of God)
- Aug. 15th (Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary)
- Nov. 1st (All Saints)
- Dec. 8th (Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary)
- Dec. 25th (Nativity of Our Lord – Christmas)
So, what is a holy day of obligation anyway? And why do we have them in addition to Sundays? For those of you who want a more complete answer, I recommend reading paragraphs 2174-2195 in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. It is available online if you do not have a copy at home, and we also have a few paperback copies in the parish office if you would really like one. But the answer is based in the 3rd Commandment of the Ten Commandments: “Keep holy the sabbath.” When Jesus rose from the dead on a Sunday, he began the new recreation of the world, a sort of “8th day”, and along with the new creation came the recognition of Christians that Sundays were to be celebrated as the new sabbath, or Lord’s Day. The obligation to attend communal worship on the sabbath has always been recognized by God’s Chosen People who were faithful to the Commandments from the days of Moses, as it also forms our hearts to be open to God’s continual working in our lives rather than having our souls “swallowed up” by the busyness of the world around us. If Sundays are especially privileged days celebrating our victory in Christ, then the other days of the week are often dedicated to remembering his victory in the lives of particular holy people, which we call the saints. You will notice that the above list of holy days of obligation includes three feasts of Mary and the feast of All Saints – they are designated by the Church as having a special place and special obligation during the year because of our special relationship with Mary and all the saints. Many people do not have the habit of regularly going to daily Masses, and so they often miss the rich calendar cycle of all the saints’ feast days – so by going to these few extra days a year, including the catch-all All Saints Day, we can be sure that we are celebrating our older brothers and sisters in the Faith and asking for their intercession so that the purpose of our lives might be fulfilled: that we might one day join their rank forever in heaven! And if there is anyone out there who thinks 5 extra days is too many, the full list is 10 days – but the bishops in the United States have given you a break by moving most of them to the following Sunday, realizing that because our country has never had a predominantly Catholic culture, it is often difficult to navigate around work schedules as most are not recognized as public holidays. We also generally try to give one or two options in the local parish schedule that are outside of normal working hours to make it easier for you to come. I am excited to celebrate the Assumption of Mary with you on Wednesday night or on Thursday! See you at Mass!