What Do You Think Of The Ascension Feast Being Moved To Sunday?

[Apotheoun]

I am against moving feasts around for the sake of convenience. The Ascension is celebrated liturgically forty days after the Pascha, because it happened historically forty days after the resurrection. Moreover, it should be borne in mind that the Church's liturgical cycles are an [i]anamnesis[/i] of the events of salvation history, and as such they connect with the Christ event, and the events recorded in the Old Testament as well, while also conforming to the natural cycle of life (i.e., the seasons). Thank God the Byzantine Churches are not messing around with their liturgical tradition.

Edited May 5, 2008 by Apotheoun

[kenrockthefirst]

Back in the day, folks were given off for feast days and "holidays." In today's go-go Almighty Dollar world, the Day Job doesn't care whether it's a feast day.

[Lil Red]

[quote name='Premed_Jakey' post='1519071' date='May 4 2008, 10:57 PM']I dont favor the decision from the American church. however, I guess we just have to trust the wisdom(?) and decision of our leaders.[/quote]
+J.M.J.+
that would be fine if ALL the U.S. Bishops agreed to move it to Sunday. But you have half the country doing one thing and half doing the other.

[Justin86]

[quote name='Lil Red' post='1519355' date='May 6 2008, 01:55 AM']+J.M.J.+
that would be fine if ALL the U.S. Bishops agreed to move it to Sunday. But you have half the country doing one thing and half doing the other.[/quote]
Well, every Bishop has the fullness of Christ's priesthood, so I'm not sure why if we're going to trust in the wisdom of our spiritual leaders it has to be collective.

[CatherineM]

In another couple of years there probably aren't going to be any holy days of obligation up here. I think they are down to two or so now. I just hope I never see the day when Christmas is moved to the closest Sunday because it is no longer a holiday that people can get off work.

[Lil Red]

[quote name='CatherineM' post='1519375' date='May 5 2008, 10:05 AM']In another couple of years there probably aren't going to be any holy days of obligation up here. I think they are down to two or so now. I just hope I never see the day when Christmas is moved to the closest Sunday because it is no longer a holiday that people can get off work.[/quote]
+J.M.J.+
yeah, i am already seeing that happen here with the evangelical/protestant churches not having a Christmas service so that everyone can spend the day with their family.

and as far as the conformity thing, justin, how confusing would it be if you are traveling or whatever? i know that our bishops are successors to the apostles, but don't you think instead of kowtowing to the masses, they could educate and elucidate their faithful on why we should keep the Ascension on the proper date instead of moving it?

[Justin86]

[quote name='Lil Red' post='1519412' date='May 6 2008, 02:33 AM']+J.M.J.+
yeah, i am already seeing that happen here with the evangelical/protestant churches not having a Christmas service so that everyone can spend the day with their family. [/quote]
That probably isn't going to happen with the Catholic Church in America. The last time USCCB modified the list of Holy Days for the United States was in 1992, so it was in the midst of a lot of liberalism at the time. That liberalism should only go down from here.

[quote]On December 13, 1991 the members of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops of the United States of America made the following general decree concerning holy days of obligation for Latin rite Catholics:

In addition to Sunday, the days to be observed as holy days of obligation in the Latin Rite dioceses of the United States of America, in conformity with canon 1246, are as follows:

January 1, the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God;
Thursday of the Sixth Week of Easter, the solemnity of the Ascension;
August 15, the solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary;
November 1, the solemnity of All Saints;
December 8, the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception;
December 25, the solemnity of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

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.

This decree of the Conference of Bishops was approved and confirmed by the Apostolic See by a decree of the Congregation for Bishops (Prot. N. 296/84), signed by Bernardin Cardinal Gantin, prefect of the Congregation, and dated July 4, 1992.

As President of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, I hereby declare that the effective date of this decree for all the Latin rite dioceses of the United States of America will be January 1, 1993, the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God.

Given at the offices of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington, DC, November 17, 1992.


+ Daniel E. Pilarczyk
Archbishop of Cincinnati[/quote]

[url="http://www.catholicbishops.org/liturgy/q&a/general/obligation.shtml"]http://www.catholicbishops.org/liturgy/q&a...bligation.shtml[/url]

[quote]and as far as the conformity thing, justin, how confusing would it be if you are traveling or whatever? i know that our bishops are successors to the apostles, but don't you think instead of kowtowing to the masses, they could educate and elucidate their faithful on why we should keep the Ascension on the proper date instead of moving it? [/quote]
That's another point entirely, and it wasn't what I was responding to.

I actually learned more about the Feast of the Ascension when it was moved to Sunday. Had it been kept on Thursday I would have missed it, and it wouldn't have been talked about on Sunday. I think its more important to educate Catholics why we celebrate a Feast Day, than it is to try to educate them on why we celebrate it on such a day.

Edited May 5, 2008 by Justin86

[Archaeology cat]

[quote name='Lil Red' post='1519412' date='May 5 2008, 05:33 PM']+J.M.J.+
yeah, i am already seeing that happen here with the evangelical/protestant churches not having a Christmas service so that everyone can spend the day with their family. [/quote]
The church I grew up in (southern Baptist) never had a service on Christmas; if Christmas happened to fall on a Sunday, church was canceled. They didn't have a Christmas Eve service until I was in high school, I think. And Easter was usually the shortest service of the year, with a short cantata.

[kenrockthefirst]

[quote name='CatherineM' post='1519375' date='May 5 2008, 11:05 AM']In another couple of years there probably aren't going to be any holy days of obligation up here. I think they are down to two or so now. I just hope I never see the day when Christmas is moved to the closest Sunday because it is no longer a holiday that people can get off work.[/quote]
Well, maybe we can get some tie-ins with Hallmark Cards and Toys-R-Us for "holidays" other than Christmas. It would be a win-win situation, no?

[fides quarens intellectum]

Don't like the move to Sunday.

[LouisvilleFan]

I still don't get the point.

So, what do most parishes do for the Ascension? I didn't notice anything different or special. The homily touched on three points related to Jesus' Ascension, but didn't go into any detail or really drive anything home. Not that expect better.

Anyway, I'm really surprised that you all seem more concerned about the date of the Feast day than the quality of the preaching about said Feast. Don't you all long to be challenged and fed by the homily?

[Mercy me]

As it is now the only holy days of obligation are Immaculate Conception and Assumption Thursday. And I think they moved one of those last year. I don't count Dec. 25th or Jan. 1st since they are already national holidays.

Edit to add Easter. Can't believe I forgot that but then it is always on a Sunday.

Edited May 6, 2008 by Mercy me

[puellapaschalis]

In the Netherlands the Ascension is a public holiday. Everyone gets the day off (within reason). Christian or not.

In the UK the bishops have moved it...but not everyone follows. So last week on Thursday I was somewhere where we kept St. Joseph the Worker...and on Sunday I was somewhere else where the Ascension had been on the Thursday, and Sunday was Easter 7. Second year I've missed it because of something like that. It smells of elderberries royally.

I don't buy the moving to Sunday thing. Have a Mass early in the morning for those who have to be at work at 8:30am. Have one in the evening for those who had to work even earlier. Co-ordinate with the surrounding parishes so that people can get to Mass. Encourage people to give others without transport lifts. It's the Mass, we have to take the logic behind it seriously.

[cappie]

[quote name='LouisvilleFan' post='1519892' date='May 6 2008, 09:58 AM']Anyway, I'm really surprised that you all seem more concerned about the date of the Feast day than the quality of the preaching about said Feast. Don't you all long to be challenged and fed by the homily?[/quote]

[LouisvilleFan]

Good to see that a clergy member agrees.