Source: http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2012/11/fiuv-position-paper-holy-days-of.html
Timestamp: 2016-07-25 11:54:49
Document Index: 354890836

Matched Legal Cases: ['§1', '§2', '§ 1', '§ 2', 'UKHL ', '§7', '§7']

RORATE CÆLI: FIUV Position Paper: Holy Days of Obligation
In addition to the three Holy Days commonly
transferred to Sunday (Epiphany, Corpus Christi, and the Ascension), discussed
in the body of the paper, and the Nativity of Our Lord, which is never
transferred, there are six other feasts listed by Canon 1246 as Holy Days of
Obligation, which are commonly either moved to Sunday, or celebrated without an
obligation, if they fall on Saturday or Monday, in those countries where they
are otherwise observed as Holy Days of Obligation, except in those happy cases
where they are marked by public holidays. (Which feasts are of obligation
varies for historical reasons between countries.) The rationale for these practices is to avoid
Holy Days of Obligation falling on consecutive days. It is hard, however, to
see that the practical difficulties which this situation might imply are
serious enough to warrant either the suppression of the Sunday liturgy, or the suppression
of the obligation to attend Mass for an important feast the day before or
after.[23]
In any case, the practice of removing the obligation to attend Mass on Holy
Days which fall on a Saturday or Monday seems preferable to the practice of
moving the celebration of the feast entirely to Sunday, for the reasons already
outlined, although this still considerably reduces the number of times there is
an obligation to attend Mass other than on a Sunday. What we wish to stress is
that the significance of the traditional dates is obscured by moving them even
by a single day, particularly when they are linked to other feasts, or are
celebrated in other countries, or by the Holy Father in St Peter’s. Again, in
nearly every case the feasts are celebrated on the traditional date in the
Anglican Communion and among many, if not all, Lutherans; in many cases it is
also celebrated on that date among the Oriental Churches. This gives the use of
the traditional date considerable ecumenical importance. The six Holy Days are as follows.
Day of Christmas (renamed the Feast
of Holy Mary the Mother of God in the 1970 Calendar),[24]
Clearly an Octave cannot be celebrated on the
seventh or ninth day, and moving it by a single day takes it off the secular
New Year’s Day. It is celebrated as the Feast of the Circumcision by the
historic Anglican Book of Common Prayer,[25]
and as ‘The Naming and Circumcision of Jesus’ in the modern Anglican Common Worship; it is also celebrated as
the ‘Circumcision’ or the ‘Name of Jesus’ by some Lutherans.[26]
of the Immaculate Conception, 8th December
This is exactly nine calendar months before the
Feast of the Birthday of Mary, 8th September, and has been celebrated
(formerly, as the Feast of the Conception of Our Lady) on this date in the West
since the 9th century; it was made universal by the Council of Basel
in 1439; a indulgence was granted in 1477 to those who adopted the feast and
its Octave by Pope St Pius V, and it was made a day of obligation by Pope Clement
XI in 1708. Pope Pius IX changed the name to ‘the Immaculate Conception’ in 1854.
The connection with the Birthday of Our Lady is obscured if it is moved to 7th
or 9th. The Feast of the ‘Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary’ is
kept on 8th December in the Anglican Communion.[27]
of the Assumption of Our Lady, 15th August
This has been celebrated on that day since 6th
century in the East, whence it spread to the West, probably at the end of the 7th
century, under various names.[28]
It is a public holiday in France,[29]
Austria, many other European countries, and a number of countries in Latin
America and Africa. It is also observed in the Anglican Communion,[30]
and by some Lutherans.[31]
of St Joseph (Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary), 19th March
This is seven days before the Feast of the
Annunciation (25th March); this connection is obscured if it is
moved to the 18th or 20th. The custom of celebrating St
Joseph’s feast on this day dates back to the 10th century; it was
adopted by Rome in 1479 and was made a Holy Day of Obligation in 1621. It is
observed in the Anglican Communion,[32]
and among some Lutherans.[33]
of SS Peter & Paul, 29th June
This has particular significance for the Orthodox
Churches, who celebrate it on this day, and a number of times it was the
occasion for Bl. Pope John Paul II to officiate at services with the Patriarch
of Constantinople. It is, according to tradition,[34]
the day of the translation of the relics of these Apostles at Rome in the year
258, and was formerly celebrated in Rome with a splendour to rival Easter. In
the 1962 Calendar it is preceded by a Vigil and followed by the Commemoration
of St Paul. It is celebrated on this date in the Anglican Communion[35]
and by many Lutherans.[36]
of All Saints, 1st November
The celebration of a feast of All Saints on 1st
November is attested from around the year 800. The commemoration of the
Faithful Departed on the following day was initiated by Abbot Odilo of Cluny
(d.1049). In 2010 1st November fell on a Monday, and so in many
places All Saints was celebrated, in the Ordinary Form, on 31st
October. Not only did this obscure the connection with All Souls’ Day, but it
meant that it was celebrated on the popularly recognised date of ‘Halloween’
(All Hallows’ Eve). This is particularly unfortunate given the way Halloween
has been widely adopted by neo-pagans. The triumph of the Saints over the
spirits of Halloween was thus entirely obscured. All Saints is celebrated on 1st
November in the Anglican Communion[37]
and by many Lutheran communities.[38]
It was one of the four feasts made public holidays in the French Concordat of
the States, as well as the Federal Government.[39]
be deprived of unemployment benefit on account of refusing to work on Sundays.[40]
Under a Federal statute,[41]
have the right to wear the ‘Kara’, a bracelet,[42]
and female Muslims a Hijab,[43]
wished to wear a cross with her uniform lost her case against her employer.[44]
Crucifix.’[45] Again, in finding against a Marriage
...was not a core part of her religion.’[46]
and defending a distinctive and strong Catholic Culture. [1] 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.’
(‘§ 1. Dies dominica in qua mysterium paschale celebratur, ex apostolica
traditione, in universa Ecclesia uti primordialis dies festus de praecepto servanda
est. Itemque servari debent dies Nativitatis Domini Nostri Iesu Christi,
Epiphaniae, Ascensionis et sanctissimi Corporis et Sanguinis Christi, Sanctae
Genetricis Mariae, eiusdem Immaculatae Conceptionis et Assumptionis, sancti
Ioseph, sanctorum Petri et Pauli Apostolorum, omnium denique Sanctorum. § 2. Episcoporum conferentia tamen potest, praevia Apostolicae Sedis
dominicam transferre.’)
[2] As, for example, in England and
[3] As, for example, in the United
[4] Many examples will be noted in
the course of this paper.
[5] Notwithstanding that the Octave
of the Nativity of Our Lord (1st January) is renamed the Feast of
Holy Mary Mother of God in the 1970 Calendar. (The Octave of the Nativity in
the Extraordinary Form has an Office of Our Lady. The connection between the
themes of the Motherhood of Our Lady and the Circumcision, which was the name
of the feast prior to 1962, and which influenced the change in 1970, is argued
by Bl. Ildefonso Schuster ‘The Sacramentary (Liber Sacramentorum): Historical
and Liturgical Notes on the Roman Missal’ (English edition: London: Burns Oates
and Washbourne, 1924) Vol. I p396.)
[6] See Positio 10: The Eucharistic
[7] Acts 1.1-3: ‘The former treatise I made, O Theophilus,
of all things which Jesus began to do and to teach, until the day on which, giving
commandments by the Holy Ghost to the apostles whom he had chosen, he was taken
up. To whom also he shewed
himself alive after his passion, by many proofs, for forty days appearing to
them, and speaking of the kingdom of God.’
[8] Epiphany, ‘the Birthday of the
Saviour’, was attended by the Emperor Julian (‘the Apostate’) at Vienne in the
year 360: see Zonaras, Epitoma Historiarum 13.11.6 (ed.
Theodor Büttner-Wobst, tomus III pp 54-55, in the series Corpus Scriptorum Historiae Byzantinae, Bonn 1897). In the
translation and commentary by Thomas M. Banchich and Eugene N. Lane, ‘The
History of Zonaras’ (London, Routledge, 2009) p170, the commentary gives the
parallel in Ammianus: Ammianus Marcellinus Res Gestae 21.2.5. Epiphany was adopted in Rome, in addition to
Christmas, by at least the reign of Pope Leo the Great (d.461). Christmas,
which had been celebrated in Rome since at least 336, became the principal
celebration of the Nativity of Our Lord throughout the West due to Roman
[9] St Juliana was the subject of
Pope Benedict XVI’s General Audience of 17th November 2010.
[10] Pope Urban IV composed the Bull Transiturus de hoc mundo (1264), but
died before the Bull could be distributed; it was reissued by Pope Clement V,
with a brief introduction of his own, in 1311.
[11] Doubts about the historicity of
Aquinas’ involvement have been set aside by recent scholarship: see Uwe Michael
Lang The Voice of the Church at Prayer:
Reflections on liturgy and language (San Francisco: Ignatius, 2012) p149
and note 33.
[12] The surprisingly complicated
history of the adoption of the feast is recounted by Lauren Pristas ‘The
calendar and Corpus Christi’ in The
Genius of the Roman Rite: Historical, theological, and pastoral perspectives on
Catholic liturgy ed. Fr Uwe Michael Lang (Chicago, IL: Hillenbrand Books,
2010) pp159-178, pp170-172
[13] In parts of Spain and Austria.
[14] The celebration of the Ascension
and Epiphany, on the traditional dates, is common to Anglicans, Lutherans, and
the Oriental Churches (although some Lutherans, such as in Norway, have in
recent times moved the celebration of Ascension to the following Sunday). The
Feast of Corpus Christi can at least optionally be celebrated on its
traditional date in the modern Anglican ‘Book of Common Worship’ (published in
2000). For the other feasts, see Appendix B.
[15] As when feasts are moved to the
nearest Sunday in the Ordinary Form.
[16] As in the Extraordinary Form, or
in the Ordinary Form when the obligation to attend Mass on a feast is
suppressed, either always or because it falls on a Saturday or Monday.
[17] The Sunday Gospels of the 1962
Missal largely correspond to the subjects of Pope St Gregory the Great’s forty
homilies on the Gospels, preached at Rome between 590 and 604. The collection
indicates the dates of each sermon.
[18] Pius Parsch gives an example,
which we do not necessarily endorse, of the attitude of members of the
Liturgical Movement: ‘Pope Benedict XV placed the feast of the Holy Family on
the Sunday within the octave [sc. of Epiphany], necessitating the transfer of
the older and more meaningful Mass of the Sunday to a weekday. These various
infringements on liturgical order and propriety may still be remedied as
scholars and ecclesiastics become more familiar with and sympathetic to matters
liturgical.’ ‘The Church’s Year of Grace’ (English Edition: Collegeville,
Minnesota, 1962) Vol. I p199.
[19] An important feast can be
celebrated as an ‘External Solemnity’ on a Sunday which is free, in the sense
that no other more important feast falls on that day, and that Sunday is not
itself a feast of greater importance. Corpus Christi processions have usually
taken place on the Sunday following the Feast, except when the feast is a
[20] For example, in 2009 the feast
of SS Peter & Paul (29th June) fell on a Monday; the feast of
the Immaculate Conception (15th August) fell on a Saturday, and the
feast of All Saints (1st November) fell on a Sunday. Since the
Epiphany, Ascension, and Corpus Christi, are typically moved to Sundays
whenever they fall, the result is that in some countries, such as England and
Wales, the Faithful were obliged to attend Mass on only one day in the year
other than on Sundays, namely the Nativity of Our Lord (25th
December). Anecdotal evidence suggests that, in England and Wales, attendance
at the remaining Holy Days of Obligation has fallen since Epiphany, the
Ascension, and Corpus Christi were moved to Sundays in 2006, and Holy Days of
Obligation are no longer always announced as such in parish newsletters.
[21] A parallel case, with the
Eucharistic Fast, is discussed in Positio 10: The Eucharistic Fast, see
[22] As we noted in the paper on Positio 10, ‘The Eucharistic
Fast’, it has been observed in sociological research that less demanding
religions do not necessarily attract or retain more followers: see PP10 footnote
33, which refers and quotes Mark van Vugt and Anjana Ahuja ‘Selected: Why some people lead, why others
follow, and why it matters’ (London: High Profile Books, 2010) p85.
[23] A side issue is whether, since
under Canon 1248 of the 1983 Code Masses on the evening before a Holy Day of
Obligation fulfil the obligation to attend Mass on the following day, the
Faithful could fulfil the obligation to attend Mass on two consecutive days by
attending Mass on the evening of the first of the two. Canon 1248 does not
appear to anticipate this problem, and authoritative clarification would be welcome.
[24] See note 4 above.
[25] The Book of Common Prayer remains in optional use among Anglicans. The
1662 Edition is the official one; a 1928 revision is also sometimes used, but
its calendar is unchanged as far as the ten Holy Days are concerned. [26] It is the ‘Circumcision’ in, for
example, the Norwegian Lutheran church, and ‘The Name of Jesus’ in the Evangelical
[27] In the Book of Common Prayer and in Common
[28] Such as the ‘Dormitio’,
‘Pausatio’, or ‘Natale’ (as in heavenly nativity).
[29] It is one of the four feasts
established as public holidays in the Concordat of 1801.
[30] Not in the Book of Common Prayer, but in Common
Worship, under the name ‘Feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary’.
[31] By the Evangelical Lutheran
Church of America, it is celebrated as ‘Mary, Mother of Our Lord’.
[32] Again, in Common Worship, though not in the Book of Common Prayer.
[33] For example, in the USA the Evangelical
Lutheran Church celebrates ‘Joseph, Guardian of Jesus’ on the traditional day.
[34] See Schuster op. cit., Volume V,
p290. He adds that, far from wishing to celebrate it at a more convenient time,
Pope St Leo the Great negotiated a suspension of the Vandals’ fourteen-day sack
of Rome in 455, to make its proper celebration possible. The currency of this
story itself bears testimony to the veneration accorded to the feast.
[35] As ‘St Peter the Apostle’ in the
Book of Common Prayer, and ‘St Peter
and St Paul’ in Common Worship.
[36] It is celebrated as ‘Peter and
Paul, Apostles’ by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. It is celebrated
on a Sunday in the Norwegian Lutheran church.
[37] In both the Book of Common Prayer and Common
[38] Thus, in the Lutheran Church of
America, though they can optionally celebrate it on the nearest Sunday, as is
done by the Lutherans of Norway.
[39] The precedent was set by the
[40] Sherbert v. Verner, 1962
[41] The Religious Freedom
[42] The dispute between a Sikh
[43] Begum v Denbigh High School [2006] UKHL 15
[44] Nadia Eweida, who was sacked by British
[45] Chaplin v Devon &
[46] Ladele v London Borough of
This paper is written as if its author is ignorant of the reality of External Solemnities widely observed in the old rite ( i.e. # 356-361 of the Rubricae Generales 1962 ). It would seem to deserve more than the mere mention of such in the Appendix and footnote. A proper distinction needs to be made between the transfer of a feast, and its External Solemnity observance on the following Sunday: an External Solemnity is not the transfer of a feast, as it is observed on its original day, only "repeated" on the following Sunday for good cause (i.e. devotions to the Sacred Heart, Corpus Christi Procession, etc). Practically speaking, the main reason for observing it on the Sunday (almost like a Votive Mass in many respects) would seem that a larger number of faithful be present for its observance, especially in non-Catholic countries where work impedes attending the Mass. In SSPX and FSSP centres the External Solemnity is often observed because of the distances of travel for the faithful, who would otherwise almost never have the opportunity to take part. Anyway, it would seem proper for this paper to explain this more than it has here.
15 November, 2012 20:17
Hullo 'Joseph', you noticed the references to External Celebrations in a footnote and an appendix, but didn't read paragraph 12? Puzzling."12. In certain contexts the celebration of an important feast on the nearest Sunday can be beneficial, when the Faithful may find it difficult to attend Mass, or a more solemn celebration of Mass, or other appropriate devotions such as Corpus Christi processions, on the traditional day, but this is already possible at the discretion of the pastor under the rules of the 1962 Calendar."
15 November, 2012 21:06
FIUV Position Paper: Holy Days of Obligation"In 2006 the Bishops of England and Wales moved three Holy Days to 'the nearest Sunday': Epiphany, Corpus Christi, and the Ascension." ...AND THE PURSUITAscension Thursday's Sunday.Corpus Christi got the boot.And this year, since it's Saturday,All Saints' Day will be moot.'Cause Saturday's by Sunday.And Monday just won't scootAnd two days in a row for GodThat's yielding too much fruit. So if we play our cards right,Let money trump all suits,We'll end all militant SundaysObliging happy pursuits.Merci Marcel!
15 November, 2012 21:20
If someone is not aware of the great spiritual significance of certain days on the calendar, will making them "of obligation" increase the desire to sanctify them by attendance at the Eucharistic Sacrifice and other services?I go because I want to go and am able to attend. It's out of no other obligation than love of Jesus.
15 November, 2012 23:04
It would be helpful to expand paragraph 12 to show the rules for External Solemnities for the benefit of those who do not have the rubrics before them (i.e. listing those actual occasions which the Missal allows for it). There doesn't seem to be any mention either of Pope Leo XIIIth and his decree on the subject of Corpus Christi's transfer for the United States. Since this paper is meant to be a worldwide presentation of the issues at hand, it is surprising that these details are presented as more an aside as if not important to the context of the topic. 15 November, 2012 23:12
Three points1. External Solemnities are not the same thing as transfering a feast. In the case of an external solemnity, the Feast is still celebrated on its proper day. But its Mass is allowed to be said, similar to a votive Mass, on the Sunday. In the 1962 Missal this is often under set conditions (either limiting the number of said Mass, requiring them to be sung, requiring the procession for Candlemass, etc.). The office of the day remains that of the Sunday, a priest remains free to celebrate the Sunday Mass, and indeed Masses not fulfilling the conditions would be of the Sunday. Quite different than transferring a feast.2. Corpus Christ was allowed to be externally solemnized in the USA. It was (and if in the 1962 Missal) still celebrated on Thursday, and the Office is still said on Thursday, whereas on the Sunday the office is of the Sunday. The 1962 Missal actually allows widespread external solemnization of Corpus Christi, under given conditions (e.g. the procession must be held). So a low Mass without the procession has to be of the Sunday, according to the typical edition (the status and exact nature of the peculiar indult to the US I do not know off the top of my head, might give greater latitude)3. The author asks why Epiphany, Corpus Christi, and Ascension are transferred and not other supressed HDO's. The answer is very simple. One need look only to the "Normæ Universales de Anno Liturhico et de Calendario" section of the Missale Romanum for the Novus Ordo (at least the 2nd edition or the 3rd, haven't seen the first)§7 But where the solemnities of Epiphany, Ascension and of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ are not kept under obligation, they are assigned to a Sunday as if their proper day, under this account:a) Epiphany, on the Sunday occurring from the 2nd to the 8th day of Januaryb)Ascension, on the 7th Sunday of Easterc) The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, on the Sunday after the Most Holy Trinity§7 Ubi autem sollemnitates Epiphaniae, Ascensionis et Ss.mi Corporis et Sanguinis Christi non sunt de praecepto servandae, assignentur dominicae tamquam diei proprio, hac ratione:a) Epiphania, dominicae a die 2 ad diem 8 ianuarii occurrenti;b) Ascensio, dominicae VII Paschae;c) sollemnitas Ss.mi Corporis et Sanguinis Christi, dominicae post Ss.mam TrinitatemSo technically speaking, the bishops did not choose to transfer these, but not the others. Rather, the Novus Ordo Missal directs that when these specific ones are not holy days of obligation, they are transferred. E.g in the Us Corpus Christ and Epiphany have never been HDO's, so merely by keeping the same legislation of the Baltimore Councils, they were transfered by the new Missal, not by the bishops. They would have had to act, by restoring them as HDO's, to prevent it.It should be clear from this, contrary some assertions, that these feasts are not transferred when the 1962 Missal is used, since it is the Missal itself, and not canon law or the bishops, that transferred the feasts. Though, keeping the conditions of the 1962 Missal, at least Corpus Christ may be externally solemnized.
16 November, 2012 01:45
Thank you, Dr. Shaw, for this paper. Often precisely the traditionally minded pastors have supported such transfer with the 'pastoral' argument that the Sunday-only Massgoers would be kept altogether ignorant of these feasts. In the case of the fixed-date feasts (Epiphany, All Saints), they do occur every seven years or so on Sunday, so those faithfyl are not completely deprived of them. Corpus Christi and likely patronal feasts of the respective localities benefit from external solemnities. St. Joseph which often falls on the Holy Week is subject to transfers anyway, and it is less of a problem not being connected with Easter or anybody's conception or nativity. The only 'problematic' feast remains the Ascension.
16 November, 2012 07:24
Thank you, Joshua. But actually my question (in introducing the paper) was not 'why Epiphany, Corpus Christi, and Ascension are transferred and not other supressed HDO's'. My question was why the former were moved and three other HDOs were NOT suppressed: All Saints, SS Peter and Paul, and the Immaculate Conception. By the way, as I have mentioned before, comments here and elsewhere can and have in practice led to our making (generally quite small) changes to the papers you'll find on the FIUV website. We could add more about these canonical issues. Though it must be said the paper was not intended as a canonists' manual.
16 November, 2012 09:37
'Practically speaking, the main reason for observing it on the Sunday (almost like a Votive Mass in many respects) would seem that a larger number of faithful be present for its observance, especially in non-Catholic countries where work impedes attending the Mass.'When are we going to start standing up to the Protestants who deprecated and then eliminated these Feasts from public life? All they know is money grubbing work. And since they have the whip hand in the good old USA, they put pressure on Catholics to modify their traditions. If Masses on HDO were scheduled throughout the day beginning early in the morning and ending in the evening, there would be NO excuse for failing to attend. At the same time we would be sending a strong message to our Protestant "brethren": you will not violate the Holy Mother Church, not on our watch. 16 November, 2012 14:24
Thank you for these reflections. I find the pushing of the Ascension to SUnday particularly offensive, as it is so closely linked the Resurrection and to Pentecost.The statement "Mass-going, it seems to say, is something strictly for the time left free by one's secular obligations" underscores something that I have observed in America: Catholicism here is just a peculiar hobby of people like me, it really doesn't rise to the level of a religion anymore.
Another important point to make, it seems to me, is that the feast must be celebrated upon its proper day in the MIssale Romanum 1962 and all earlier Missals, although the External Soleminty may be repeated on the nearest Sunday for pastoral reasons: this is obligotory even for patron Saints of lands, parishes, dioceses, etc. Why are these feasts suppressed in the Novus Ordo when their exterior solemnity is held on a sunday? Also, noteworthy is the Roman caledner before 1962, in which many feasts - certainly the major ones - had octaves, and the Sunday within the Octave was observed, naturally, with the accent upon the feast itself. I hope that this ancient practice of the pre-1972 MIssale Romanum will be reinstated, allowing for the major holydays to be celebrated a whole week long, including the Sunday under the Octave. 17 November, 2012 01:22
This paper needs to be improved. It's good overall, but imprecise. I've learned more about proper use of External Solemnities from the blog than I have from the paper itself. 17 November, 2012 07:52
Here (Dallas, Texas diocese) we don't even have vigil Masses anymore for the Holy Days of Obligation which remain "non-Sunday" observances. The only masses are usually morning and/or evening of the Holy Day. This occurs even in parishes with more than one priest in my experience. On the other hand, much is made of the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe which is not a day of obligation. The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, patroness of the US, is a Holy Day and gets lost in the nine-day yearly Guadalupe novena, held nightly before the Big Day on December 12th. Of course for the hispanics (Mexican descent anyway) Guadalupe may be a day of obligation in their country, I don't know. Our diocese has officially told the clergy not to let Guadalupe overshadow the Holy Day on Dec. 8th but it doesn't always seem to happen that way. Guadalupe is nice and is important to an ethnic group and signifies the conversion of their nation, but it also celebrates a private revelation. The Immaculate Conception on the other hand is a teaching of the church (plus is the patronal feast of our country).
20 November, 2012 02:16