Gutting the church calendar has never made sense to me. Does deleting a holy day of obligation make Catholics more serious about the faith? Was the reason it happened, the priest shortage? No need for extra Masses, one daily Mass (or none if it's the priest's day off)?
A pastor once told me a priest needs a day off from saying Mass sometimes. Really? I responded saying I couldn't imagine not wanting to say Mass every day. He replied sardonically, "Well, I can." He later left to marry a woman with whom I carpooled. Can't say I was surprised
How is watering down the faith to make it more palatable to....to whom...working out? One of the fastest growing "religious" groups is the nones, i.e., those who practice no organized religion. Not surprisingly, it has serious implications in the marketplace. In 2020, 40% of Biden voters were nones. Was Jesus thinking of our time when He asked, "When I return will I find any faith on the earth?"
Keep the feast. It may not be a holy day of obligation, but celebrate it with Mass anyway. If you're fortunate enough to have a traditional Latin Mass nearby, you can celebrate the feast liturgically TODAY.
Ascension Thursday is an important feast as the rogation days indicate. Don't know what they are? Go here. You can also visit Fr. Z's site and hear the litany sung. How much we have lost!
May your heart be filled today with gratitude to God for all His bountiful goodness to His children. The Easter season may be nearing its end, but God's goodness never ends. May Jesus Christ be praised.
Happy Ascension Thursday!
I agree. I've never understood how requiring less would draw more to the faith. You can do less and not be Catholic. So why be Catholic if you want to do less.
ReplyDeleteI went to early TLM today. Saw some I didn't recognize.
People have time to go to church during the week? During Bidenflation?
ReplyDeleteAh! I'm a Prot from the Church of Christ tradition which has no liturgical calendar, but I have taken to saying the morning and evening prayer services from the 1662 Anglican Book of Common Prayer. Last night I was using the website liturgy.io and was wondering why the seasonal collect changed from x sundays after Easter to Ascension Day. I was like, "Don't the collects change AFTER Sunday not before it?" This explains it.
ReplyDeleteNow I'm curious how similar the Catholic collect would be to the Anglican one.
ReplyDeleteAnglican: "GRANT, we beseech thee, Almighty God, that like as we do believe thy only-begotten Son our Lord Jesus Christ to have ascended into the heavens; so we may also in heart and mind thither ascend, and with him continually dwell, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen."
TLM per website I found: "Grant, we beseech Thee, almighty God: that we, who believe Thine only- begotten Son, our Redeemer, to have ascended on this day into heaven, may also ourselves dwell in mind amid heavenly things. Through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever." ("Concéde, quǽsumus, omnípotens Deus: ut qui hodiérna die Unigénitum tuum Redemptórem nostrum ad cælos ascendísse crédimus, ipsi quoque mente in cæléstibus habitémus. Per eúndem Dóminum nostrum Jesum Christum, Fílium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitáte Spíritus Sancti, Deus, per ómnia sǽcula sæculórum.")
Novus Ordo(?): "Gladden us with holy joys, almighty God, and make us rejoice with devout thanksgiving, for the Ascension of Christ your Son is our exaltation, and, where the Head has gone before in glory, the Body is called to follow in hope. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever."
I guess it makes sense that the 1662 collects would be more similar to the TLM since they presumably are translations from the Latin of the Saurum Rite and would be closer to the Roman Rite as found in the 1500s/1600s.
The original Novena was in honor of the nine days between Ascension Thursday and Pentecost. Now in practically every US diocese, there are six days between Ascension Sunday and Pentecost. So we now are left with a "Sex-ena," a name which one hopes does not stick.
ReplyDeleteBut it was Ascension Thursday this morning at the nearby Ukrainian Catholic parish.
I saw a great meme in Truth "Ascension Thursday I have risen, unless your a Novous Ordite then I will be around for 3 more days." I don't care what these bishops say, I was at mass Thursday Noon high mass when the candle was officially snuffed out. To me it was and will always be a Holy day of obligation. But don't go by me, I still follow Low Sunday and not that Divine mercy Sunday thing and Jan first is the feast of the circumcision and not Solemnity of Mary. Don't get me wrong I love Mary who has helped me greatly in my life but its important to remember the first time Christ shed his blood for us, that being his circumcision. Even Mary would agree on that I think.
ReplyDelete