For Your Convenience …
You might note on the Mass schedule below that the Ascension of the Lord has been transferred from its rightful date to the Sunday Masses this weekend. This is not my decision but that of the bishops of many regions of the United States, including our own. Though I do not agree with it, I have no pastoral authority to alter it. According to St. Luke’s account found in the Acts of the Apostles, Jesus ascended from Bethany near Jerusalem forty days after his resurrection. For ten days the Apostles and disciples would pray and fast as they awaited the fulfillment of God’s promise of sending the Holy Spirit upon them on the Jewish feast of Pentecost (from which we derive our own name for this solemnity). Forty days after Easter Sunday would place this event on the Thursday before the Seventh Sunday of Easter and for hundreds of years, and even today in most places, this is the day upon which the Ascension is celebrated. It is a Holy Day of Obligation, which means it is to be treated by the faithful like a Sunday liturgy (meaning, in case you have forgotten, that you are obligated to attend). For your convenience, however, and to allow more folks to attend this important Mass, the bishops of our region several years ago moved the feast (i.e., ‘transferred it’) to the following Sunday. This last Thursday, the Ascension Mass was therefore replaced by a substitute Easter weekday, all of this for your convenience, in order to allow this felicitous transfer to occur.
Similarly, for our convenience, the United States government has moved several secular holidays to the nearest Monday or Friday so that we all can enjoy an extended weekend (e.g., Presidents’ Day). The Church might therefore be advised to think along these same lines as regards other Holy Days. Why not move Christmas to the nearest weekend, for example? Then Christmas Eve could always be on Saturday and Christmas day on Sunday and the government could then give all of us Monday off! Maybe the feds can move New Years to the nearest Monday or Friday as well; then the Church could follow suit by placing the celebration of the January 1 Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God, on that date. No longer do churches need to remain all but empty on such forgotten feasts as the Immaculate Conception or the Assumption of Mary – let’s just move them to the most convenient weekend available! And how about this: If we could all agree to move the secular celebration of Halloween to the Saturday nearest the 31st of October, for the convenience of parents and their children, then the Church can move it’s celebration of All Saints (otherwise known as ‘the day after Halloween’) to the next day. How great would that be! No need to worry about following school days cutting our Halloween fun short! Of course, Mass attendance might suffer on that Sunday after Halloween, but at least it’s convenient!
This brings to mind a congruent incident which occurred in my RCIA class when the instructor was, with evident embarrassment, explaining to the prospective Catholics, that the Church still required her members to attend weekly Mass on each and every Sunday (this ‘requirement’ is also known as the 3rd Commandment of the Decalogue). Immediately, several of the participants wailed at the inconvenience this might cause to their work or social or sports schedules, to which the RCIA instructor conveniently replied: “Well, just choose another day during the week that works for you and make that your Sunday!” How wonderful! In this way, my Sunday can be on Tuesday and yours on Wednesday and then next week I’ll shift to Thursday and you can shift to Saturday and on and on it goes and where it stops nobody knows!
Of course, all of this silliness and nonsense is based upon something far more serious than the manipulation and accommodation of our busy schedules. It’s based on our desire to conform God and his will for our lives to our own prejudices and weaknesses. Remember, God calls us into relationship through his Holy Church in order that we might be conformed to the Blessed Trinity in Holy Communion; not that we might conform the Church and her Savior to our own needs, wants and desires! Sunday is still the Lord’s Day and for all Catholics it is still a day upon which our worship of the Lord should occur. This is the day upon which the entire community of St. Therese is obligated to gather together and praise their saving Lord. Wednesday won’t cut it. The Friday school Mass, no matter how long or what the topic, cannot substitute for the Sunday liturgy. However, for your convenience, the Church added several years ago the option of attending a Saturday Vigil of the Sunday Mass. This option is available to those who, through no fault of their own, cannot attend one of the Sunday Masses. If you can attend on a Sunday, that is the preferred date of attendance.
Obviously it is our choice whether or not to attend any liturgy whatsoever. It is also our choice whether or not to educate, feed or nurture our children. It is also our choice whether or not we pay our bills or go to work. We have all sorts of choices to make and consequences flow forth from these choices. God’s saving love is a gift, not an obligation. We are free to refuse his overture of love with all of its attendant responsibilities (including Mass attendance on Sundays and Holy Days). We are also free to decide whether or not we want to reside in heaven or hell. God will not force us into heaven, even for our convenience. He leaves that decision up to us. To be sure, being a serious, practicing Christian is rarely convenient, but it is ultimately rewarding (but only to the extent it demands self-sacrifice). Though it makes practical sense, I think changing around Holy Days to accommodate busy schedules or casual Catholics is a bad idea. I would not have done it that way. Nonetheless, I am not in a position to change it and so for that reason the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord will be transferred to the Seventh Sunday of Easter (with that Sunday liturgy, as a result, disappearing into thin air).
It is sad that in an effort to accommodate their flock, our bishops have reworded our tradition, our values, and our calendar. While we must follow the rules of the Church as they come and go, I encourage you to not forget our roots and early traditions. In light of the changes we have seen in our Church for many years now, I am hopeful that we may someday return to celebrating the Ascension on its proper day.
Fr. Stephen Geer
