It should come as no surprise to any reader that I do not approve of moving Ascension Thursday to Sunday. It is on Thursday for a reason! Seriously, why should it be moved? Should we move Christmas to the nearest Sunday too, so that people can spend the actual feast day indulging in materialistic greed? What makes this move especially unpalatable is the fact that it helps no one. Concerned that no one will come to the Ascension Thursday Mass because they have work? Hold it after most people get off work! Concerned that people just won’t care enough to come to Mass on a weekday? Well, if that’s the case than, to be blunt, they don’t care to come to Mass on Sunday either. Why would anyone respect the Church’s teaching that we must attend Mass on Sundays, but disrespect her teaching that we must attend Mass on Holy Days of Obligation? And finally, if the concern is that people won’t know that Ascension Thursday is coming up, then announce it at every Mass that Sunday! Thus, I believe it should stay on Thursday.
Thankfully, I am lucky enough to live within walking distance of a wonderful Tridentine Mass parish, Our Mother of Perpetual Help Chapel. So, I walked over there for Ascension Thursday Mass at 6:30 this evening. Though in this diocese the Feast of the Ascension has been moved to Sunday, the Tridentine Mass still celebrates it on Thursday. Now, my problem is this: my girlfriend, who lives in another diocese, is coming to stay with my family this weekend. She did not go to Mass today, because there was no Church near her celebrating the Feast of the Ascension today. Now, we had planned on going to Sunday Mass at Our Mother of Perpetual Help, which of course has already celebrated the Ascension and will not be doing so on Sunday. So, does Catherine need to go to a Mass where the Ascension is being celebrated? Should we go to a parish that is celebrating Ascension Thursday on Sunday in order to fulfill both of our Sunday Obligations and her Holy Day Obligation? Or may we just go to the regular Sunday Mass at Our Mother of Perpetual Help, without worrying about the fact that their readings and prayers will not be for the Ascension?
Update: Fr. Richtsteig has a similar rant up on his blog.
