Holy Days of Obligation

* To fully participate in both the Second Sunday of Advent and the Holy Day, we need to attend two Masses between Saturday and Monday, as illustrated in this graphic. Mass Schedule for the Holy Day.

St. Ann conceived Mary, not by the power of the Holy Spirit as Jesus was conceived, but by normal means. However, when Mary was conceived in her mother’s womb, she was without the stain of original sin (the Feast of the Immaculate Conception). This was a special grace granted by God. Truly, this was what God had willed for all mankind, as it was with Adam and Eve, who were also without sin. However, sin entered the world when Adam and Eve fell from grace and because of that, we are born with the stain of their sin.
Jesus, our Lord and Savior, is also the Savior of His mother.  He saved her from sin before she was born, at the moment of her conception in St. Ann’s womb. In doing so, He also prepared her womb for His Presence. Jesus, who made all things (Jn 1:2), created His own mother, creating her perfectly pure and sinless. He later, under the power of the Holy Spirit, dwelled in that flawless womb under her Immaculate Heart.  To prepare her for her role as mother of the Savior, “Mary was enriched by God with gifts appropriate to such a role” (Lumen Gentium 56).

The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas) is a Holy Day of Obligation celebrated on December 25. The Christmas season celebrates the birth of Jesus, his manifestation to the world, and His baptism.

In the United States, January 1 is a holy day of obligation as decided by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. When January 1 falls on a Saturday, Sunday or Monday, the solemnity is celebrated on the Sunday. However, if the New Year falls on a Saturday or a Monday, the obligation to attend Mass is abrogated.

The Ascension of Our Lord, which occurred 40 days after Jesus Christ rose from the dead on Easter, is the final act of our redemption that Christ began on Good Friday. On this day, the risen Christ, in the sight of His apostles, ascended bodily into Heaven.
Christ's bodily Ascension foreshadows our own entrance into Heaven not simply as souls, after our death, but as glorified bodies, after the resurrection of the dead at the Final Judgment. In redeeming mankind, Christ not only offered salvation to our souls but began the restoration of the material world itself to the glory that God intended before Adam's fall.
This holy day of obligation is never transferred to Sunday in the Diocese of Portland and throughout New England. Ascension Thursday is always celebrated as a Holy Day of Obligation on Thursday (40th day after the Resurrection, that is, Easter Sunday) and ten days before Pentecost (50 days after Easter Sunday).

On this day, we recall that the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory. Note that Mary was assumed into Heaven -- taken up by the power of God, like Elias and Enoch -- while Christ ascended into Heaven under His own power.  
The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven is a defined dogma of the Catholic Church. The Assumption is an important Marian feast. It signifies the Blessed Virgin's passing into eternal life and is a foretaste of our own bodily resurrection at the end of life.
The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a Holy Day of Obligation. When it falls on a Saturday or a Monday, the obligation to attend Mass is abrogated (set aside).
 

The Solemnity of All Saints is holy day of obligation celebrated every November 1. By the fourth century, this Feast of All Martyrs, as it was then known, was celebrated on May 13. The words “martyr” and “saint” originally meant basically the same thing — someone who is a witness to Christ even unto death.
The early Christians usually placed the body of the martyr who had died for his faith in a tomb that was easily accessible. Then on the anniversary of that martyr’s death, the faithful would come and pray and celebrate the Eucharist. Eventually, these celebrations were held in local churches to commemorate not just one martyr, but all who had given their lives for their faith. By the fifth century, this feast of “All Saints” was held on the Friday of Easter week.
However, in the ninth century, Pope Gregory the IV changed the date to November 1. Those Christians who endured torture for the faith, but did not die, were treated with great respect. Therefore, their local church often acclaimed those who led heroic and faithful lives as saints after their deaths.
The theology of this feast emphasizes the bond between those Christians already with God and those still on earth. Consequently, the Feast of All Saints points to our ultimate goal — eternity with God.
In 1484 Pope Sixtus IV established November 1 as a holy day of obligation. The vigil for this feast day was known as “All Hallow’s Eve,” today called by its shorter version. Hallowed means holy (as in “hallowed be Thy name”). The abbreviated name for evening became “e’en” and this is where we get the name “Halloween.”
Rather than concentrating on witches, ghosts and goblins, let us think on those who have gone before us, having persevered in holiness and faithfulness, setting before us the way unto salvation of our souls. This is a time to celebrate their lives and give our children real heroes that they can look up to and pattern their lives after.

Prayer
Holy Spirit, anoint us with the oil of joyfulness in the midst of our sufferings and the gift of perseverance during persecution, that we may run the race of those saints who have gone before us, keeping our eyes on the crown of glory and eternity with You. Amen.