Cleansing Fire

Defending Truth and Tradition in the Roman Catholic Church

What day is it?

May 21st, 2020, Promulgated by Diane Harris

“What day is it?” is one of the first questions the medical screener in the emergency room might ask to see if the patient is well-oriented. So, too, a post surgical nurse might ask the same question to assess recovery. And the medic evaluating an accident victim at the site might ask something similar to help with the triage. The right answer matters. However, if confronted by such a question next Sunday, a few days from now, it might be a head-scratching experience for the medic to hear “Well it must be Ascension Thursday!”

Ash Wednesday can’t be on a Saturday. Holy Thursday can’t be on a Sunday. And certainly there is only one day of the week for Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Right?

Except, apparently, for Ascension Thursday. Today.  A Solemnity. In many dioceses it is celebrated not on Thursday, 40 days after Christ’s Resurrection, but on the following Sunday, 43 days later.  And that makes Pentecost 7 days after the Ascension rather than 10, which leaves not enough time for the first 9-day novena!

I am grateful that is one change that the Diocese of Rochester hasn’t made. Rather than argue from Scripture or even Hebrew tradition, it seems more important to wonder about WHY Thursday was moved to Sunday. Until a much more profound excuse is offered, I’ll retain the opinion that it seems more for the convenience of man than of honoring God. Are those who bemoaned losing Masses for most of Lent and Eastertide now pleased to have one less Mass of Obligation?  Today is a good day to examine conscience on that question, as practice so often degrades to making our lives simpler and giving less to God.

For those interested in not getting a two-fer on Sunday, here is a link to a 7PM Mass tonight celebrating Ascension Thursday.

https://youtu.be/xCHD9YEoGio

Why not post your own links to your local Ascension Thursday Mass?

And for those who wonder if Thursday isn’t on Sunday, what is? The answer is “The 7th Sunday of Easter.”

 

|

4 Responses to “What day is it?”

  1. Mary-Kathleen says:

    My Missal says “Sunday after the Ascension”
    🙂

  2. Hopefull says:

    Mary Kathleen, it must be the Latin missal, right? I think the Latin liturgy never moves a Thursday to a Sunday. Otherwise, if it was the Sunday after Ascension which had been celebrated on a Sunday it would be Pentecost, right? I mean people smart enough to handle the Latin surely must know that a Thursday isn’t a Sunday, n’est pas?

  3. Mary-Kathleen says:

    Thank you, Susan.

Leave a Reply


Log in | Register

You must be logged in to post a comment.


-Return to main page-