Wed 8 Dec: Holy Day of OBLIGATION. Have a plan!

Also, 8 December is, I believe, a Holy Day of Obligation in most places.  It is the Feast/Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.

Have you made a plan to go to Mass?

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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82 Comments

  1. lucy says:

    Yes! We have a plan. We’re going to 12:15 Mass at St. Anthony’s. It will be a low Mass in the EF.

    We’re so blessed to have a priest or two or three who’s willing to say EF Masses for us on special occasions.

  2. Baylor_convert says:

    I have a plan, and it includes singing in the choir of Our Lady of the Atonement for the occasion. :) All in San Antonio are welcome to come.

  3. teaguytom says:

    7:00 pm St Lawrence Chapel Harrisburg, PA. Missa Cantata EF

  4. Rose in NE says:

    Of course! Our parish is named in honor of the Immaculate Conception, so it is a big celebration for us. High Mass at 5:15 followed by a parish dinner. Many of the parish groups have been working together to make it a very special day. We’re looking forward to it!

  5. Warren says:

    Yes. Sacristan (and, if needed, server) for 11:30am daily Mass (OF) on campus.

  6. Andy Lucy says:

    Yes, I have a plan for going to Mass.

    I also have a zombie plan.

    I like to plan.

  7. AnnaTrad51 says:

    Yes we will be haveing a beautiful EF High sung Mass. Deo Gratias!!

  8. benedetta says:

    Got one for Wednesday; Mass at son’s school. Past that though, no further plan emerging just yet — following comments on Quaeritur Explaining Devotion to TLM with great interest this week as to what’s next.

  9. AnnaTrad51 says:

    did someone mention spell check :-{

  10. GirlCanChant says:

    7 PM Missa Cantata at St. Paul’s in Philadelphia

    For myself, it will mark the 1-year anniversary of my first TLM. I will be thanking God for all the blessings I have received in the past year.

  11. jbalza007 says:

    Definitely won’t miss out on our High Mass (EF), followed by a procession!

  12. JMody says:

    I am taking the day off, going Mass in the morning, and spend the day doing things other than gainful employment (probably means servile labor, but we’ll see).

    PS what’s all this talk about EF Mass and what not? For like 3 years or something now, people have been going on and on about EF this and SP that, and all I know is that my bishop didn’t win the election to preside over the USCCB …

  13. gradchica says:

    An 8:30 a.m. Mass at St Joseph’s for me and my son, a 6 p.m. vigil Mass at the Cathedral for my husband. With a one-year-old and a doctor, you need a few plans!

  14. Jayna says:

    Noon at St. Brigid. I wanted to go to the cathedral but my car has been unreliable as of late, so I didn’t want to risk the drive downtown.

  15. rakesvines says:

    Wow Fr.Z, I just posted about this this a.m. with the USCCB ruling
    http://divine-ripples.blogspot.com/2010/12/dec-8-is-holy-day-of-obligation-canon.html

    My plan, 7 pm after work. My wife and 11 yr. old, 7 am. I have to stay with the other 2 kids in the am until their school bus picks them up at 8:30. These weekday holy days are challenging for working families – specially those with kids. It would be convenient if they all set the celebration on the coming Sunday. That’s how I got started with the research that ended up as a post.

  16. Of course I have a plan. I’ll actually be attending two Masses, the first at 6:30AM at my parish, and then I will be serving 5:30PM Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, with a reception to follow. Any WDTPRSers that are there, feel free to hunt me down and say hello! I’m tall, around 18, and I’ll be wearing a black cassock (of course), fascia and a white surplice with flowered lace on it.

  17. Bryan Boyle says:

    Of course! And not just because it is an obligation, but because the Blessed Mother is due the honor befitting her as the mother of Our Savior.

    And, besides, in this Advent season, what better way to honor her fiat and Her Son than to assist at a Mass in commemoration of her own conception.

  18. Miriam says:

    Wednesday morning mass for me.

    Father Z , I am listening to your conversion story on Journey Home.

    How cool, I had no idea you were a convert.

  19. Yes. We are going at 12:15 here in Steubenville at St. Peter’s Church. I may go tomorrow for the vigil just in case something renders me unable to go Wednesday evening.

  20. momoften says:

    Wednesday evening , High Mass…and Advent retreat…should be nice. I can’t forget, also Benediction at the monastery here also. A lovely day with prayers……

  21. M. K. says:

    I’ll have to settle for the noon Novus Ordo at the university where I teach – the nearest TLM for the feast is in the evening, but I have a commitment to meet with students at the same time. Though I regret that I won’t make it to the TLM that day, I hope that my humble efforts that evening will help my students grow in faith and wisdom.

  22. frleo says:

    Tue evening Mass at St. Margaret’s in Geraldine, MT and then Wed evening at Immaculate Conception in Fort Benton, MT followed by an open house at the rectory.

  23. beez says:

    We’re instituting the new acolytes and I am Master of Ceremony, so I am pretty sure I have my obligation covered!

    The best thing about the seminary is the constant presence of the Eucharist in the house and the ready availability of Mass. I stopped worrying about Holy Days of Obligation because I get to go daily.

  24. Brad says:

    Morning lusciously holy rosary in the pews with the usual group followed by novus ordo Mass (all I have — hope there are no guitars) then drive to work. Since Our Lady’s rosary began my conversion, I am only TOO EXCITED to go see her on her mighty day. I can’t believe she ever even noticed me. I was a speck in a gutter, and still am.

    All my fellow hyperdulians, please read Venerable Mary of Agreda’s abridged, sky-blue cover, paperback, Mystical City of God. It’s at amazon. Mentioning this book is a minuscule way I can attempt to repay our Lady for her kindness to me. The more people who read it, the less people who offend her.

  25. Supertradmum says:

    There is no EF, as the priests all serve other parishes far away and cannot come in, so I shall have to go to the NO at 8:00 in the morning. I teach when there is a noon Mass.

  26. capchoirgirl says:

    Covered! Either going to the Noon Mass on W, or the evening Mass–depends on what my work schedule is like. Either way, I’m good.

  27. Joseph-Mary says:

    Yes. Will actually assist at Holy Mass twice. Once in the morning and then I have an out of town meeting in Denver. I saw that auxiliary bishop Conley will offer a High Mass at the FSSP parish at 6pm and I will attend. This is at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in Littleton, CO.

  28. Bob says:

    Yes, 0830 Low Mass after which I will complete my consecraton to Our Lady in accordance with St. Louis de Montfort.

  29. beckymozart says:

    Question…I read recently that Holy Days of Obligation are just like Sundays, meaning you shouldn’t work, but either no one knows, or no one takes it seriously. Is it a sin to work on Wednesday?

  30. HyacinthClare says:

    Of course! 6:30 p.m. Extraordinary Form at Mater Misericordiae in Phoenix. Can’t wait!!

  31. QMJ says:

    No need to make plans. The school where I work has Mass every Wednesday.

  32. GJMama says:

    Either the 8 am TLM with a Spanish sermon or the 6 pm TLM with an English sermon. A couple years ago, the parish my husband was working at thought the feast of the Immaculate Conception had been transferred because it was on a Monday. Then they found it it never is in the US because she is our patroness. They had to scramble at the last second to get all the extra Masses on the schedule. ;)

  33. MarkJ says:

    I and my family will be going to Mass in the evening. I will also be renewing my Total Consecration to Mary per St. Louis de Montfort, which I first did 15 years ago. Deo gratias!

  34. Hans says:

    I think (somehow nobody thinks it necessary to tell me) I’m in charge of music at the 8:30 am Mass and singing in the choir at 6:30 pm.

  35. St. Louis IX says:

    Mass in Ct
    Sung High Mass according to the 1962 missal

  36. bookworm says:

    Plan A: Vigil Mass at 5:15 tomorrow, unless I end up having to work late. (There is a deadline looming at work for certain tasks and it is possible we will be asked to work past 5 p.m. in order to meet it.)
    Plan B: Holy Day Mass at 5:15 on Wednesday.

    Actually, the easiest option for me would be noon on Wednesday (lunch hour), but then my daughter would be in school and not able to go with me. Morning doesn’t work either because she has to catch the school bus. So it will have to be evening.

  37. mrs.v says:

    God willing, we, with some friends, will make a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Divine Mercy as they near the end of their Jubilee Year. They offer confessions, rosary for life, Holy Mass (NO) followed by the chaplet of divine mercy. All for Our Lady!

  38. abiologistforlife says:

    Have a mass time picked out (noon; 5:30 if I can’t make that one). OF, though; this parish (the only one I can really get to) doesn’t do EF.

  39. Catherine says:

    @Baylor_convert: That’s my parish! But I’m going to the 7:00 A.M. Mass. Do you sing every Sunday? I love the choirs at OLA.

  40. IngridAiram says:

    If everything goes according to plan, I finished my test in time to attend OF Mass at 1230. Normal workday for me, but hope I manage to make it in time to Mass, and sing vespers.

  41. Jack Hughes says:

    Even though it is not a HDO in the UK I shall be going to the 10:00 Mass (sadly not TLM); was going to go to the first Pontifical High Mass in the Diocese of Brentwood since the council but I can’t afford to go.

  42. Benjamin says:

    7:30 pm Missa Cantata EF (of the Immaculate Conception), Budapest, Belvárosi Szent Mihály-templom (at St Michael’s; Loreto Sisters).

    http://capitulumlaicorum.blogspot.com/

  43. Joan M says:

    It’s not a Holy Day of Obligation in Trinidad, West Indies, but I will be going to 9:00 am Mass – my usual Daily Mass, now that I am a senior citizen…..

  44. jilly4ski says:

    We have to go to the vigil tonight at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

  45. Rob Cartusciello says:

    Here in Maryland, I will be assisting at RCIA class at 6:30pm, followed by Mass at 7:00pm. Class usually goes two hours, but because of the feast, we decided to attend Mass instead.

    It’s funny you should call it a plan. We do the same thing around election time to help ensure people come out & vote. If you’re asked to think about >howdo< it.

  46. Dr. Eric says:

    In the words of the late great Jerome Howard, “Soitinly! Nyuk nyuk nyuk.”

  47. Jim Dorchak says:

    Hey I thought the UCCCCCCCB has now designated un the USA all previously “holy days of obligation” as “faith community days of suggestion”, or “Suggested days of Deep Thought”? After all it is only charitable for those of us who may (or may not) be too busy.

    (Yes my family and I are going)……………….

  48. jrobinson says:

    I was planning to attend the 6:30 PM mass at our parish St Louis in Louisville but after seeing Joseph-Mary’s post, I might have to try and take the family down to Littleton for the High Mass celebrated by Bishop Connely.

  49. devthakur says:

    Solemn High Mass at Holy Innocents in Manhattan, 6 PM.

  50. GrogSmash says:

    I suddenly have stress! I just found out that the daily morning Latin Mass I was counting on going to is not happening in York, PA tomorrow morning, and it’s VERY unlikely for me to make the evening EF Mass at St. Lawrence (Hbg) in the evening. Grrrr! Going to a NO Mass is desperately painful… don’t think I can do it without needing to go to confession immediately thereafter! Please say a prayer for a remedy for me! Thank you!

  51. irishgirl says:

    Of course I have ‘a plan’, Father Z, to attend Mass on December 8!
    I wouldn’t miss it-Mary Immaculate is our nation’s Patroness!
    TLM chapel, Low Mass at 12 noon.

  52. I have a plan. It’s a good plan. As it includes confession scheduled a couple of hours before Mass, there is also an inbuilt safety net in case of train disruptions (not unheard of in eastern Norway, especially in winter time) so that I will at least get there in time for Mass, and perhaps even in time to shanghai a different priest for confession.

    Alas, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception is not a holy day of obligation in Norway. If it were, my plan would be a lot easier as there would probably have been a Mass scheduled at the chapel closest to my present location and so need not have involved trains at all. Only a walk in the snow!

  53. MargaretC says:

    The college where I work has daily mass at noon, so I’ll probably go to that one. If I can get off in time, our local TLM parish has a high mass scheduled for 5:15.

    And tonight, I plan to try very hard to get over to the cathedral to take advantage of the extra confession times provided in Advent.

  54. joanofarcfan says:

    Yes, 6:30 p.m. EF at the National Shrine of the Poor Souls, St. Odilo, in Berwyn, IL

  55. marthawrites says:

    I’ll be missing that York , PA Latin Mass as well, but EF worship schedule will be back to normal on Thursday, so attending the early morning NO for Mary’s feast will be God’s will for me tomorrow.

  56. frsquires says:

    7:30pm Dominican Rite Mass at Holy Rosary Catholic Church, Portland, Oregon.

  57. tianzhujiao says:

    8:00 a.m. Mass for me. I now work at my parish and start the day with morning Mass.

  58. Gregg the Obscure says:

    Working from home rather than at the office to save 80-90 minutes of r/t commuting. Attending 6 pm Mass followed by a festive dinner out.

  59. MicheleQ says:

    12 noon at St. Anthony’s in Lancaster. EF –low mass (I think).

  60. MJ says:

    Yes! Going to the 7pm High Mass at my parish (singing for the High Mass too, and our women’s schola makes it’s debut tomorrow – we’re singing all the Gregorian propers! :).

  61. RichardT says:

    It is not a day of Obligation in England, but our new(ish) Priest strongly encouraged people to attend Mass. No EF Mass within 50 miles, but there will at least be a NO Mass in the parish.

  62. moon1234 says:

    High Mass sung by the Latin Mass childrens choir (Mass of BVM) at St. Norbert’s, Roxbury WI. Followed by a reception in the church hall with Ham Dinner, Pumpkin Pie, Ceasar Salad, Fruit Salad, Cookies and good friends.

  63. Margaret says:

    Planning for Mass is trickier endeavor than usual for us this past month. We are a family of eleven, and our twelve-passenger van recently gave up the ghost. New one has not yet arrived. (Dealers typically don’t carry them in stock as demand is low, so they must be ordred, manufactured & delivered.) My husband’s car seats five, and we’ve fortunately been able to borrow another five-passenger car, still always leaving us one seat short. This year, however, is the first time we have one in Catholic school, so he will thankfully “get Mass” during the school day, leaving us just enough car space to get everyone else out for the 7:15 AM Mass at the Carmelites.

  64. digdigby says:

    High Mass at 6:30 P.M. at St. Francis de Sales Oratory, St. Louis, under the exacting auspices of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest in one of the most beautiful traditional Oratories in America. http://www.institute-christ-king.org/stlouis/

  65. David Homoney says:

    Rose_in_NE: Are you talking Mary Immaculate of Lourdes in Newton? If so you have a wonderful parish. I was at the 10:30 Mass this past week while up in the area on business. Wonderful, truly wonderful.

    As for my wife and I we will be going to 7pm Mass at our home parish St. Joseph in Muskogee, OK. Come one, come all!

    Pax Christi Vobiscum

  66. Rose in NE says:

    @ David Homoney
    No, Immaculate Conception in Omaha, NE. But, yes, it IS a wonderful parish staffed by equally wonderful FSSP priests!

    Glad you found a good parish on your business trip, too!

  67. susanna says:

    After work in snowy, icy, cold Pittsburgh, but our beautiful TLM warms you.

  68. Joseph James says:

    I have a plan to attend Mass at 8 a.m. followed by all-day Eucharistic Adoration concluding with Evening Prayer. It’s the N.O., but I am grateful that Mass is readily available to me, and in a parish with a priest both uncharacteristically orthodox for my country and region (Ontario, Canada).

    I booked the day off work a long time ago in order to pay special honour Our Lady, as she was (of course) instrumental in my recent conversion from evangelical protestantism. I had been under the impression that December 8 was a Holy Day of Obligation.
    But when I later heard for the first time last month that the Bishops’ Conference here in Canada had supressed the Obligation on All Saints Day, I researched further and found that in Canada, only the Solemnities of the Nativity of Our Lord and of Mary, Mother of God were still Days of Obligation. I was quite honestly shocked and dismayed.

    Here’s the point: Many of the older customs of the Church, especially the seemingly demanding ones (like the non-Sunday days of Obligation) were important in my conversion. They served to clarify, highlight, or drive home the priorities and emphases of the Church. They helped me see what was central to the ancient Church and what had remained important. They helped me integrate the objective knowledge I was gaining about the Church’s teaching into a more comprehensive and existential understanding of the Faith. Had I realized that many of the Church’s time-honoured practices had been either shelved or were largely un-observed, my conversion would have been even more difficult than it was, and may very well have been the tipping point that kept me away from the Church. Now, on the other side of the Tiber, and through the eyes of faith, my certainty in the Church’s teaching authority has not wavered, and I am truly grateful that the Holy Spirit guided me into Communion with the Catholic Church despite the abject carelessness of the Canadian church’s special rules, no doubt constituted for “pastoral reasons”.

    God bless you, Fr. Z. Your writing, sermons, and faithfulness have also been a strong factor in my conversion.

  69. Joseph James says:

    I promise my future posts won’t be as long as that. I just needed to get that out.
    JG

  70. capebretoner says:

    It’s not a day of Obligation up here either, but I chanced to hear that one parish in the area now has Mass every Wednesday & Friday at 6:30pm. (new priest) Which means I can go, which is still amazing to me as I sit and type this.

  71. Girgadis says:

    Vigil Mass tonight at 5 pm at St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi Church and tomorrow evening, the whole family is going to the TLM at St. Paul’s at 7pm. Same celebrant for both Masses and it was nice to see a packed church tonight. It would be nicer still to see one tomorrow evening.

  72. Crbtre says:

    High Mass at St. Francis de Sales in Mableton, GA!

  73. catholicmidwest says:

    Thank you very much, Fr Z, for the reminder.

    I really like holy days, but the way they’re handled peeves me to no end every year.
    1. Holy days are never mentioned in Church the Sunday before the holy day. NEVER. I have no idea why. It’s like they don’t expect anyone to show up anyway, so why announce it? Amazing.
    2. Around here you have to look & look to find one you can get to. Why they think a 5pm mass is sufficient for people who work days, I have no idea. Not all Catholics are blue-collar workers. Hello.
    3. Speaking of looking & looking, most parishes in my neck of the woods are a) locked up most of the time with the bulletins inside, and b) their phone messages for some unknown reason don’t include mass times for holy days. Again, it’s like they don’t expect anyone to show up anyway, so why bother?
    4. AND, no one ever lets anyone know when the bishop decides to move something to Sunday. You have to call around or guess (especially since they don’t tell you in mass the Sunday before!). It’s really aggravating.

  74. catholicmidwest says:

    Joseph, you said, “Had I realized that many of the Church’s time-honoured practices had been either shelved or were largely un-observed, my conversion would have been even more difficult than it was, and may very well have been the tipping point that kept me away from the Church. Now, on the other side of the Tiber, and through the eyes of faith, my certainty in the Church’s teaching authority has not wavered, and I am truly grateful that the Holy Spirit guided me into Communion with the Catholic Church despite the abject carelessness of the Canadian church’s special rules, no doubt constituted for “pastoral reasons”.”

    I wonder how many converts feel this way. I’m a convert too, and sometimes I just want to say, “Do it like you mean it!! What is the problem??”

  75. GrogSmash says:

    Just wanted to say Deo Gratias! and a hearty thank you to anybody who prayed for a remedy for me to get to Holy Mass today! The prayers worked! I shall be able to attend 7:00 pm Latin Mass at St. Lawrence with my daughters. What a blessing!

  76. pelerin says:

    I cannot be the only one who thinks it strange that a feast day should be a Holyday of Obligation in some countries but not in others? Surely today has equal importance in the worldwide church? It is not a Holyday here in Britain but there was a good attendance at Mass this morning. And our Priest wore the beautiful blue, white and silver vestments for the feasts of Our Lady. Sadly a planned Missa Cantata had to be cancelled owing to building work going on and we did not sing the Salve Regina as we usually do after a Mass on a feast day of Our Lady but it is so good to be able to start the day by attending Mass.

  77. asperges says:

    EF Pontifical High Mass at the throne in Leicester Holy Cross Dominican Priory this evening celebrated (for the first time) by RR Malcolm McMahon OP, Bishop of Nottingham. Also marks his 10 yrs as a Bishop. What better way indeed?

    Looking forward to it immensely. (Not a HD of obligation in England and Wales.)

  78. cheekypinkgirl says:

    You know, it really upsets me how many people here complain so loudly about the fact that they have to go to that “awful” N.O. mass because there isn’t a TLM being offered. It’s disheartening to listen to people openly trash the Holy Mass, and it certainly isn’t an argument for those of us who have an interest in the Latin mass to want to attend one anytime soon. I mean, there’s actually someone here in this commbox who asked for prayers to help him get to a TLM rather than a N.O., which he termed as “desperately painful.” Keep up the good work! Brick by brick!

  79. danphunter1 says:

    12:00 Mass at Our Lady of Grace Church Greensboro NC.
    What a beautiful day!

  80. Sacristymaiden says:

    We had a 2:30 pm college mass at Holy Rosary parish.
    The WCC choir sang some of a Palestrina mass and various 4 part hymns (ie. Dixit Maria, Laudate Nomen Domine, Magnificat)

  81. I was driving home from Florida on Tuesday and Wednesday near Augusta, Georgia, but once I got into a motel room at 1 AM, I quickly developed a plan before I went to sleep. I took out my cellular phone and punched “Mass Times Augusta Georgia” into Google and without too much difficulty was able to locate a nearby church with a 9:15 AM Mass. I suspected that it would be a school Mass, and unfortunately I was right. It had almost everything I hate about school Masses, especially the very fact that a Catholic school was even open on a holy day. But when one is travelling, one can’t be too picky, especially on a holy day of obligation.

  82. Jerry says:

    @pelerin – “I cannot be the only one who thinks it strange that a feast day should be a Holyday of Obligation in some countries but not in others?”

    Not at all! Of the ten “universal” holy days of obligation, the USA only retains two as days of obligation on their assigned dates each year (Christmas and the Immaculate Conception): two have the obligation suppressed; two are reassigned to Sundays; three have the obligation suppressed when they fall on a Saturday or Monday; and one is reassigned to Sunday at the discretion of the ecclesiastical province (of which only six retain it on the assigned day).

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