I haven’t had the chance to listen yet so perhaps my comment is redundant, but something I’ve often thought about regarding HDOs is how much Catholics, even practicing Catholics, are taken by surprise by them. When I was growing up and in school, we all knew that our Jewish classmates, teachers, and colleagues had these holy days in the …
I haven’t had the chance to listen yet so perhaps my comment is redundant, but something I’ve often thought about regarding HDOs is how much Catholics, even practicing Catholics, are taken by surprise by them. When I was growing up and in school, we all knew that our Jewish classmates, teachers, and colleagues had these holy days in the fall where they’d be absent. We wouldn’t have known the exact date without looking at a calendar, but even non-Jews would have some awareness that this was a “thing”. And Jewish people plan their schedules AROUND these holy days. For Catholics, there’s always this scramble to figure out which Mass they can get to around and between work and school obligations. Virtually no one has planned ahead, taken days or partial days off work or school to accommodate the religious practice—in fact it seems that most people, including those who will actually make sure to get to Mass, don’t realize it’s coming up at all until it’s announced from the pulpit the week before. I suppose this is partly a function of living in a country where these holy days are not also national holidays as they are in some European countries, while also not quite living with the expected tension of being an outsider (as Jewish cultural identity in non-Jewish nations would necessarily have had to develop).
Can that really be true? Ascension Thursday (where it still exists!) is the only one that the is a moveable feast. The ones who don't know the dates must be the same ones who don't actually attend on said dates. For the ones who do attend, leaving aside Christmas as obvious, surely they can commit four dates to memory. The scramble results from churches not always having consistent schedules on these days, but that is not quite the same issue.
I know it FEELS like the ones who do not know the dates must be the same ones who do not attend on said dates, but being a mother and engaging in many conversations about logistics with other mothers over the last 25 years, I can tell you that these dates do in fact sneak up on A LOT of Catholics—particularly when, as JD pointed out, there isn’t a robust culture of actually celebrating them aside from “you take this carload of kids before school and I’ll take the other kids after school/before sports practice.” Christmas is the one exception.
And honestly there aren’t even many resources for HOW to celebrate them if you don’t have some kind of established family or cultural tradition. If you google ways to celebrate the Annunciation (I know, not a HDO but the most recent solemnity), most of what comes up are a few kind of uninspiring crafts, the suggestion to have waffles for dinner (which, I’m sorry, feels uninspiring in the midst of Lent when we have been eating simple and mostly meatless meals already), and to pray a family rosary. Which, great! Family rosary is a fabulous practice! If you already have that established as a daily or at least somewhat regular practice, it still doesn’t feel super celebratory. You know? So even establishing ways to make these days feel festive is kind of lacking inspiration, even when you go looking. I get how they have become afterthoughts. And yet, what a poverty, especially in light of the way Ed described the events of salvation and time in the podcast.
I agree Grace, I think the issue is that parishes don’t think far enough ahead. I believe it would be helpful the average Catholic family for the parish to give them a month heads up. In the Mass announcements (yes, that beloved practice), posted in the bulletin up front, social media and other means of communication. In parishes where something like this happens it seems people are less harried by HDO. Because it has been put on their radar well ahead of time.
I wonder if it would even be possible for a diocese to require that a parish have HDO Mass schedules set a couple months beforehand, have a bare minimum in terms communicating the HDO Mass schedules set, and even have an interactive map of the diocese with the different Mass times. You know have them lift a finger to help people live out their obligations.
Many churches do include a standard (e.g.) "Daily Mass at 7:00; 7:00 and 5:30 on holy days" in their bulletins. Albeit sometimes there is a last-minute change when the actual week comes.
It seems I seldom hear about masstimes.org anymore, even though it does still exist. These days people seem to prefer going directly to the church website (which did not always really exist in the early-00s heyday of masstimes.org).
Masstimes.org is helpful to a person who is thinking ahead, or I guess once they’ve gotten the reminder about the HDO, but doesn’t help with the lack of cultural context for them. (Like actually knowing about it and celebrating it.)
I know. I was just thinking about how Masstimes.org is still useful but only for people who are already looking for the time. I still use it quite a bit, mostly to find confession times, but also when traveling.
I haven’t had the chance to listen yet so perhaps my comment is redundant, but something I’ve often thought about regarding HDOs is how much Catholics, even practicing Catholics, are taken by surprise by them. When I was growing up and in school, we all knew that our Jewish classmates, teachers, and colleagues had these holy days in the fall where they’d be absent. We wouldn’t have known the exact date without looking at a calendar, but even non-Jews would have some awareness that this was a “thing”. And Jewish people plan their schedules AROUND these holy days. For Catholics, there’s always this scramble to figure out which Mass they can get to around and between work and school obligations. Virtually no one has planned ahead, taken days or partial days off work or school to accommodate the religious practice—in fact it seems that most people, including those who will actually make sure to get to Mass, don’t realize it’s coming up at all until it’s announced from the pulpit the week before. I suppose this is partly a function of living in a country where these holy days are not also national holidays as they are in some European countries, while also not quite living with the expected tension of being an outsider (as Jewish cultural identity in non-Jewish nations would necessarily have had to develop).
Can that really be true? Ascension Thursday (where it still exists!) is the only one that the is a moveable feast. The ones who don't know the dates must be the same ones who don't actually attend on said dates. For the ones who do attend, leaving aside Christmas as obvious, surely they can commit four dates to memory. The scramble results from churches not always having consistent schedules on these days, but that is not quite the same issue.
I know it FEELS like the ones who do not know the dates must be the same ones who do not attend on said dates, but being a mother and engaging in many conversations about logistics with other mothers over the last 25 years, I can tell you that these dates do in fact sneak up on A LOT of Catholics—particularly when, as JD pointed out, there isn’t a robust culture of actually celebrating them aside from “you take this carload of kids before school and I’ll take the other kids after school/before sports practice.” Christmas is the one exception.
And honestly there aren’t even many resources for HOW to celebrate them if you don’t have some kind of established family or cultural tradition. If you google ways to celebrate the Annunciation (I know, not a HDO but the most recent solemnity), most of what comes up are a few kind of uninspiring crafts, the suggestion to have waffles for dinner (which, I’m sorry, feels uninspiring in the midst of Lent when we have been eating simple and mostly meatless meals already), and to pray a family rosary. Which, great! Family rosary is a fabulous practice! If you already have that established as a daily or at least somewhat regular practice, it still doesn’t feel super celebratory. You know? So even establishing ways to make these days feel festive is kind of lacking inspiration, even when you go looking. I get how they have become afterthoughts. And yet, what a poverty, especially in light of the way Ed described the events of salvation and time in the podcast.
My experience comports with Grace’s. Many people don’t know it’s here until it’s here.
I wonder if they even know what feast it is each time?
Yes because they are practicing Catholics. There is just not a robust culture of celebrating the Church calendar.
I agree Grace, I think the issue is that parishes don’t think far enough ahead. I believe it would be helpful the average Catholic family for the parish to give them a month heads up. In the Mass announcements (yes, that beloved practice), posted in the bulletin up front, social media and other means of communication. In parishes where something like this happens it seems people are less harried by HDO. Because it has been put on their radar well ahead of time.
I wonder if it would even be possible for a diocese to require that a parish have HDO Mass schedules set a couple months beforehand, have a bare minimum in terms communicating the HDO Mass schedules set, and even have an interactive map of the diocese with the different Mass times. You know have them lift a finger to help people live out their obligations.
Many churches do include a standard (e.g.) "Daily Mass at 7:00; 7:00 and 5:30 on holy days" in their bulletins. Albeit sometimes there is a last-minute change when the actual week comes.
It seems I seldom hear about masstimes.org anymore, even though it does still exist. These days people seem to prefer going directly to the church website (which did not always really exist in the early-00s heyday of masstimes.org).
Masstimes.org is helpful to a person who is thinking ahead, or I guess once they’ve gotten the reminder about the HDO, but doesn’t help with the lack of cultural context for them. (Like actually knowing about it and celebrating it.)
Sure; I was replying to a different sub-comment.
I know. I was just thinking about how Masstimes.org is still useful but only for people who are already looking for the time. I still use it quite a bit, mostly to find confession times, but also when traveling.
Yes…it’s almost like the parish has the same problem of being taken by surprise as the parishioner! Haha!