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Jesus said to them: “I have come into this world so that a sentence may fall upon it, that those who are blind should see, and those who see should become blind. If you were blind, you would not be guilty. It is because you protest, ‘We can see clearly,’ that you cannot be rid of your guilt.”

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Views from the Choir Loft

Juggling Holy Days of Obligation

Andrew R. Motyka · November 6, 2013

OLY DAYS OF OBLIGATION are a relatively contentious subject among liturgical geeks like me. Questions like: Which days get precedence? Are/Should the obligation be lifted when the day falls on Saturday? Can you “double dip” on obligations (please don’t go down this rabbit hole)? The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary hits many of these questions.

In the United States, the obligation of several of our holy days is abrogated (made non-obligatory) when the feast falls on Saturday or Monday. While there is plenty of legitimate debate over whether this should be the case, the bishops nonetheless have the authority to lift this obligation. Next year (2014), for example, All Saints will fall on a Saturday, and the obligation to attend Mass will be lifted.

For that principle, though, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception is the exception. Even when December 8 falls on a Saturday or Monday, it retains its obligatory status because Mary of the Immaculate Conception is the patron saint of the United States. She holds a special devotion in this country and so is celebrated on any day.

When Immaculate Conception falls on a Sunday, however (like this year), the celebration is shifted. “Wait, Andy,” I can hear you say, “I thought that in your previous, handsome, brilliantly insightful post that you showed that Solemnities take precedence over Sunday celebrations.” Of course they do, my fellow calendar enthusiast, when that Sunday is in Ordinary Time or in the Christmas Season. However, according to the General Norms on the Roman Calendar (#5):

Because of its special importance, the celebration of Sunday gives way only to Solemnities and Feasts of the Lord; indeed, the Sundays of Advent, Lent, and Easter have precedence over all Feasts of the Lord and over all Solemnities. In fact, Solemnities occurring on these Sundays are transferred to the following Monday unless they occur on Palm Sunday or on Sunday of the Lord’s Resurrection. (emphasis mine)

Sundays of Advent have precedence over all Feasts of the Lord and Solemnities and should be transferred to the following Monday. Therefore, this year we celebrate Immaculate Conception on Monday, December 9, since Sunday, December 8 is the 2nd Sunday of Advent. So, you are obligated to attend Mass on both days, right? Not so fast. According to this past February’s newletter from the USCCB Committee on Divine Worship:

The obligation of the faithful to attend Mass remains attached to the day itself (December 8), however, and so it does not transfer with the liturgical observance.

This year, the obligation to attend Mass on Immaculate Conception is lifted. I strongly encourage you to attend anyway, of course, since this feast should hold a special place in our devotions as Christians in general and Americans in particular.

Tune in next time for some more calendar geekery.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Andrew R. Motyka

Andrew Motyka is the Archdiocesan Director of Liturgical Music and Cathedral Music for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    “Music List” • 6th Sunday of Easter (Year C)
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 6th Sunday of Easter (25 May 2025). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and propers for this Sunday are provided at the the feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Gloria in Spanish” • Free Accompaniment
    Several people have requested an organ accompaniment for the GLORY TO GOD which prints the Spanish words directly above the chords. The Spanish adaptation—Gloria a Dios en el cielo—as printed in Roman Misal, tercera edición was adapted from the “Glória in excélsis” from Mass XV (DOMINATOR DEUS). I used to feel that it’s a pretty boring chant … until I heard it sung well by a men’s Schola Cantorum, which changed my view dramatically. This morning, I created this harmonization and dedicated it to my colleague, Corrinne May. You may download it for free. Please let me know if you enjoy it!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    How Well Does ICEL Know Latin?
    This year, the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June 2025) will fall on a Sunday. It’s not necessary to be an eminent Latin scholar to be horrified by examples like this, which have been in place since 1970. For the last 55 years, anyone who’s attempted to correct such errors has been threatened with legal action. It is simply unbelievable that the (mandatory) texts of the Holy Mass began being sold for a profit in the 1970s. How much longer will this gruesome situation last?
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    When to Sit, Stand and Kneel like it’s 1962
    There are lots of different guides to postures for Mass, but I couldn’t find one which matched our local Latin Mass, so I made this one: sit-stand-kneel-crop
    —Veronica Brandt
    The Funeral Rites of the Graduale Romanum
    Lately I have been paging through the 1974 Graduale Romanum (see p. 678 ff.) and have been fascinated by the funeral rites found therein, especially the simply-beautiful Psalmody that is appointed for all the different occasions before and after the funeral Mass: at the vigil/wake, at the house of the deceased, processing to the church, at the church, processing to the cemetery, and at the cemetery. Would that this “stational Psalmody” of the Novus Ordo funeral rites saw wider usage! If you or anyone you know have ever used it, please do let me know.
    —Daniel Tucker

Random Quote

Friedman met Egon Wellesz in Altaussee on one of the walks, and Egon started to speak about atonal music—and Ignaz replied: “No, no, no. Melody for me.”

— From the Life of Ignazy Friedman

Recent Posts

  • “Music List” • 6th Sunday of Easter (Year C)
  • “Can the Choir Sing Alone at Mass?” • Yes! And Here’s Why That Matters
  • “Gloria in Spanish” • Free Accompaniment
  • How Well Does ICEL Know Latin?
  • Nobody Cares About This! • 1887 Rheims-Cambrai Gradual included “Restored” Plainsong

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