WHY
DOESN’T THE CHURCH FOLLOW THE SAME LAWS IN EVERY
COUNTRY? Besides
Sundays, are there other feastdays of obligation in the
liturgical calendar? Why doesn’t the Catholic Church follow the same laws and the same customs in all countries of the world? For example: the days of obligation are not the same everywhere. *** The things that are essential are accepted by Catholics everywhere, today as in the past: we share an identical faith in the Lord, we express the same love for God and neighbor, we believe in the same doctrine and we accept the same sacraments... Sunday is celebrated by Christians all over the world; it is the Lord’s Day. There are disciplinary rules of lesser importance which may differ from country to country, from diocese to diocese, just as there are differences in the daily conduct of families which profess the same faith and adhere to the same human values. Holy days of obligation may vary from country to country. We all celebrate the same Christian feastdays but for various reasons they may be designated as days of obligation in some countries and not in others. The Code of Canon Law (Can. 1246) provides a list of feastdays of obligation: the Lord’s Day is always the primary holy day of obligation, the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Epiphany, the Ascension of Christ, the feast of the Body and Blood of Christ, the feast of the Mother of God, her Immaculate Conception, her Assumption, the feast of Saint Joseph, the feast of the Apostles Saints Peter and Paul, and the feast of All Saints. In each country, the episcopate, with the approval of the Holy See, may suppress certain feasts of obligation or transfer them to the following Sundays. According to Canon 1246, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) decreed that the feastdays of obligation in Canada are: all Sundays, Christmas and the feast of Mary the Mother of God (January 1st). It transferred the feasts of the Epiphany, the Ascension, and the Body and Blood of Christ (the Blessed Sacrament) to the Sunday following the actual day. In the United States, the feastdays of obligation are: all Sundays, the Immaculate Conception, Christmas, the feast of Mary the Mother of God (January 1st), Ascension Thursday (in some dioceses, it’s transferred on the following Sunday), the Assumption of Mary, the feast of All Saints. Our Christian life is to love God and our neighbor. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we strive to imitate Jesus, and, with our legitimate differences, we continue our journey towards our Father’s House. |