Dear Chas:

You make an interesting point about Ash Wednesday. Surely if people can take time out of their day in the middle of the week to attend Ash Wednesday services, which is not an obligation, then why can't say attend Mass on Holy Days of Obligation on the days in which they are suppose to be celebrated.

In the 19th century there were thirty-six Holy Days of Obligation in the Latin Church. Pope Pius X reduced that number to eight in 1911. The feasts of the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ and of St. Joseph were added in 1917 bringing the total Holy Days of Obligation to the current ten.

There are only two places on the planet that I am aware of which observe all ten Holy Days of Obligation. Those two places are Vatican City and the Swiss Canton of Ticino in the southernmost Switzerland. As far as I know no country other than those two celebrate more than six Holy Days of Obligation. There are some countries that celebrate only two, and at least one country that celebrates only one — Christmas.

A continuing lack of devotion that we see among the faithful overall is a symptom of our times. It is a symptom of the secularization not only of our culture but even of our Church.

But with all this said we must remember that the universal norms for the Church are based upon minimum standards. For example, the minimum standard for receiving the Eucharist is only once a year during the Easter season. Obviously, that is not a healthy thing to do, but it's the absolute minimum the Church requires. The same goes for Holy Days of Obligation.

From the point of view of the Holy See, who must oversee 1.4 billion Catholics, the pastoral obligation of the Pope is to be lenient on absolute requirements because out of one billion Catholics there'll be people at all levels of faith and maturity. We need to be careful not to do as the Pharisees did to place too much of a burden upon the people.

Nevertheless, I do personally question the bishops of some countries, such as Canada, who has reduced Holy Days of Obligation to only two.

It should be noted, however, that these obligations are only a minimum not a limit, just as the minimum requirement to receive the Eucharist once a year is not a limit.The Church encourages us to receive the Eucharist at least once a week if we are properly disposed. 

In fact, there are some countries who have Holy Days of Obligation which are not on the universal list. For example, in Ireland the feast of St. Patrick is a Holy Day of Obligation. In the Oblates and Missioners of St. Michael we have some thirty Holy Days of Obligation.

In like manner, we can make a personal devotion to practice a feast day of our favorite Saint as if it is a Holy Day of Obligation.

The bottom line is that God calls us to do more than minimum standards. We are called to excellence, we are called high devotion, we are called to intimacy with our Father in Heaven, and with Jesus Christ our Lord, and with the Holy Spirit. It is hard to accomplish those goals if we practice our Christianity according to minimum standards.

Thus, regardless of what the Conference of Bishops may decide concerning Holy Days of Obligation it does not prevent us from practicing universal Holy Days on the days in which they were intended by the universal Church. Nor does it prevent us from celebrating the feast of a favorite Saint and treating that feast day in the same manner as a Holy Day of Obligation. Indeed such a personal devotion is a Holy Day of Obligation for us, even if it is not for anyone else.

We should never feel restrained by the minimum standards of the Church. We are always free, and indeed encouraged, to do more than the minimum.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary