The Ascension of Jesus Christ. Giotto di Bondone, 1305. public area. / null
Tomorrow Is Ascension Thursday, The day The Church marks 40 days since Jesus’ resurrection and The day he ascended into heaven (see Acts 1:1–11). But relying on where you live, you could or will Not be obligated to attend Mass on that day.
If you live within The ecclesiastical provinces of Boston, Hartford, New York, Omaha, and Philadelphia, tomorrow Is a holy day of obligation for you. That means if you live In New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Nebraska, or Pennsylvania, you need to go to Mass!
If you live In The remaining of The nation, The celebration of The solemnity of The Ascension Is moved to The Seventh Sunday of Easter — Which this yr Is Sunday, May 21.
Why The completely different days of celebration?
The National Conference of Catholic Bishops (now known as The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops) stated In a 1991 decree that along With Sundays, there are a Number of days to be noticed as holy days of obligation: Jan. 1, The Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God; The Thursday of The Sixth Week of Easter, The Ascension; Aug. 15, The Assumption of The Blessed Virgin Mary; Nov. 1, All Saints’ Day; Dec. 8, The Immaculate Conception; and Dec. 25, The Nativity of Our Lord, Jesus Christ.
However, In subsequent action In 1999, The bishops’ convention “In accord With The provisions of canon 1246, §2 of The Code of Canon Law, Which states: ‘… The conference of bishops can abolish certain holy days of obligation or transfer them to a Sunday With prior approval of The Apostolic See,’” allowed every ecclesiastical province within The United States to find out whether or Not to maneuver celebration of The Ascension to The Sunday following The Sixth Week of Easter.
Most provinces determined to maneuver The celebration to Sunday; these talked about earlier, that are largely within The Northeast, retained The Thursday celebration. Some moved The date In later years, such because The ecclesiastical province of Baltimore, for instance, Which decided to change The date In 2002. And The province of Newark decided just last year to move The celebration to Sunday.
The determination usually sparks some humor on Social media round this time of yr:
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