118. First Commandment of the Church

On holydays of obligation, just as on Sundays, we must hear Mass and abstain from unnecessary servile work. If without any grave reason, one fails to sanctify the holydays of obligation, he commits a mortal sin. Those obliged to work on holydays of obligation should at least hear Mass before going to their work. Catholic employers have a serious obligation of making it easy for those under them to sanctify holydays of obligation. All are children of the same Eternal Father.

"TO ASSIST AT MASS ON ALL SUNDAYS AND HOLY DAYS OF OBLIGATION."

What sin does a Catholic commit who through his own fault misses Mass on a Sunday or holyday of obligation?

— A Catholic who through his own fault misses Mass on a Sunday or holyday of obligation commits a mortal sin.

The precept is not binding on one who must care for the sick, or lives rather far from a church, or who has urgent work, or is ill.

1. The first precept of the Church requires us to sanctify Sundays and holydays of obligation. Then we render to God and the saints some of the honour due them.

The early Christians celebrated many festivals so that they might keep alive the memory of certain events or benefits from God. The aim of instituting holydays is to have the faithful remember for all time the important events commemorated, and to have them give praise and thanksgiving to God for them. This is why we should always try to celebrate holydays in a becoming manner. Some persons unhappily treat holydays as merely days to eat and drink and be merry, without regard for the occasion commemorated.

2. The civil law does not recognize as holydays some of the Church holydays of obligation; factories, offices, and schools keep open on those days. But even if Catholics must go to work on such holydays, they should at least try to hear Mass. Numerous churches celebrate Mass at an early hour in the morning, as also in the evening.

Persons not obliged to work on holydays of obligation should avoid doing so. But those who must work need remember only Our Lord's words: "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath" (Mark 2:27-28).

Which are the holydays of obligation in the Universal Church?

— All Sundays and the following ten:

1. Christmas Day

(December 25) On this day we commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ in the stable at Bethlehem. "And it came to pass while they were there, that the days for her to be delivered were fulfilled. And she brought forth her first-born son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn" (Luke 2:6-7).

2. The Epiphany

(January 6) The Epiphany celebrates the adoration of the newly-born Child by the Magi, the Wise Men from the East, — Melchor, Caspar, and Baltassar. The feast is called the Epiphany (or "manifestation") because it celebrates the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles.

3. Ascension Thursday

(40 days after Easter) Forty days after His Resurrection from the dead, Our Lord ascended into heaven from Mount Olivet. "Now he led them out towards Bethany, and he lifted up his hands and blessed them. And it came to pass as he blessed them, that he parted from them and was carried up into heaven" (Luke 24:50-51). And when he had said this, he was lifted up before their eyes, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing up to heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white garments, and said to them, "Men of Galilee, this Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you have seen him going up to heaven" (Acts. 1:9-11).

4. Corpus Christi

(Thursday after Trinity Sunday)

5. The Divine Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

(January 1) Also called the Circumcision of Our Lord.

6. The Assumption

(August 15). After her death, the soul of the Blessed Virgin Mary was reunited to her incorrupt body, and she was taken up to heaven by the ministry of angels. No one has ever claimed possessing any relic of Mary's body; if she had not been assumed into heaven, would not the Apostles, who revered her highly, have kept her relics?

7. All Saints' Day

(November 1). On All Saints' Day we honour the memory of all the Saints in heaven and implore their intercession.

8. The Immaculate Conception

(December 8). God Himself proclaimed Mary's spotless purity in Paradise (Gen. 3:15): the archangel Gabriel announced it, calling her "full of grace." Christians throughout the ages have called Mary immaculate; the dogma was declared by the Pope in 1854. It is an article of faith to believe that Mary was conceived entirely free from original sin.

9. Saint Joseph

(19th of March)

Pope Pius IX declared St. Joseph to be the patron of the universal Church.

10. Saints Peter and Paul.

(29th of June)

What else does the Church oblige us to do on holydays of obligation?

— The Church obliges us to abstain from servile work on holydays of obligation, just as on Sundays, as far as we are able. (See pages 204-205, Unnecessary Servile Work.)

On these days, Catholics should keep away from housework like washing and house cleaning.

Why were holydays instituted by the Church?

— Holydays were instituted by the Church to remind us of the mysteries of our religion, and of the important events in the lives of Christ and of His Blessed Mother, and to recall to us the virtues and the rewards of the saints.

1. The Church appoints festivals in honour of Our Lord, in order that we may recall the principal mysteries of our Redemption, thank God for the graces received through these mysteries, and make them bear fruit in our lives.

The feasts of Our Lord that do not necessarily fall on a Sunday are: Christmas, the Circumcision, and the Ascension. Easter and Pentecost always fall on a Sunday. 2. Even if some feasts are not holydays of obligation in your country, you should still celebrate them with much honour, especially by attending holy Mass. 3. The festivals in honour of Our Lady and the Saints are prescribed, that we may reverence them as God's friends, and profit by their intercession and example.