Holy Days of Obligation
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Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it. Exodus 20:8–11
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What is a Holy Day?
Holy Days of Obligation are special days marked out during the calendar year that are solemnities, a type of high feast day in the Catholic Church.
They are celebrations of The Mass that allow Christians to more deeply reflect upon a specific element of our Catholic Faith. They may hone in on a particular mystery or celebrate with great jubilation a saint of great importance. -
Why are they obligatory?
More than an obligation, a Holy Day is an opportunity to stop what we're doing and give that holy pause over to contemplation of God's love for us. It's a celebration of Christ's great sacrifice to forgive our sins and seek communion with us. Since our world so often forgets or secularizes religious days, a day of obligation reminds us that we ought to give God what is due to him, especially our worship.
On these days, Catholics are required to attend Holy Mass and avoid (as much as possible) servile (or unnecessary) work. They are days we are called to rejoice with The Church and feast as an act of thanksgiving to God. The obligation reminds us of the importance of giving the whole day to God. -
Holy Days in The United States
In addition to every Sunday (or Saturday Anticipated Mass), the Holy Days of Obligation in The United Sates are:
- January 1, the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God
- Thursday of the Sixth Week of Easter, the solemnity of the Ascension
- August 15, the solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
- November 1, the solemnity of All Saints
- December 8, the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception
- December 25, the solemnity of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ
Note: Whenever January 1, the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, or August 15, the solemnity of the Assumption, or November 1, the solemnity of All Saints, falls on a Saturday or on a Monday, the precept to attend Mass is abrogated. Cf. USCCB Complimentary Norms for Canon 1246 -
The Precepts of the Church
Holy Days of Obligation are part of the Sunday Duty, namely to attend Mass every week to observe the day set aside for rest and worship of God. For Christians, this is Sunday, the day of resurrection.
There are five total obligations we have as Catholics. These are called the Precepts of The Church:- Attend Mass on Sundays and days of obligation.
- Confess your sins at least once a year.
- Receive the Eucharist at least once a year.
- Observe days of fasting and abstinence.
- Provide for the needs of the Church.