Our Lady of Lourdes Church and School

This past week we celebrated the Feast of the Assumption, and in our Church, it is a “Holy Day of Obligation”. People often ask me why we still have “Holy Days of Obligation”, and perhaps as we are “bouncing off” our most recent one, it might be worthwhile to explore why we have them.

There are historical and practical reasons for Holy Days (holidays), which pre-date our modern calendars and our sensibilities about the need for people to have some time for recreation. Holy Days (holidays) were scattered through the yearly calendar and afforded people time to be with their families and to enjoy a break from an otherwise work-filled life. Civic calendars followed the Church calendars in those times, but today, civic holidays and observances have their own tempo and we all enjoy the time for family, friends and ourselves that they afford us.

But there are also religious and theological reasons for having these Holy Days of Obligation, quite apart from the break from work that they once afforded. I read a column recently that likened our Holy Days to the experience of a “tour-guide” or a “docent”. If we consider the liturgical year as a journey, the docent is the person who guides us through the experience, pointing out the important and noteworthy things along the way. Our Holy Days are organized in such a way that they point out or highlight certain important aspects of the reality of our salvation.

The truth is that every Holy Day is a celebration of some aspect of the life-giving, saving mission of Jesus. Even when we are celebrating a Holy Day that seems to be focused on Mary, like the Assumption which just took place this past week, we are actually invited more deeply into our relationship with Jesus. On this particular feast day, for example, the gospel had Mary move the spotlight away from her, and onto the wonderful work of God’s saving power in our lives: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!” The Magnificat goes on to extol the marvelous and many ways in which God works in our lives and in our world. In this way, we can see that the Holy Day is, in fact, a wonderful teacher or docent for us. Just as a good docent doesn’t draw attention to him or her self, the feast doesn’t draw attention to itself, but rather directs our attention to what’s most important.

There are currently six (6) Holy Days of Obligation observed in the United States. They are:

January 1, The Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God; Ascension; August 15, the Assumption; November 1, All Saints Day; December 8, Feast of the Immaculate Conception; December 25, Christmas. The US Bishops, in consultation with the Vatican, have the following practices. 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 set aside, or “abrogated”. In many dioceses in the US, including Los Angeles, the Solemnity of the Ascension is celebrated on the Seventh Sunday of Easter. Some of us might find that a little confusing, if we get hung up on the dates or why some Holy Days are celebrated and some are not in any given year. Remembering that it’s not the day in itself that’s most important, but that toward which it points. Perhaps it might be a good exercise for us just to reflect on toward what great mystery it is precisely, that each Holy Day points us?

On a completely different note, please join me in welcoming to Our Lady of Lourdes two wonderful new people to our community. Sergio Hidalgo is a seminarian at St. John’s Seminary, and he joins us as an Intern for the next 10 months. He follows in the footsteps of (now) Fr. Luis Espinosa, (now) Fr. Deusdedit Naja, and (now) Deacon Peter Saucedo. Also joining us is Sage Hubacek who is our parish Youth Minister & Confirmation Coordinator. Sage has been working as an Associate Youth Minister at St. Lawrence Martyr in Redondo Beach and is now taking on leadership among us with our Youth. Please keep both Sergio and Sage uppermost in your prayers as they join our community of faith. Introduce yourself to them, take a moment to encourage them in their respective new ministries, and greet them often as you see them around the parish going forward.