by Vonda J. Sines

Created on: January 02, 2011

If you're at least a little bit confused on which are the holy days of obligation for 2011, you have a lot of company.  When it comes to holy days for Roman Catholics in the United States, what's observed and when can be perplexing. Whenever a date is listed as a holy day, Catholics are required to go to church and attend an observance of the occasion.

The source of the confusion is the existence of both these holy days of obligation and what’s known as moveable feasts. The latter are special days associated with calendar dates of observance that shift from year to year and that are celebrated by Catholics as well as a number of Protestants.

Holy Days of Obligation

According to About.com Catholicism, here is a calendar summary of the standard holy days of obligation in the United States. Note that when Mary, Mother of God; the Assumption; or All Saints falls on a Saturday or a Monday, Latin Rite Catholics in the U.S. are not obligated to attend mass to observe them.

Mary, Mother of God, January 1.  This holy day is traditionally observed on New Year’s Day or the preceding evening if local parishes offer observances then.  It commemorates Mary as the Mother of God.  Catholic bishops have declared that it isn’t a holy day of obligation in the U.S. for 2011 because it falls on a Saturday, according to the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia.

Easter Sunday, April 24.  Considering both Christmas and Easter, many Christians consider Easter Sunday the most sacred feast on the calendar.  It commemorates the resurrection of Christ and the chance for an eternal life with God.  It also ends the 30 somber days of Lent.  In order to stay in good standing, Roman Catholics need to receive the Eucharist at least once during the Easter season.

Ascension of the Lord, June 2.  In most U.S. dioceses, this holy day will be transferred to Sunday, June 5, 2011.  It commemorates Christ’s ascension 40 days after the resurrection.  Church dogma says that the Apostles looked on as He bodily ascended to Heaven.

Assumption of Mary, August 15. Catholics are not required to observe it as a holy day of obligation in 2011 because it falls on a Monday.  It marks the assumption of Mary’s incorrupt body into Heaven.

All Saints Day, November 1.  It’s always the day after Halloween.  By the final days of the Roman Empire, there were so many saints who had been martyred that the Church created

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