Holy Days of Obligation are becoming like secular holidays. Let’s celebrate when convenient. This is the case this year with Ascension Thursday.

The Ascension of the Lord

The Ascension of the Lord takes place 40 days after Easter and falls on a Thursday. But, for the convenience of the world, it is frequently celebrated on the Sunday following this date. This is the case here in 2019.

This great solemnity celebrates the bodily ascension of Christ into heaven.

And this year, the date for The Ascension of the Lord is May 30th. But, and below I quote for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, it is not celebrated on Thursday in most places.

Regarding the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, the ecclesiastical provinces of Boston, Hartford, New York, Newark, Omaha, and Philadelphia have retained its celebration on the proper Thursday, while all other ecclesiastical provinces of the United States of America have transferred this Solemnity to the following Sunday, June 2, 2019. In those archdioceses and dioceses, Thursday, May 30, 2019, is observed as an Easter Weekday.

Convenience versus Tradition

While I have never lived in any of those big archdiocese that keep the observance of the Ascension on a Thursday, I have always felt this is a day best kept when it should be. I also think that a lot of our Monday secular holidays should be celebrated on their proper dates, as opposed to the convenient Monday.

What are your opinions on the Ascension of the Lord being celebrated on a Sunday, as opposed to a Thursday? What about secular holidays such as Memorial Day?