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Transfer of Ascension to Seventh Sunday of Easter

May 31, 2000
On November 16, 1998, the National Conference of Catholic Bishops voted to allow the bishops of each ecclesiastical province to determine whether the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord was to be celebrated traditionally on Thursday, the fortieth day after Easter, or could be transferred to the Seventh Sunday of Easter. This decision was subsequently confirmed by the Holy See. The bishops of the ecclesiastical province of Michigan, of which the Diocese of Gaylord is a part, met to discuss this isssue and decided to transfer the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord to the Seventh Sunday of Easter. Why did the bishops of our region make this decision? The Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord provides us with the opportunity to commemorate an important aspect of the mystery of Christ. From the earliest days of the Church, the celebration of the Ascension of the Lord has been used to complete the commemoration of the presence of the risen Lord which characterizes the season of Easter. In the Ascension, we recall not only the Lord's union with the Father in glory, but his command to the Church to continue his mission until his promised return. Yet, the sad fact is that this feast is celebrated by a very small percentage of the Catholics in our diocese. A declining number of priests combined with changes in patterns of work for many of our people have contributed both to the reduced availability of Mass on Ascension Thursday and, in many places, the inability of Catholics to participate in the Mass of the Ascension. To help increase Mass attendance of this important feast, the Western most provinces of our country were granted an indult by the Holy See several years ago to transfer the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord to a subsequent Sunday, in the same way that we have already to observe the Solemnity of Epiphany. Our province has chosen to transfer the Solemnity of the Ascension to the Sunday which follows it, June 4, 2000, so that the largest possible number of Catholics can participate in this celebration. Some will note that the Solemnity of the Ascension was originally observed on a Thursday because of its historical occurrence on the fortieth day following the Resurrection of the Lord. While this is certainly of great value, it is secondary to the practicability of the observance of the feast by the greatest possible number of the faithful. Finally, it should be recalled that the transference of Solemnities and major feasts is not a new pastoral practice. In the early history of the Church in the United States, holy days of obligation varied from one region of the country to another due to the diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds of the priests and the immigrant communities they served. A similar situation seems to apply now, at the beginning of the twenty-first century, as we seek to respond to current conditions and to encourage Catholics to celebrate the mysteries of our faith. Towards that end, our bishop and those of the neighboring dioceses in the ecclesiastical province of Michigan have transferred the Solemnity of the Ascension to the Seventh Sunday of Easter, June 4, 2000. Let us make our own, then, the opening prayer of the Mass of Ascension day: God our Father, make us joyful in the ascension of your Son, Jesus Christ. May we follow him into the new creation, for his ascension is our glory and our hope!