If everyone goes to Mass on Ash Wednesday, why isn’t it a holy day of obligation?
Ash Wednesday feels like it should be a holy day of obligation. Churches are packed, and everyone comes for ashes. But it isn’t, and the reason is simple: holy days of obligation are feast days. Ash Wednesday (like Good Friday) is a day of fasting, not feasting.
In this episode of Ask A Priest, Father Tim explains how the Church has fast days and feast days and why the Church “obliges” us on days of celebration. Using examples like weddings and the 4th of July, he shows how Catholics worship first and then celebrate, because Jesus has already won.
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