"Fiddling with holidays to create three-day weekends institutionalizes disrespect." ~ Florence King
my thanks to TSO for the quote...i've been trying to put my finger on why i so resent the fat-cat american bishops for catering to lazy catholics by fiddling with high and holy days of obligation.
It's not all about lazy Americans. A lot of Americans have trouble getting off work consecutive days -- i.e., Saturday and Sunday, or Sunday and Monday. It's not just catering to lazy Americans, but also to working Americans. I think the American bishops want to ensure that people can get to Mass on holy days without compromising their jobs, and that if they can't, they don't have to feel guilty about it.
I'm sure the laziness is a factor, but I wanted to offer this other perspective.
Nathan, Americans have always worked!! My folks didn't have any trouble getting to holy days on work days.
AMEN, Smock! If the priests offer a Mass on those working days when the working folks can make it then what would be the problem? Our priest always offers an 8 p.m. Mass on those Holy Days. Problem solved.
or a 7am mass.
Or, as Jeff Miller pointed out, as dispensation is granted to those who can't make a Mass during the work week, what is the point of making the dispensation for everyone anyway? No sense at all, natch!
The workweek dispensation is news to me. When did that happen?
-a