I'm sorry that the Mother of God Inconveniences You

So Happy New Year from Wisconsin! Today is officially January 1st, 2013, and what better way to start the new year than with a new blog post? Today is the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. It is a beautiful feast that celebrates Mary's role in the Salvation of the World as the "theotokos" or the "God-bearer." This title was officially conferred upon Our Blessed Mother in 431 at the Council of Ephesus thanks largely to St. Cyril of Alexandria, although she had been called the Theotokos long before 431 (I teach Church History, I couldn't help myself). This Feast Day is one of the most beautiful and one of the oldest Feasts on the Liturgical Calendar of the Catholic Church.

So when I was at Mass on Sunday in Southern California, suffice it to say that I was surprised when the priest celebrating Mass said in the announcements that January 1st would NOT be a Holy Day of Obligation. I left thinking that perhaps he had been joking or that he had misspoken, but then my dad dropped me off at the airport and asked me about that same thing since his priest had also mentioned it. So I go online today to do some research, especially since I just taught all of my students that January 1st is Holy Day of Obligation. Here is what I found on the website of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in the Diocese of Orange:

"For the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, The Bishops of Region 11 have determined that due to the pastoral reality and the pastoral hardships resulting from the obligation to attend Mass on January 1, the obligation of attending Mass has been dispensed.

Therefore, January1, 2013 is not a Holy Day of Obligation in the Diocese of Orange. But it remains a Holy Day of Obligation for the Universal Church. All Catholics are encouraged to attend Mass on January 1st."

So I can sort of understand dispensing with the Obligation when the Feast falls on a Saturday or a Monday, just like I can sort of understand the Church in the United States asking for a dispensation to allow Catholics to eat meat on Fridays outside of Lent, but this? SERIOUSLY?!?! What are the pastoral hardships involved here?! Just because people party too hard on New Year's Eve and are hungover the next day and don't want to go to Mass does not mean that we should just say, "Oh, that's fine, don't worry about celebrating the Feast of Mary, the Mother of God, she isn't really that important anyway." In fact, I think that we should emphasize the Feast Day because of the culture that surrounds New Year's Eve. I think having the obligation to attend Mass the next day encourages people to party more moderately and in a much more appropriate way. If this is such a big deal, why are only the Bishops of Region 11 doing this (Region 11 consists of the Dioceses in Hawaii, California and Nevada)?

At what point do we cross over from inculturation of the Gospel message to watering it down? At what point do we stop trying to change the Church to make her more appealing to others and start encouraging people to change themselves? There was a quote from  a Defending the Faith Conference in a Franciscan Way magazine not too long ago that said, "There are many scientific reasons, philosophical reasons, that people have a problem with the Church. But the biggest problem they have is that it requires a change of lifestyle, it requires them to change the way they live" or something along those lines. If we are to live as faithful Catholics we must require change of ourselves instead of requiring change of our Church.

When I read this, the first thing that came to my mind was the verse from St. Paul's Letter to Romans: "Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect" (Romans 12:2). I think that it would be pleasing to God for us to honor this Holy Feast Day. I think that Christ would want us to celebrate Mary's role in the Salvation of the world, for without her "fiat" the Incarnation would not have taken place. I love what St. Maximilian Kolbe has to say about Our Lady: Never be afraid of loving Our Lady too much. We can never love her more than Jesus did."

With these things in mind, I would humbly encourage the Bishops of Region 11 to reconsider this decision in upcoming years. I acknowledge, however, that I do not know all of the circumstances that played into this decision and I do not presume to know better than the Bishops of Holy Church, even if I seemed to give off that impression.

May Jesus Bless you through His Mother throughout this New Year and the rest of your days. May we continue to pray for our Church and for Her leaders.

God Love You!