The First Precept of the Holy Church

Observing the Holy Days of Obligation, including all Sundays, comprises the first precept of the Holy Church in addition to the Third Commandment of the Decalogue: "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work; but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work.90  The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath; so the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath."91

 

Observing these appointed holy days means attending Mass and refraining from servile works [More on that in a future blog].

 

There are additionally five other precepts of the Church that outline the absolute minimum regarding the outward observance of the Christian Faith: (2) You shall confess your sins at least once a year; (3) You shall receive the sacrament of the Eucharist at least during the Easter season; (4) You shall observe the days of fasting and abstinence established by the Church (e.g. Great Lent (still in effect), Fridays (still in effect), Embers and Rogation Days (traditional) [More on these in a future blog...]); and (4) You shall provide for the needs of the Church (according to one's ability) [Ibid.].

 

Of the five precepts, only one has nothing to do with the liturgical calendar.  Hence, understanding time from a catholic, ecclesiological point of view is vital to being an observant and thus an authentic Christian (Matthew 7:22-23; Luke 22:19; Acts 2:42).  Moreover, to participate in the mysteries as outlined in Acts, the episode of Emmaus and elsewhere, one must confess their sins as mentioned by St. Paul (see 1 Corinthians 11:27) and as emphasized by St. John (see Jn. 20:23).

 

Keeping faithfulness in this most fundamental way, and knowing where you are presently located in time of the great assembly of Christ's mystical body (the Church), is the reason for observing the liturgical calendar as a whole in deepening your spiritual commitments in socially meaningful ways [after all, it is a well-attested Catholic custom and saintly approved act to present your personal resolutions, good works and sins, in addition to the inner struggles of your spiritual life to the Holy Mass itself].  This, including singing, reading, listening, and praying is what it means to participate in the Holy Mass.

 

The Obligations for the United States, 2025 (sub Domina Immaculata):

In the Universal Church, the breakdown in the days of obligation can vary nation by nation (given that each country has its own patron saint and historical relation to Christianity).  Because this blog is written in the United States, the calendar will reflect Anglo-American obligations.

 

[This rubric is presented by Catholic Answers and the USCCB]:

 

Holy Days of Obligation in 2025: U.S. Calendar

 

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) designates the following as Catholic holy days of obligation for 2025 in the United States, in addition to every Sunday:

 

  • Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God [Also, known as the Circumcision of Our Lord]

Wednesday, January 1, 2025
Yes, this is a holy day of obligation. Catholics honor the Blessed Virgin Mary as the Mother of God, recognizing her unique role in the mystery of the Incarnation. In addition, as the Church also provides, “Whenever January 1, the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, or August 15, the Solemnity of the Assumption, or November 1, the Solemnity of All Saints, falls on a Saturday or on a Monday, the precept to attend Mass is abrogated” (USCCB, Complementary Norms, CIC, canon 1246, §2, emphasis added).

  • Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord

Thursday, May 29, 2025
This day commemorates Christ’s Ascension, when Jesus culminated his one sacrifice of Calvary in everlasting glory in the heavenly sanctuary. In most U.S. dioceses, the celebration is transferred to Sunday, June 1. Check your local parish or diocese for specifics.

Typically, the Ascension's obligation is translated over to the proximate Sunday.

  • Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Friday, August 15, 2025
August 15 celebrates the Assumption of the Blessed Mother, body and soul, into heaven.

  • Solemnity of All Saints

Saturday, November 1, 2025
As indicated above regarding the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God (Jan. 1), because November 1 falls on a Saturday this year, the obligation to participate in Mass is abrogated for the faithful in the United States. However, participating in Mass is strongly encouraged to honor all the saints in heaven and offer right worship to the Lord, whose holy friends and collaborators the saints are.

  • Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Monday, December 8, 2025
This feast takes place exactly nine months prior to the celebration of Mary’s nativity on September 8.

  • Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord (Christmas)

Thursday, December 25, 2025

Catholics need to participate in Mass on Christmas Day, one of the most sacred Catholic holidays of the year.

Understanding the Church’s Calendar

These holy days remain a part of the Church’s rich liturgical calendar, interwoven with Ordinary Time, Lent, Easter, and Advent. They remind us that our lives are not shaped merely by civil holidays, but, most importantly, by the rhythm of our life in Christ as members of his Catholic Church.

Correcting Misconceptions

Enriching Spiritual Lives through the Divine Presence of Christ:

Observing Holy Days of Obligation brings people together to hear the Word of God and to give praise through Psalms and Hymns (traditionally known as the Mass of the Catechumens or those preparing for the rite of Baptism), all of which is a preparation to observe the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass as described by St. Justin Martyr (born in the year that St. John the Evangelist had most likely died): "For not as common bread and common drink do we receive these; but in like manner as Jesus Christ our Saviour, having been made flesh by the Word of God, had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so likewise have we been taught that the food which is blessed by the prayer of His word, and from which our blood and flesh by transmutation are nourished, is the flesh and blood of that Jesus who was made flesh." (from the First Apology of Justin Martyr, ca. 155-157 AD).  Such words resonate the true meaning of John 6:55-57 --- "For my flesh is meat indeed: and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, abideth in me, and I in him." 

Withdrawing from Worldliness to the Eternal Presence of God:

So much of our lives is spent on particular things that come and go.  That is in a way inevitable and nothing is wrong with particular temporal things per se. 

 

The point is that the temporal order is not everything but subordinate as a supernaturally sustained natural order of things.  On the Holy Days of Obligation and each Sunday, we are allowed (indeed commissioned) to withdraw from the web of worldliness that ensnares and tempts us to remember the First and Last Things as outlined in the Apostles Creed: 

 

I believe in God,
the Father almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried;
he descended into hell;
on the third day he rose again from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty;
from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting.

Amen.

 

[N.B. The entire point of religion from the believer's point of view is to join worthily the communion of saints as outlined above, and so we are called to go above the minimum as outlined above, for we desire not merely salvation but sanctification so as to adhere more closely to Jesus' words in Matthew 5:48 where He commands us to "Be perfect as your Father in Heaven is perfect."]