1/6/23
A retrospective on the Epiphany.
Yes, this idea is whacko, that we transfer the feast to the Sunday. It opens more questions than it answers. I’m not sure what the initial answer is supposed to be to begin with? That the faithful already weren’t celebrated the feast on Jan 6th, so this it salvage some recognition of the feast…? The rest of the Christian world doesn’t seem to have a problem with January 6th. Or for December 25 plus January 6th, for that matter.
This year January 6th is on a Friday. Therefore, a day of penance. Set aside, for the moment, the consideration of the importance and merits of a day of penance. Observe, rather, that they [Bishops] took away a one of the greatest dates for feasting & rejoicing on our Calendar in favor, this year, of a day of penance. Why not, for instance, keep the date and simply remove the obligation to attend Mass? Or why not altogether keep it a Holy Day of obligation. It there are too many on account of the January the First, we may have to take a look of that.
We seem to be missing out on a feast. It’ll come back, eventually.
