Conference vmszoo::catholic-theology

    Today is not only the memorial day for the end of the hostilities in
    Europe in May 1945, but also Ascension Day.
    
    Most of Europe is on holiday today, (except UK Etc...)
    
    Our Anglican church in Geneva is planning a Eucharist & pic-nic at the
    monastery of Notre Dame des Voirons, where there is a community of some
    90 Little Sisters of Bethleem.
    
    As it has been snowing below 3000 feet & their monastery is at 4000ft
    I have just had to put on my snow tires again on our 4WD Golf.  :o)
    
    Traditionally this is an ecumenical Eucharist at a little chapel in the
    woods, that we are allowed to use & we usually get representatives from
    6 or more anglophone churches in Geneva, as well as French speaking 
    Swiss of French passer.
    
    When the weather is beautiful, we have the whole Alpine range at our
    feet so to speak with Mont Blanc (approx 15000ft) towering over the 
    whole Chamonix valley. When the weather is poor we gather in a small
    house & make a fire & all share each others quiches, cheeses, wines &
    pies. 
    
    			de Colores,
    					nm

    Hi Nick,
    
    Sounds like a beautiful way to observe the Ascension of our Lord!  Here
    in the States, the feast is celebrated as a holyday of obligation.  No
    national observance at all.

In the United States, we have no religious holidays, so today is a normal
workday.

It is, however, a Holy Day of Obligation, both for Roman Catholics (cf.
Canon 1246) and for Anglicans (cf 1979 BCP p.15, Principal Feasts), so
all who are observant will be at mass today (or will have gone to a
vigil mass yesterday evening).

My parish will observe the Feast this evening at 6:30 p.m. with a Solemn
High Mass; the music will be Missa Brevis in D, Op. 63 ... Benjamin Britten;
Surgens Jesus ... Claudio Monteverdi; Let all the world in  every corner sing
... Healey Willan, plus hymns:

	214	Hail the day that sees him rise,
	483	The head that once was crowned with thorns
		  Is crowned with glory now
	221	O Lord most High, eternal King
	450	All hail the power of Jesus' name
	215	See the conqueror mounts in triumph

(the first and last being the most traditional of Ascension Day hymns.)

There is a festival reception in the church garden afterwards.

/john

    Here in Germany it's a "Hol' of Ob'", and in Bavaria at least, a public
    holiday.

    Lots of 'First Holy Communions', little boys in posh suits, little
    girls in white dresses.

    It's also traditionally Father's day, which unfortunately sometimes
    means drunk men staggering round the streets.

    A friend wrote from San Francisco describing an all night Vigil
    "sign-up and pray an hour" kind of thing.


    -pb
    

    .3:
    
    Well, it was a Holy Day of Obligation for Roman Catholics in about 2/3
    of the United States.  There's a little note (and I do mean in LITTLE
    typeface!) that states that the dioceses in the states of Alaska,
    Hawaii, California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, and I
    think some others will have observed Ascension Thursday on Sunday, the
    11th.
    
    If I understand it correctly, this is the third year of a three-year
    trial, and over the coming months it will be decided whether to
    continue to require Mass attendance on Thursday (as has been
    traditional for lo these many centuries), or to move the observance of
    the feast to a Sunday, as was done some years ago for the Epiphany of
    the Lord.
    
    I presume that the various Eastern Rites will be unaffected.
    
    Dick

    Well we had a super day out at the Voirons monastery. It started off
    with Holy communion, lots of nice hyms sung a capella, as the chapel in
    the woods we used has no electricity. We had great big noises as
    mountains of snow slipped off the chapel roof in the warm sunshine.
    
    The lessons read were the same that my wife had read that morning at
    breakfast time, our Bible reading time, after breakfast, before the
    world goes crazy with busy-ness.
    
    This was followed by a pic-nic, half in a little house that the little
    sisters let us use, & half ouitside in the sunshine, once my wife had
    cleared a foot of snow off the benches & pic-nic table.
    
    We met lots of new people, new arrivals to the Geneva area, English
    people who were pic-nicking by themselves & who joined us.
    
    We then walked back down to the monastery & met two sisters, which we
    had sot seen in 6 to 8 years, as it is a silent order & they live in
    solitary in their little cells, making & decorating pottery, Icons
    etc... 
    
    Then we had to pack-up & go home to get ready for a dawn car ride to
    Paris, for my daughter's wedding. 
    
    All told an absolutely great long week-end.
    						:o)