Next Thursday, May 9 is observed as Ascension Thursday. It is a holy day of obligation for all Catholics to attend Mass. It occurs on the 40th day after Easter and commemorates the Catholic belief of the bodily ascension of Jesus into heaven. Ascensiontide refers to the 10-day period between the Feast of the Ascension and the Feast of Pentecost. The Latin terms used for the feast signify that Christ was raised up by his own powers, and it is from these terms that the holy day gets its name.

In a number of places in our country, permission from the Vatican was granted to transfer observance from the traditional Thursday to the following Sunday (immediately before Pentecost). This is in keeping with a trend to move holy days of obligation from weekdays to Sundays to encourage more people to attend Mass. However, in the archdiocese, we maintain the custom of Thursday.

Thanks for the opportunity to provide a glimpse of this very noteworthy day. This memo is a way to be sure that none of us will miss the significance of important moments that occur in our faith.