Q: Please excuse a Fool’s question – Is this coming All Saints’ Day a holyday of obligation? The Ordo says it is, but it falls on a Friday, and I get confused as to the regulation about when holydays adjacent to a weekend are not days with the obligation to attend Mass (and provide a lot of them.)
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A: Holydays are confusing. In our region of the US, these holydays are not days of obligation when they fall on a Saturday or a Monday: Mary, Mother of God (January 1); the Assumption of Mary (August 15); All Saints (November 1).
These are always days of obligation, even when they fall on a Saturday or a Monday: Immaculate Conception (December 8) and Christmas (December 25).
In some parts of the US, Ascension is retained on a Thursday and is a holyday of obligation, but we have moved it to a Sunday in our region.
This year when December 8 falls on a Sunday, we celebrate the Second Sunday of Advent. The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception is transferred to Monday, December 9, but the obligation to attend mass does not transfer.