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In the Catholic Church, there are various feast days that do not fall on Sunday, but which the Church asks the faithful to celebrate with attendance at Mass.
These days are called holy days of obligation and the Church equates the importance of these days to a Sunday.
A precept of the Church explains, “On Sundays and other holy days of obligation the faithful are bound to participate in the Mass.”
One of the chief reasons behind these holy days is to highlight a specific aspect of the life of Christ or to give honor to the role of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the communion of saints.
These days are for the spiritual benefit of Christ’s flock and are opportunities to receive grace.
December 9
Holy days of obligation are currently governed by the local bishops’ conferences and can vary from country to country. For example, December 12 (feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe) is a holy day of obligation in Mexico (Our Lady of Guadalupe is also the patron of the country). Meanwhile, December 8, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, is a day of obligation in the United States (and Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception is the patron of the US).
OSV News explains how there was some confusion when canon lawyers were debating whether or not the obligation to attend Mass remains when a feast day is transferred to a Monday (as the Feast of the Immaculate Conception is this year):
There was some question among canon lawyers as to whether the obligation to attend Mass transferred along with the liturgical observance of the holy day, but the Holy See in Rome recently clarified that it indeed does. However, because there is still some widespread misunderstanding on this point, some dioceses in the United States are dispensing their faithful from the obligation.
In universal terms, the obligation remains, but the local bishop still retains the right and power to dispense his faithful from the obligation.
This means that you will need to consult your local diocese to determine if you are obligated to attend Mass on December 9, 2024.
