THE LITURGICAL YEAR
Holy Days of Obligation
In the universal Church there are now, in addition to the Sundays, ten holydays of obligation during the year. In the United States, six of these are celebrated on the day assigned; the external celebration of the other four is, by special privilege, transferred to the following Sunday.
The six celebrated in the United States are:
| Dec. 8 | Immaculate Conception |
| Dec. 25 | Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ |
| January 1 | Circumcision of Our Lord Jesus Christ |
| Forty Days After Easter | Ascension of Our Lord into Heaven |
| August 15 | Assumption of the Blessed Virgin into Heaven |
| November 1 | All Saints Day |
The Four celebrated on the following Sundays are:
| January 6 | Epiphany |
| March 19 | Feast of St. Joseph |
| Thursday after Trinity Sunday | Corpus Christi |
| June 29 | Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul |
SPECIAL DEDICATIONS
The Church recommends the dedication of certain days to special purposes. The special
dedications of the days of the week are:
| Sunday | The Lord’s Day: dedicated to the remembrance of the Resurrection of the Blessed Trinity |
| Monday | Dedicated to theHoly Spirit and to the Pour Souls |
| Tuesday | Dedicated to the Holy Name and to the Holy Angels |
| Wednesday | St. Joseph Day |
| Thursday | Dedicated to the honor of the Holy Eucharist and the priesthood of Christ |
| Friday | Dedicated to the passion and death of our Lord and to the honor of His Sacred Heart |
| Saturday | Mary’s day: dedicated to the Blessed Virgin in memory of her unshaken faith on that first Holy Saturday |
Not only does the Church recommend certain dedications for the days of the week but she also encourages us to make certain dedications of the months of the year as aids to devout living.
The dedications for the months are as follows:
| March | St. Joseph |
| May | The Blessed Mother |
| June | The Sacred Heart |
| July | The Precious Blood |
| September | The Holy Angels |
| October | The Holy Rosary |
| November | The Poor Souls |
LITURGICAL YEAR INDEX
