Moving The Ascension

[Era Might]

Easter is the Solemnity of Solemnities, and the date changes every year. The Church exists to save souls, and this is her primary consideration. This is not superceded even for the sake of time. St. Paul speaks on this in his letter to the Colossians:

[quote]Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a sabbath. These are only a shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.

--Colossians 2:16-17[/quote]

[Apotheoun]

[quote name='Era Might' post='1278176' date='May 20 2007, 05:16 PM'][. . .]

These specific Feasts are special, and because Sunday is a recognized day of rest in society, the Bishops may use this to her advantage to transfer the Feast and highlight its importance.[/quote]
What society are you talking about? All throughout the 1980s and 90s I had to work on Sundays. American society does not honor the Lord's Day.

[Apotheoun]

[quote name='Era Might' post='1278181' date='May 20 2007, 05:21 PM']Easter is the Solemnity of Solemnities, and the date changes every year. The Church exists to save souls, and this is her primary consideration. This is not superceded even for the sake of time. St. Paul speaks on this in his letter to the Colossians:[/quote]
The quotation from Colossians concerns Judaic festivals, not the Christian liturgy. Your misuse of this text mirrors the arguments I see from Protestants. The Christian liturgy is the fulfillment of the shadows of the Old Testament liturgy.

Moreover, your "argument" is a [i]reductio ad absurdum[/i], because it destroys the whole point of the sanctoral cycle, which is not simply the edification of man, but the sanctification of time. Time itself, like the rest of the cosmos, is to be offered to God.

[Era Might]

Sunday is a day off. That doesn't mean private companies will not require you to work, but as far as the government is concerned, there is no business on Sunday. That is why we do not receive mail. Most people have Sunday off.

Christian Feasts are also a shadow of what is to come; not the events which they celebrate (which are eternal), but the days and customs that have developed. In Heaven, we will not celebrate the Ascension fourty days after we celebrate Easter. There will be no time. We will be with the Ascension, that is, we will be with Christ, who is the substance of the Feast, not the day it is celebrated. The purpose of any Feast is ordered to the temporal, and the Church can accomodate them as necessary, to fulfill her mission of the salvation of souls.

Moving a Feast three days is no more a disruption of time as celebrating Easter a different date every year, which is sometimes a difference of weeks.

[Apotheoun]

[quote name='Era Might' post='1278184' date='May 20 2007, 05:24 PM'][. . .]

Christian Feasts are also a shadow of what is to come. In Heaven, we will not celebrate the Ascension fourty days after we celebrate Easter. There will be no time. We will be with the Ascension, that is, we will be with Christ, who is the substance of the Feast, not the day it is celebrated. The purpose of any Feast is ordered to the temporal, and the Church can accomodate them if necessary, to fulfill her mission of the salvation of souls.[/quote]
God NO!!!!! Everything that happened to Christ has been taken into the divine eternity.

That said, Christian liturgy is not a mere shadow; instead, it is the reality realized here and now. The liturgy (like the sacraments in general) contains what it signifies. In other words, past, present, and future meet in the divine liturgy.

As far as heaven is concerned, Eastern Christians believe that salvation is ever-moving (as St. Maximos said); and so, it is not static in a timeless sense. Only the divine essence is [i]adiastemic[/i] in the sense of being unmoved and unmoving. Man will never cease to move as he passes through the [i]aeons[/i] everlastingly.

[Era Might]

The Sacraments and the Liturgy make the eternal present, but the human rites that surround them are only a taste of the eternal. The Liturgy is an icon of the Heavenly Liturgy, which is beyond all imagination. There will be no Sacraments in Heaven; the Sacraments themselves will pass away. We will be with Christ, and we will not need Sacraments. We will see him face to face, but now we see him through a veil.

[Apotheoun]

[quote name='Era Might' post='1278189' date='May 20 2007, 05:33 PM']The Sacraments and the Liturgy make the eternal present, but the human rites that surround them are only a taste of the eternal. The Liturgy is an icon of the Heavenly Liturgy, which is beyond all imagination. There will be no Sacraments in Heaven; the Sacraments themselves will pass away. We will be with Christ, and we will not need Sacraments. We will see him face to face, but now we see him through a veil.[/quote]
As I said, we will not agree.

God bless,
Todd

P.S. - The incarnation is the sacrament [i]par excellence[/i], and it can never end.

[Norseman82]

[quote name='Era Might' post='1278181' date='May 20 2007, 07:21 PM']Easter is the Solemnity of Solemnities, and the date changes every year. The Church exists to save souls, and this is her primary consideration. This is not superceded even for the sake of time. St. Paul speaks on this in his letter to the Colossians:[/quote]

I'm sorry, but I have to call you out on this one. This has NOTHING to do with the discussion at hand! Yes, the date of Easter changes every year, BUT IT IS ALWAYS ON A SUNDAY. This has no comparison to the moving of Ascension Thursday to a Sunday.

[AccountDeleted]

Here in Singapore we celebrated on Thursday and extra Masses were added to make sure everyone could attend.

In England, they moved it to Sunday - I know the convent I am entering said they wished it had stayed on Thursday.

I mean 40 days is 40 days - right?

Oh well....