New Liturgical Year: December 3, 2023 - November 30, 2024
A blessed new year to all! A few things to note for the particular Calendar of the Diocese of Lansing for the Year of Our Lord, 2023–2024:
Christmas, 2023
Two Mass Obligations for 4th Sunday of Advent & Christmas, 2023
The faithful should be advised that there is a Mass obligation both for the Fourth Sunday of Advent and for Christmas, as they are both Holy Days of Obligation. In a recent statement on this topic, the USSCB’s Secretariat of Divine Worship noted that, in such cases, the prevailing view of the majority of canonists is that these obligations cannot be satisfied at one and the same Mass; each day of obligation must be fulfilled with a separate Mass.
The days, times, and appropriate Masses are summarized in the following chart:
Easter Vigil Time
• The celebration of the Easter Vigil “begins after nightfall and ends before daybreak”; based on local sunset (8:03 pm), the 2024 Easter Vigil should not begin before 8:45 pm on the eastern end of the Diocese and 9:00 pm on the western end of the Diocese.
Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord
• The Solemnity of the Annunciation has been transferred from March 25th to April 8th due to Holy Week.