Ascension Thursday Sunday?
Why is Ascension Thursday a Holy Day of Obligation in some areas [of the United States] and not others?
This is a very good question. The simple, but confusing, answer is that Ascension Thursday is a Holy Day of Obligation everywhere in the United States. It's just that, in most dioceses, the celebration is transferred to the following Sunday. (So, in 2007, Ascension Thursday was May 17, but it was celebrated on Sunday, May 20.) Since Catholics are already obligated to attend Mass on Sunday, most people don't realize that Ascension is still a Holy Day of Obligation--they think they're in church just for Sunday Mass.
The reader continues:
I know it is up to the diocese but WHY would it be a choice at all? I have many friends from other states and I am the only one who is obligated to attend Mass on Thursday.
Now, we're getting to the heart of the matter. Each ecclesiastical province in the United States is allowed to decide whether to transfer the celebration of the feast. (An ecclesiastical province is basically one large archdiocese and the dioceses that are historically associated with it. Generally, in the United States, there's one ecclesiastical province per state, with a few exceptions for historical reasons.) All of the provinces have chosen to transfer the celebration except for Boston, Hartford, New York, Newark, Philadelphia, and the state of Nebraska. With the exception of Nebraska, each of those is one of the oldest Catholic provinces in the United States, which may explain why they've chosen to stick with tradition.
But why is it a choice at all? The answer, whether we like it or not, is a combination of convenience and pastoral considerations. Attendance at Ascension Thursday Masses had been falling for years before the bishops of the United States, in accordance with canon law, petitioned the Vatican to allow the celebration to be transferred to the following Sunday. That meant that a lot of priests were celebrating extra Masses, while a lot of Catholics were violating a precept of the Church by not celebrating a Holy Day of Obligation.
Which takes us to the reader's final remark:
My feeling is that this is just one more reason for the Catholic Church failing in numbers. People have decided that if these rules can be changed they must not be important and they ignore the other rules as well.
What do you think? Does transferring the celebration of the Feast of the Ascension to the following Sunday downplay its importance? Does it inadvertently undermine the authority of the Church on other matters? Click on the "Comments" link below to join in the discussion!
Interestingly enough, in predominantly Catholic Bavaria, Ascension Thursday is not only a Holy Day, but also a Holiday. Pretty much everything shuts down for the day. It is also the day that Father’s Day is celebrated.
Changing dates of Holy Days is very confusing and down-plays the importance of the event. I firmly believe Holy Days should NOT be changed.
I feel that this is very hurtful to our Lord. We keep pushing His importance further and further away, and we have pushed Him more and more from our hearts with the sad excuse of our too busy lives. And we wonder why there is so much chaos in the world and such disorder. This is what happens when we live in a society that rejects God. I believe we as catholics should and must stand firm and constant in our faith without wavering. How many catholics now offend our good God by not even attending weekly Sunday Mass and receive Him in the most Holy Eucharist in a state of serious, mortal sin.
I am in the midst of compiling an ordo for 2008. I am interested in knowing your source for the listing of provinces which do not transfer the Ascension.
I was just reading in The Tablet that Catholics in the UK are generally not happy about the transfer. They feel that Anglicans and Eastern Orthodox are properly keeping to tradition.
This reminds one of the effort of the World Council of Churches to arrive at a common date for Easter between East and West. Holding to common dates of feasts is always ecumenically friendly.
Maybe I am not sufficiently sensitive to this issue. (I was in seminary in Rome in the 1970s and 1980s and Italy had transferred the Ascension to Sunday back then.) But I am ecumenical officer of my diocese, and liturgical calendars are a hobby of mine, and I have to say there is a point in trying to keep to common dates for observances, especially from the ecumenical perspective. I must observe, however, that those who think that ambiguity about the calendar means that all rules and teachings are up for grabs had better acquaint themselves with the concept that there is a hierarchy of teachings in the Church: some being central (the Incarnation of the Son of God) and others more peripheral.
Christains have watered down our religion to be convenient to the point of effectively reducing its effectiveness. The Church must take responsibility to get the rules and teachings to people. The world gets its word out.
Sandra, Anne and Ann, and Valerie have all raised an important point: Ascension is a very important day in the liturgical calendar of the Church. Not only is it a Holy Day of Obligation, but it is a solemnity, which is the highest rank that a feast can have. The reason is obvious: Christ’s Ascension not only is the capstone on His Resurrection, but it offers us proof that “the life of the world to come” will not be merely spiritual but physical as well. In other words, it offers us the truth about the wholeness of the human being, body and soul.
Father, I found the listing of the provinces on the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website, though, sadly, I didn’t bookmark the page, and I’m having trouble finding it now.
I agree on the importance of keeping a common date for liturgical observances, and there’s no doubt that many Eastern Orthodox find the Catholic habit of transferring feasts to indicate, at best, a lackadaisical attitude toward the calendar.
But there are other reasons intrinsic to the calendar itself to resist the urge to transfer feasts. Ascension does not seem to have the same importance to Catholics today as it did in times past; and such things as the connection to the original novena, between Ascension Thursday and Pentecost Sunday, have been lost because of the transfer.
There may, indeed, be sound pastoral reasons for transferring the celebration of the feast; but there’s no doubt that there’s also a trade-off in doing so.
Of course we should celebrate the Ascenion Thursday on the right day. However, it is a fact of modern life that you can not take time off work to go to church. People are travelling great distances and spending hours in traffic in some places, to get to work and home again.
I think one of the great mistakes of religeon is not to move with the times. We have become too cloaked in ceremony and religious observance and not in tune enough with the pain inflicted on people who can’t attend church on the ‘right’ day. Surely our God understands private worship in the heart, and wouldn’t allow the difference of three days to offend Him? Holy Days of Obligation are a man made doctrine. People are tired of being made to feel guilty about things they cannot feel any importance attached to.
If you are trying to work and feed your family, and taking Thursday off to go to the church at a time which your priest, bishop, whoever (not God!) has decided is a convenient time for them, would jeopardise your job, what do you think Jesus would say? I believe in my heart he would say “Feed Your Children, As I Feed Mine.”
I was very pleased that although our Diocese moved the “obligation” to Sunday, our Pastor (who is the only priest at our church) held Mass on Thursday for those that wanted to celebrate the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist on the actual Feast Day.
I think one of my children said it best – “Mom, if they’re going to keep moving the Holy Days of Obligation to Sunday which is an obligation too, then why even have the “Holy Days.” I think they were making a point that we are not making the Holy Days special enough by combining them with another day/service. On a more simple scale, it’s like making all the kids celebrate their birthdays on the same day just so it can be more convenient for the ones throwing the party and the ones attending the party.
Just my personal opinion (and my family’s – which makes me very proud!)
I totally agree with Shirley! We aren’t taking anything away from our Blessed Lord by moving around a few man-made Holy Days! He wants us to be happy and productive and to take care of our families. Shirley is very right when she says today’s world is very hard driving and taking off to go church is a very difficult thing to do. If we have a good prayer life and love our neighbor, not going to church during the week is not going to offend our Lord. I teach my religous ed kids that the most important command He gave us is to love one another as He loved us – these words or similar -came from His mouth. Don’t foget another wise verse, “Where ever two or more are gathered in My Name, there also I will be. When we get home, we pray with our family at the table. What if you live alone? You and your guardian angel make two! Please remember, Jesus ( God and the Holy Spirit, our Triune Savior) loves us. Our scripture on Sunday calls to mind all the important parts of our celebration – Pentecost, Ascension, Baptism, etc. and I feel He is not worried about His faithful ever forgetting! Please, just remember the most important command – LOVE one another!
The comments by Shirley and Margo illustrate the pastoral concerns that led to the Vatican’s decision to allow bishops’ conferences to petition to transfer the celebration of the Ascension to the Sunday after Ascension Thursday.
But they also illustrate some of the concerns that others have raised. Are Holy Days of Obligation really just “a man made doctrine”? They are, in all cases, feasts that celebrate central events in the life of our Lord and the Church. The Church has made their celebration a precept (a rule, not a doctrine) for that very reason.
It’s certainly true that men and women work very hard today–just as they did in times past. Sandra, in the first comment, brought up the celebration of Ascension Thursday in Bavaria. Imagine, in years past, when most of the population of Bavaria were farmers. Ascension Thursday often fell right in the middle of planting season. Yet peasants would still take the day off to celebrate the feast, and not merely attend Mass.
Getting off of work during the day is hard for most people, but today, most parishes offer a vigil Mass the night before a Holy Day of Obligation, and many offer a Mass the night of the Holy Day. In other words, there are plenty of opportunities to fulfill one’s obligation.
Two related remarks, the first from Shirley:
And the second from Margo:
The Church, as mentioned above, attaches great importance to the celebration of these Holy Days, so much so that She has made their celebration a precept. And the reason that She has done so is because their celebration is worship of the God Who created us, loves us, and saved us. Which reminds us that Christ, in Matthew 22:38-40, did not place “love one another” as the most important commandment:
I believe that most Catholics view Holy Days of Obligation as just that, obligations. For the average Catholic they may know the very basics of the days but they hold little meaning to them otherwise. Now that statement may not hold true for many posting on this site but for the average joe sitting in the congregation who merely goes through the motions of the faith he/she was taught it does. Sadly, many people of many faiths don’t understand enough of the religion they believe in to be legitimately functional in a celebration. To fully join in any celebration you need to know what the celebration is about. Yet these are the very types that the Church is bending to in order to make life easier. They need to read Isaiah to remind themselves what God thinks of offerings done out of obligation and ritual.
It should come as no surprise though. Look how two legs of Christ’s journey here on Earth are treated. At Christmas let it be forbidden that the right and proper toys aren’t under the tree. At Easter it’s the time for new spring clothes, candy and Easter Egg hunts. And let’s not forget about how well planned the family meal must be. Now, don’t get me wrong. Family gatherings and celebrations over these feasts are important. Popular and personal traditions are fun and memorable. But how many can honestly say that Christ is the topic of conversation at any point of the day other than at church and the blessing of their meal? I don’t mean when a small child asks about it. I mean adult conversation. I’ve heard of some very beautiful traditions done to pay honor to Christ from some in my parish. I have my own. It’s not make the day a solemn somber vigil. Rather these things are done as a personal reminder to all in the family outside the Mass. It brings the feeling of security to the family that Christ is not contained in the walls of the church we visit but He is here within our homes and lives as well. The Trinity should be paid honor and homage at the beginning and at the end of each Feast day. In between have all the fun and celebrating you can take. Even Jesus loved a good party (Wedding Feast at Cana for ex.)
I mentioned above that Christmas and Easter were two of the legs of Christ’s journey here. The third is the Ascension. Jesus was born fully human and fully Divine. That concept takes on a very profound meaning. To be fully human is to be composed of body, soul and spirit. Jesus did in fact have a human spirit and soul. Too often it is erroneously assumed that Jesus’ Divine nature was His soul. That would be God possessing a human body. Jesus was fully both and both natures fully attuned to one another. This is essential to our salvation and fulfillment in God. Jesus showed us the way to be born into this world, resist temptation as we walk through its sinful paths and always hold God as our reason for being. It is in His human nature that we are showed how to live our lives. It is in His human and Divine natures that we can be assured that we can indeed be one with God when we are ready.
Jesus was born to fulfill the Father’s promise. He began His Ministry to show us the way to live for the Father. He died as the sacrifice for our sins to the Father. He rose from the dead to free the souls that belonged to the Father from the grip death held on them. Finally He ascended back to the Father having fulfilled all that He had come here for. These are the legs of Jesus Christ’s journey here on Earth. I hope you will see how one leg was no less important than the others. They were all necessarry to make our salvation possible. Will it be upsetting to anyone’s schedule to make the time for God?
As a final note, when someone asks me what I do for a living I say I’m a Christian or I live for God. Then if they stare at me as if I have two heads for too long, then I tell them what I do for a paycheck. It’s that sort of priority that one needs to set straight for one’s life. I have a sucessful career but I know a career only lasts about 30 or 40 years. Eternity lasts a lot longer.
Take care
Dennis
Today on entering my tribunal office I found a copy of the latest newsletter of the Bishops’ Committee on the Liturgy. It gave the listing of the provinces that don’t transfer Ascension. I’m still puzzled as to why the list says “the state of Nebraska” rather than “Province of Omaha.”
Ah–I can’t help you there, Father. The list that I found had it that way. I can offer a guess, but it’s only a guess–namely, that the province of Omaha does encompass the entire state of Nebraska, and is confined to the state, unlike the provinces of Boston and Hartford.
But that’s not a satisfactory answer, since the same situation applies to the provinces of Philadelphia, New York, and Newark.
I think the whole idea is ridiculous and weakens the ultimate authority of the Church.
How can you ,on one occasion, not allow a holyday that falls on a Saturday to constitute a vigil mass to satisfy the Sunday obligation, and now completely change the date of a holyday to another day in the week?
I prefer to celebrate holydays on the actual day (and, in fact, since I attend a traditional Latin Mass, our celebration of Ascension will be on Thursday).
But I’m not sure, John, that I’m following your argument. The fact that the Church can transfer the date of the celebration of a feast would seem to be an exercise of Her authority, not an undermining of it.
I THINK BE ABLE TO CHANGE THE HOLY DAY FROM ONE TO THE NEXT TAKES THE SIGNIFIGANCE OUT OF IT.AND WHAT HAPPENED WHEN WE WERE TAUGHT BY THE SISTERS OF ST. JOSEPH THAT IT WAS A MORTAL SIN NOT TO ATTEND MASS ON A HOLY DAY OF OBLIGATION????
Mr. Rowson, I’m certainly sympathetic to your argument, and, as I noted above, the oratory that my family and I attend celebrates Ascension on Ascension Thursday.
As for the question of Holy Days of Obligation and mortal sin, the Sisters of St. Joseph taught you right, and that teaching hasn’t changed. Check out my article on the Precepts of the Church, in which I explain that we are still required to assist at Mass on all Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation under pain of mortal sin, and my article Is Ascension a Holy Day of Obligation? In the latter, I explain that Ascension is always a Holy Day of Obligation, even when the celebration is transferred (with approval from the Vatican) to Sunday. Many people simply don’t think of it as a Holy Day when it is transferred to Sunday, because we’re already required to attend Mass on Sunday.
Shirley and Margo and others who think like them,
I know it’s not very brotherly, but my emotional knee-jerk reaction was to think you are spiritual idiots; but then I realized you are products of the watered-down Catholicism that some in our clergy are trying to push on us. I’ve been in the trenches, so to speak, and seen how it all plays out.
Some of those with influence in the American Catholic Church look around and see a shortage of priests, religious, and parishioners. Panic ensues. “They must be attending the new Holy Rock Church down the street. You know the one with the digital billboard and huge rock waterfall? What’ve they got that we don’t have? Oooohh Aaaahhh! A live band, laser-light show, and some killer preachin’! Word! Those preachers look cooool. I mean, they even have cool clothes, earrings, and tats! Wow, look at all the kids swaying to the rocking jam session and crying with their hands up-stretched towards the sky. We need some of THAT in our Church.” (never mind the fact that those crying kids leave their church as soon as the novelty act gets old, they get old, or both)
So, our shepherds come up with a plan. “The world’s sucking our flock away. All these modern pressures, divorces, jobs, busy schedules… it’s all really just too much. How can we compete? All we’ve got to offer is some ancient, druuid looking rituals performed by a bunch of old guys in robes, and the Communion. It might have worked to get the ill-educated peasants out of the fields, but c’mon. I mean, between soccer games, bills, and CSI, these people don’t have time to squeeze in ANOTHER weekday mass. Isn’t that being a little “authoritative”, like we’re running things? Besides, do we REALLY want our priests distributing Communion to half-empty churches? It’s 2008. C’mon, let’s get with it!”
Knodding heads. “Yeah yeah!! Here here!!”
“See guys, if we switch Holy Thursday, we get a two-fer. The lambs don’t have to put themselves out during the week, our preists have one less Mass to interrupt their ministries, and everyone’s smiling and feeling good as they leave Mass on Sunday a little early to get dibs on the Knights of Columbus free donuts.”
More knodding and high-fiving. “They’ll love us!” “We’ll be heros!” “Hey, they DID fill the Holy Day of obligation, so what’s the diff?” “Holy THURsday on a regular SUNday…Who would have thought it possible?!” “Su-weet”
“Wait a sec, fellas. Aren’t we forgetting one person in this equation?”
“Who’s that?”
“What about Jesus? You know, our Lord and Savior? Isn’t it pretty important to keep Holy Thursday on a Thursday coinsidering it’s a high feast honoring HIM? Isn’t it a good thing for the people to have to make exceptions for the Lord of the Universe–the One God who gave them life, sustains their every breath, and saved them from eternal death by dying on the Cross–instead of Christ and His real Bride, the Church, having to make exceptions for the people? Isn’t that a little like Moses having to allow divorce because of the people’s arrogance and hard-hearts? Isn’t the point for people to celebrate a foreshadowing of their own whole body ascenscion? Shouldn’t this be a HUGE point of Catholic teaching and one of the biggest CELEBRATIONS? Don’t we all have a duty to reject this world in favor of Christ’s Kingdom? I mean, aren’t we sending out a message that Church law, Holy days, sacred rites, etc. are just man-made laws from the old days that can change with the current zeitgeist? Doesn’t that leave room for notions of Church Doctrine being relative to the times we live in? I mean, what’s next? Are you gonna tell me that we should remove the Tabernacles from the center of the church because it’s too much trouble and wierd to genuflect and worship some mysterious “box”? Maybe we should stop having folks abstain from Friday meat because it’s too hard on modern families? Or maybe we should make fasting a little easier on folks so that they don’t experience any discomfort and lose the point and grace of fasting? Or completely strip away any remnants of Latin from the liturgy? C’mon guys, I mean, next you’ll be telling me that our top seminaries are teaching crazy things like Jesus is not really present in the Host, there is no such thing as the devil or evil, and most of the Old Testament is just elegant stories?! Ha, we might as well stop worrying about using proper reverance when accepting our Savior, use glass and ceramic dishes while consecrating the Body and Blood of our Lord, and try to use Doritos, cookies, and crumbly bread as matter for consecration!!!”
“Um, Bob?”
“Yes?”
“That’s already going on around America.”
My point is, the Church shouldn’t have to cater to modernity, the “people”, or pressure from internal, secular-accomdating forces. We might live in a country of “We the People”, but Catholics are “We, the Body of Christ”. American Catholics aren’t leaving the Church because of its rigorous, man-made, laws and unfair, unmodern perspective. They’re leaving because the leaders are taking away any reason they should stay. They’re leaving because secular factions throughout the 20th century tried to strip the altars of everything sacred, mysterious, awesome, and holy. Because Catholic theologians are more interested in ecumenical dialogue and sharing with Protestants and every other religion than in ministering to the world and sharing the ONLY truth.
I agree. Why would I worship or take time out of my busy weekday night to yawn through a boring homily, listen to off-key bongo drums, watch undisciplined kids squirm,scream, and crunch on Cheerios, all just to stare at some wafer and wonder what I can make for a quick dinner?
HOWEVER, if our priests truly believed in the reality of Christ present in the Holy Eucharist and showed it in word and action, if our clergy and altar servers handled the Host like the most Precious Gold in the Universe; if we restored the mystery of the tabernacle in the front and center of all wo worship, the silence and hushed whisper of church as a sacred place, the silent wonder of children and the occasional loving rap on the back of the head for the mischievious child who forgets where they are, the example of parents who love and respect the King in their presence, homilies that focus on the reality of the Eucharist as the source of God’s love and Confession as a needed means for His Divine Mercy, the reality of Christ’s death, Resurrection, AND Ascension, and the possibility of our own damnation or ascension, perhaps…perhaps Catholics wouldn’t think it too much of an imposition or burden to say “No” to the demands of the world for one Thursday night in may out of love and passion for our Savior. WHo knows? Maybe we’d even look FORWARD to Mass and Communion on Sundays and try to make it to daily Mass to be fed by our Lord on a more consistent basis.
No Shirley and Margo. You’re not idiots. You’re the unfortunate victims of shepherds that have seen their flocks scrambling to get outside the gate, and out of misplaced compassion for their immediate gratification, they are opening the gate wider and wider. The only thing is they forgot the wolf waiting on the outside. Unfortunately, they’re killing us with kindness. There’s a huge difference between being the Light to a world in darkness and blowing out your Light so those in the dark don’t feel bad.
Leave Holy Days alone; it gives other faiths another reason to take a shot @ Catholics “changing rules” for convenience. If people choose not to attend, it is on them, not those who choose to go & celebrate this very important day in our Church.
I agree with Jodi!
The Holy Days are meant to be!
Catholicism is a very obligatory religion if followed correctly.
It is also the toughrst Religion to follow, our pastor said so!
I am glad to go to Mass on Holy Days of Obligation.
If the Holy Day falls, say on a Monday or Friday, then its up to the diocese to deterime if the regular Holy Day will be observed or not.
God Bless you all!
Jesus, the Mass & the Eucharist should always take precedence with foremost strictest adherence to Church Law and NOT be bent to suit some local whim. Jesus is pushed aside constantly in my Church. Push the mass aside because we need to use the sanctuary for band practice. Put Jesus in some out building and worship Him out there because we need to have a rehearsal in the main building. Push Divine Mercy Sunday out of our Church so a Boy Scout troop can present awards to themselves. Absolutely true, every word of it. Did you see the multiple-personality conflicting message the Church sent at Notre Dame? No wonder the Church is a mess. I had a hard time locating what is correct in my local parish & am still not sure. Nothing was printed in our bulletin except special attention for Veterans on 5/24/, my church calendar lists it as today 4/21 as the Holy Day of Obligation, so I called my Church. They said it was Sunday the 24th. What source is correct? My pastor is always misprinting/or not printing/or changing at the last minute especially “Holy Days of Obligation”. It absolutely infuriates me that, especially here in the US, the rules bend quite a bit, and are not strictly adhered to. Our Church is a mess and I am a very upset Catholic with each event that the Lord is stripped away in His own Church and in His own teachings. How little He is reverenced here. When did the Catholic Church in the US become an ala carte menu of selective teachings and truths? And more appalling, why do the Bishops turn a deaf eye and ear? Where are the true shepherds following Jesus and protecting the flocks here? Something is seriously wrong when the small sheep are bent out of shape at their shepherds for not properly “taking care of us, the flock.” We have to scramble and fend for ourselves out here to stay alive.
Each Bishop in each diocese needs to seriously take a look at the reality of what is really happening under their own noses. And whoever is above them needs to be looking just as intently at them, and so forth all the way up the ladder to Heaven.
It is very difficult to know if a “Holy Day of Obligation” is still a “Holy Day of Obligation” where I live. It was never a problem to know as our previous pastors have always announced it at Sunday Mass ahead of time and included it in the Sunday bulletin. But when we got a new pastor a number of years back, he didn’t follow that tradition. One Assumption on Autgust 15, I only found out about it still being a holy day because I searched the internet. I found out at the last minute that time yes it still was “Holy Day of Obligation” so I was able to find a time to attend Mass although it was very inconvenient as I had to work and my parish only offered two or three Mass times and no vigil Mass the night before. I found it hard to understand how the huge parish of 6,000 could possibly accommodate the parishioners’ attendance with just two or three Masses on a weekday. I sent an e-mail to the pastor asking for holy days of obligation to be announced once again to aid parishioners in knowing about them but never received any response. Because many of us work and children have school, I think all “Holy Days of Obligation” should be announced ahead of time and enough Mass times should be available for parishioners to attend. I actually like when the holy days are transferred to Sunday as in this country, holy days are not holidays in most cases so attending limited Mass times is a difficult task. I truly wish Holy Days would become holidays like in some other countries. For example, today was actually a school holiday for children living in our school district in observence of Cesar Chavez. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could give the Holy Spirit as much respect as we give Cesar Chavez?
Susan in California
It is a Mortal Sin not to attend Mass on Holy Days of Obligation.
Say two people died on the Friday after Ascension Thurday and neither had attended Mass on the Thursday. According to what’s said above if one lived in a ecclesiastical province that had moved the celebration to the Sunday they’d be OK, but if the other live in a ecclesiastical province that hadn’t moved the celebration they’d be guilty of a Mortal Sin.
Do you think God takes into account where people live before determining if they should go to Heaven or Hell?
Do you think God takes into account where people live before determining if they should go to Heaven or Hell?
Do you think God takes into account any accidental characteristics in judging souls? Will the man who is not a father be judged differently (or at least, on the basis of different criteria) from the man who is a father? Single man versus unmarried man? Poor man versus rich? (”To him whom much has been given, much will be demanded.”)
Mr. Gallagher’s question is a common one, but the answer that he seems to have in mind is by no means obviously the right one.
Mr. Gallagher’s question is a common one, but the answer that he seems to have in mind is by no means obviously the right one.
So what is the answer, and why?
Mr. Gallagher, I’m sorry if my answer was not sufficiently clear. We are judged on who we are, and that includes the accidental circumstances of our lives.