Religion Devoid of Holidays Is No Religion At All

Earlier this week, Dawn Eden reminded us of a quip by the late Archbishop Fulton Sheen:

I heard of one man who was an atheist for a year and then he gave it up because there were no holidays.

Coming during Easter Week, His Excellency's words are especially poignant.

I've always been struck by a certain sadness when I hear of particular Protestants who go to great lengths to argue that celebrating holidays like Christmas and Easter is somehow "unbiblical".

The implication of Sheen's quip is that authentic religion must necessarily include the celebration of holidays.

And, as usual, he's right.

We all know, of course, that the "Chreasters" who attend Mass twice a year are not the ideal practicioners of the Faith. (Then again, can any of us legitimately lay claim to embodying the characteristics of an ideal disciple of Our Lord?)

Still, the fact that our churches are filled with such as these on the two most important days of the liturgical year is itself a testimony to the burning need of the human heart to regularly visit a sacred place and recall in a communal setting particularly significant sacred events.

God certainly knew what He was doing when He made His people a liturgical people.