The justification, in his case, was that if it were on Thursday, Catholic schools would have off and it would separate families where the parents had to work.
What? How out of touch must the bishops be? First off, I have never heard of a Catholic school closing for this - they simply have mass and celebrate the day at school (and bishops should know this, having at least some sort of oversight into to the workings of the schools in their own diocese). True, the parents will be separated from the kids if they are at work, but they would have been separated anyway if they are at work.
When I was a child (preschool) I still remember enjoying holy days of obligation that were not Sundays. My mother would take us to mass, and we'd always stop for ice cream after. It was just a nice day to spend with family.
Later, in school, I remember sitting in the pews murmuring quietly waiting for mass at school to start. It was a treat and a bonding experience to have mass with all my peers. With geography, and with the 5 different masses each weekend, I didn't often see a lot of my friends at mass. Plus, this was mass just for us, with a homily geared towards our lives.
As an adult, holy days of obligation during the week have become a time of bonding as well. I find out who is Catholic, and we all carpool over to noon mass during lunch. It is also an opportunity for evangelization. "Hey Mike, wanna do lunch Thursday?" "Sorry, I'm going to mass with Ed and Jim and Carolyn." "Why are you going to mass?" Boy, is that an opening or what?
In short, I see a lot of up sides and no down sides to keeping the holy days where they belong. With vigil masses, and masses in the morning, noon and evening, there is really no excuse to miss it, unless you just really can't be bothered. And who knows - being invited to Ascension Thursday mass by your coworkers may be the thing you need to get mack into practicing your faith.
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