Holy Days of Obligation

There are six holy days of obligation in the united states. You don't have to go to mass on oy on on ash wed Wednesday. A lot of people like to, because you get something in addition to the eucharist - which is everything. It seems many saints and doctors, including saint thomas, lead towards a more pessimistic view. But i just don't think that twentieth century optimism is a just borne out by the facts or that it's merited.