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Liturgical Notes
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Advent has a two-fold character: as a season to
prepare for Christmas when Christ's first coming to us is remembered; as
a season when that remembrance directs our mind and heart to await
Christ's second coming at the end of time. Advent, thus, is a period of
devout and joyful expectation.
1. Advent weekdays have their own proper Mass
texts, and the Liturgy of the Hours draws from the Seasonal Proper as
well as from the Ordinary.
2. Prior to 17 December, Advent Preface
1 is used.
On memorials of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the saints, however, in this
or any other season, the corresponding preface (P 56-57, 66-70) in the
Sacramentary may be used in place of the weekday or seasonal
Preface.
3. The Liturgy of the Hours provides an invitatory
antiphon and a choice of hymns for use prior to 17 December.
4. The use of the organ and other musical
instruments and the decorating of the altar with flowers should be done
in a moderate manner, as is consonant with the character of the season,
without anticipating the full joy of Christmas (Caeremoniale
episcoporum, 236). The same moderation should be observed in the
celebration of Matrimony (Ordo Celebrandi Matrimonium, 32).
5. The official color for the season of Advent is
violet. In order to distinguish between this season and the specifically
penitential season of Lent, the bluer hues of violet may be used during
Advent.
Advent is a time to recall the cry of the early
Christians: MARANATHA! "Come, Lord Jesus!”. A penitential celebration is
one way of assisting the people of God in preparing for the Solemnity of
the Nativity. Such a liturgy might best be celebrated during the latter
part of the Advent season.
The ADVENT WREATH, a popular symbol in many
churches, may be placed in the narthex or gathering area, or near the
ambo. Each Sunday, the candles of the wreath might be borne in
procession, following the thurible and cross, or just ahead of the
Gospel Book or Lectionary. Other creative uses are encouraged.
The first volume of the Liturgy of the Hours is
used.
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The annual Lenten season is a fitting time to climb
the holy mountain of Easter. The Lenten season has a double character,
namely to prepare both catechumens and faithful to celebrate the paschal
mystery. The catechumens, with the rite of election and scrutinies and
by catechesis, are prepared for the celebration of the sacraments of
Christian initiation; the faithful, ever more attentive to the word of
God and prayer, prepare themselves by penance for the renewal of their
baptismal promises (Caeremoniale episcoporum, 249).
1. Lent runs from Ash Wednesday until the Mass of
the Lord's Supper exclusive on Holy Thursday.
2. Lenten weekdays are not commemorated on
solemnities, and feasts, Ash Wednesday and the days of Holy Week take
precedence over all solemnities and feasts.
3. All memorials of the saints occurring during
Lent are observed as optional. Hence, they may be omitted or observed as
commemorations.
4. Gloria and
Alleluia are not sung or said from the beginning
of Lent until the Easter Vigil.
5. During Lent, the altar should not be decorated
with flowers, and musical instruments may be played only to give
necessary support to the singing.
6. If marriages are to take place during Lent,
couples are to be reminded that the wedding plans should respect the
special nature of this liturgical season; they should refrain from much
pomp or display.
(taken from ORDO 2005. Episcopal Commission on
Liturgy)
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In accord with ancient tradition, this night is one
of the vigil for the Lord (Ex. 12, 42). The Gospel of Luke (12, 35ff) is
a reminder to the faithful to have their lamps burning ready, to be like
men awaiting their master's return so that when he arrives he will find
them wide awake and will seat them at his table.
The night vigil is arranged in four parts:
• a brief service of light;
• the liturgy of the word, when the Church
meditates on all the wonderful things God has done for his people from
the beginning;
• the liturgy of baptism ,
when new members of the
Church are reborn as the day of resurrection approaches; and
• the liturgy of the Eucharist when the whole
Church is called to the table which the Lord has prepared for his people
through his death and resurrection
The entire celebration of the Easter Vigil takes
place at night. It should not begin before nightfall; it should end
before daybreak on Sunday.
Even if the vigil Mass takes place before midnight,
the Easter Mass of the resurrection is celebrated. Those who participate
in the Mass at night may receive communion again at the second Mass of
Easter Sunday. Those who celebrate or concelebrate the Mass at night may
celebrate or concelebrate the second Mass of Easter Sunday.
Candles should be prepared for all who take part in
the vigil.
(The Roman Missal. The Sacramentary)
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The rhythm of the liturgical seasons reflects
the rhythm of life — with its celebrations of anniversaries and its
seasons of quiet growth and maturing.
If the faithful are to mature in the spiritual life
and increase in faith, they must descend the great mountain peaks of
Easter and Christmas in order to "pasture" in the vast verdant meadows
of tempus annum, or Ordinary Time.
What is Ordinary Time?
Ordinary Time, meaning ordered or numbered time, is
celebrated in two segments: from the Monday following the Baptism of Our
Lord up to Ash Wednesday; and from Pentecost Monday to the First Sunday
of Advent. This makes it the largest season of the Liturgical Year.
In vestments usually green, the color of hope and
growth, the Church counts the thirty-three or thirty-four Sundays of
Ordinary Time, inviting her children to meditate upon the whole mystery
of Christ - his life, miracles and teachings - in the light of his
Resurrection.
Sunday by Sunday, the Pilgrim Church marks her
journey through the tempus annum as she processes through time toward
eternity.
Scripture and the Liturgy
In her revision of the Liturgy, the Church has
sought to reestablish the preeminence of Sunday, that feast day par
excellence, over every other feast day.
Recognizing, too, that Our Lord is really present
when Sacred Scripture is read during the Liturgy, she has opened up the
"treasures of the bible so that richer fare may be provided for the
faithful at the table of God's Word."
To encourage her children to have a "warm and
living love for Scripture," the Church has enlarged the Sunday
Lectionary so that the various books of the New Testaments are read
roughly from beginning to end over a period of weeks, and the synoptic
Gospels are read in a 3 year cycle Year A - Matthew; Year B - Mark; Year
C - Luke. Old Testament readings and Psalms are chosen to correspond to
the Gospel passages and to bring out the fulfillment of the Old
Testament in the New. The revised weekday lectionary for Ordinary Time
complements the Sunday lectionary with its 2-year cycle of readings
presenting all the major portions of the Bible, and a 1-year cycle for
the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke.
Feast Days
While insisting that the feasts that commemorate
the mysteries of salvation take precedence, the Church nonetheless
includes the celebration of the feast days of the Blessed Virgin Mary
and of the saints in the liturgical calendar. "By inserting into the
annual cycle the commemoration of the martyrs and other saints on the
occasion of their anniversaries, 'the Church proclaims the Easter
mystery of the saints who suffered with Christ and with him are now
glorified. (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 102) When celebrated in the true
spirit of the liturgy, the commemoration of the saints does not obscure
the centrality of Christ, but on the contrary extols it..."
"The intrinsic relationship between the glory of
the saints and that of Christ is built into the very arrangement of the
liturgical year, and is expressed most eloquently in the fundamental and
sovereign character of Sunday as the Lord's Day."
The Easter Mystery Celebrated in Ordinary Time
Parents are challenged to keep the Easter mystery
alive in their "domestic churches" throughout the season of Ordinary
Time; to focus on the mysteries of Christ which the Church sets before
them in the weekly Readings from the Lectionary and to apply those
Readings to their daily lives. In this way, faith will bear fruit within
their homes, intensifying through the fertile weeks of Ordinary time
until its conclusion, the crowning feast of Christ the King.
Joyful Expectation at Year's End
At the close of every Liturgical Year may we look
forward with renewed hope to Christ's coming again in glory to reign as
Lord forever. For it is Jesus Christ we seek when we strive to live the
Liturgical Year with the Church. He is the “Lord of time; he is its
beginning and its end; every year, every day and every moment are
embraced by his Incarnation and resurrection, and thus become part of
the ‘fullness of time’.”
Taken from: Catholic Culture
The Rosary has been a major influence in Roman Catholic thought for over
500 years while paving the way for a greater understanding of the
mystery of Christ celebrated within family prayer.
The Rosary is the tradition-distilled essence of Christian devotion in
which vocal and mental prayer unite the whole person in effective and
purposeful meditation on the central mysteries of Christian belief. The
Rosary thus joins the human race to God through Mary whom God chose from
all time for the specific purposes of mother and intercessor.
The historical development of the Rosary begins with the desert fathers
and their need to find a system to ease their laborious and repetitive
prayer life. It is generally agreed by scholars that a system for
counting repetitive prayers began with the Hindus some nine centuries
before Christ. Prayer counters such as rocks, sticks or notches in wood
were employed to ensure that the proper number of prayers were recited.
Over time, counters and psalms were united into a "three groups of
fifty" format (Na tri coicat) so that "fifties" could be used for
personal and/or penitential prayer.
The fifteenth century provided the development period for the many
facets of today's Rosary. During this period the Dominican influence
with the Rosary grew and was fostered through both fact and legend.
Although the Dominicans were not the sole originators of the Rosary,
their influence in the growth, devotion and spread of this prayer cannot
be denied. It would not be inaccurate to call them the principal
promoters and defenders of the Rosary through history.
The fifteenth century saw the Rosary begin its development into the
familiar prayer form we know today. The Our Father came intact
from the Gospel of Matthew. The Hail Mary developed from the
scriptural greetings of Gabriel and Elizabeth to Mary in Luke's Gospel,
plus a popular exhortation in use by the laity of that period. The
Glory Be was used as a common doxology from the earliest of
Christian times when praying the psalms. The Salve Regina, a later
addition to the Rosary, states all relevant medieval themes about the
Blessed Virgin Mary. Its affiliation with the Rosary came about through
popular practice although its precise origin within the devotion is not
known. The Apostles' Creed along with the rosary pendant were
also later developments, being added to the Rosary only in the early
seventeenth century.
The voices of those who have promoted the Rosary have continued to
speak. Probably the most significant comment which has come forward is
the emphasis on the family as the principal body around which the Rosary
can be most effectively utilized. Pope Pius XII spoke of the use of the
Rosary in the family setting. The Pope's words were in keeping with the
trend initiated in 1942 by Father Patrick Peyton, CSC, who became
internationally known as "The Rosary Priest." Through his Family Theater
productions and international rosary crusades, the Rosary and family
prayer became common practices in the typical Roman Catholic household.
Father Peyton's expression, "The family that prays together stays
together," became a rallying cry for many of the faithful.
Popes John XXIII and Paul VI introduced new teachings on the Rosary
while continuing the teachings of their predecessors. For Pope John, the
Rosary was the universal prayer for all the redeemed. Additionally, he
taught that the mysteries of the Rosary must have a three-fold purpose:
mystical contemplation, intimate reflection and pious intention. Both
popes continued to foster the family rosary through writings and support
of Father Peyton's Rosary crusade. The views of the pontiffs show that
rosary recitation and teaching continues to be important in our
contemporary prayer devotion.
Related:
How to Pray the Rosary
On Line Rosary Prayer
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Feast of All Saints (November 1)
and
Feast of All Souls (November 2)
Catholic Customs Contrasted to Halloween
Many of the customs of Halloween have to do with fear of the dead. It
was believed by the Celtic people that evil spirits roamed the earth on
the last night of the Celtic year (October 31) and that they worked
mischief among the living. Part of Celtic belief was that one could live
safely through the night by dressing up as a ghost, witch, etc., or
bribing the evil spirits with treats.
It was also believed that the souls of sinful persons who passed away
during the year were imprisoned in the bodies of animals and that they
on this night could be freed through gifts and sacrifices. Often the
sacrifices were human.
Communion of the Saints
In contrast, the Catholic feasts of All Saints Day and All Souls Day
offer a much more pleasant opportunity for recognition of our Communion
of the Saints or fellowship with those dead to this earthly existence.
It seems that when Protestants talk about Communion of the Saints they
mean fellowship among local church members and/or members of other
churches or denominations. This is a fellowship for people who are
living in this see/touch world.
The Catholic Church emphasizes that with Christ at the head the body of
the Church, the people who make up the Church, living or dead, cannot be
separated. Therefore, Communion of the Saints has a much broader meaning
in the Catholic Church.
The Catholic Church teaches that the Church exists in three different
states. One is the pilgrim church struggling to live faithful lives in
this earthly existence. Another is the triumphant church of saints
already in Heaven. The other state is existence in purgatory or the
suffering church. In purgatory, the faithful are purified for entry into
the triumphant church.
The Feast of All Saints Day on November 1 and the Feast of All Souls Day
on November 2 reminds us of our relationship to those in the other
states. These are days of remembrance, celebration and prayer.
Feast of All Saints
The Feast of All Saints is the celebration of our relationship with
those in the triumphant church - those who have preceded us in entry to
heaven. It began with local festivals in the early church. Ever since
there were Christian martyrs, local churches have honored their martyrs.
Lists were kept locally and feast days were held locally. Of course
there were martyrs who were not recorded for various reasons.
In the sixth century, Pope Boniface IV proclaimed May 13, 610, Feast of
All Holy Martyrs held in Rome to honor all martyrs not listed in local
records. In 835, Pope Gregory IV changed the date and name to November 1
and Feast of All Saints. A theory for the change in date is that since
the feast was large and popular, it was easier to have a fall date to
take advantage of the fall harvest for the food supply.
The change in the name of the event from Feast of All Holy Martyrs to
Feast of All Saints probably became about because there was a change in
the customs regarding who was listed as a "Saint." In the early years of
the Church, only martyrs were given that title, but after the Roman
persecutions ended the title was given to others who had led meritorious
lives and who were credited with miraculous intercession.
In a "message" on September 27, 1998, Our Lord Jesus said to Carol
Ameche, a "seer," "The Communion of Saints shines with the joy of
union on every level of life. A bond of prayer and community exists that
is stronger than all of you on earth realize. This should be a motive
for you to pray with greater joy ad the excitement of a new and deeper
awareness of the Presence of all the Angels and Saints, of My Mother and
Myself."
Feast of All Souls
While the Feast of All Saints is a day to remember the glories of Heaven
and those there, the Feast of All Souls on November 2 reminds us of our
obligations to live holy lives and that there will be purification of
the souls of those destined for Heaven - in this life or in purgatory.
II Maccabees 12:42b-46 is a wonderful lesson about eternal life and
caring for the souls of the dead, "The noble Judas exhorted the
people the people to keep themselves free from sin, for they had seen
with their own eyes what had happened as the result of the sin of those
who had fallen. He also took up a collection . . . and sent it to
Jerusalem to provide for a sin offering. In doing this he acted very
well and honorably, taking account of the esurrection. For if he were
not expecting that those who had fallen would rise again, it would have
been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead. But if he was looking
to the splendid reward that is laid up for those who fall asleep in
godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. Therefore he made atonement
for the dead, so that they might be delivered from their sin."
The traditions of the Feast of All Souls began independently of the
Feast of All Saints. The Feast of All Souls owes its beginning to
seventh century monks who decided to offer the mass on the day after
Pentecost for their deceased community members.
In the late tenth century, the Benedictine monastery in Cluny chose to
move their mass for their dead to November 2, the day after the Feast of
all Saints. This custom spread and in the thirteenth century, Rome put
the feast on the calendar of the entire Church. The date remained
November 2 so that all in the Communion of the Saints might be
celebrated together.
Traditional Catholics still honor customs related to the relief of the
souls suffering in purgatory. One custom is for persons to pray six Our
Fathers, Hail Mary's and Glory Be's for the intentions of the Pope in a
church, and thereby, receive a plenary indulgence for a soul in
purgatory. This action may be repeated for another soul, by leaving the
church building and re-entering to repeat the prayers.
This sounds strange to Protestants who do not believe in the exchange of
"spiritual goods" and charity among the living and the dead.
Celebrate eternal life!
"'Death has been swallowed up in victory.'
'Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?'
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks
be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, my beloved, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the
work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labor is not in
vain." (I Corinthians 15:54b-58).
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The Feast
of Christ the King was created by Pope Pius XI in 1925. He created it to
fix the way people were living like Jesus Christ didn't exist. The feast
proclaims how Jesus Christ is royalty above people, communities,
nations, and governments.
The feast establishes the
titles for Christ's royalty over men: 1) Christ is God and holds high
power over everything; 2) Christ our Redeemer, He made us by His blood
and now we belong to Him; 3) Christ is Head of the Church, 4) God
bestowed upon Christ the nations of the world as his possession and
dominion.
We also learn that Christ's kingdom is for
everybody who wants to be with Him, and it's endless. Most importantly,
Christ's kingdom is not this world.
Prior to the Roman
calendar reform in 1969, this feast was celebrated on the last Sunday of
October.
Christ the King as Represented in the Liturgy
In the liturgy, we rarely
see Jesus Christ as King as we might picture. We see Jesus helping
people, loving others, praying, in agony, and being killed. However,
Jesus Christ is our King.
Thinking about how Jesus
lived like we do, and yet is the Ruler of the Universe urges one to love
Him more. When you picture a king, can you imagine them living poor and
being beat for their people? Probably not. Yet Jesus did that for you
and all of us.
We need to remember that even though Jesus
Christ is our ultimate King, He knows each one of us personally. We are
his beloved children, and He wants us to be with Him more than anything.
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Ash
Wednesday
Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Season of Lent. It is a
season of penance, reflection, and fasting which prepares us for
Christ's Resurrection on Easter Sunday, through which we attain
redemption.
Why we receive the ashes
Following the example of the Nine vites, who did penance in sackcloth
and ashes, our foreheads are marked with ashes to humble our hearts
and reminds us that life passes away on Earth. We remember this when
we are told
"Remember, Man is dust, and unto dust you shall return." or "Turn away
from sin and believe in the Gospel".
Ashes are a symbol of penance made sacramental by the blessing of the
Church, and they help us develop a spirit of humility and sacrifice.
The distribution of ashes comes from a ceremony of ages past.
Christians who had committed grave faults performed public penance. On
Ash Wednesday, the Bishop blessed the hair shirts which they were to
wear during the forty days of penance, and sprinkled over them ashes
made from the palms from the previous year. Then, while the faithful
recited the Seven Penitential Psalms, the penitents were turned out of
the church because of their sins -- just as Adam, the first man, was
turned out of Paradise because of his disobedience. The penitents did
not enter the church again until Maundy Thursday after having won
reconciliation by the toil of forty days' penance and sacramental
absolution. Later, all Christians, whether public or secret penitents,
came to receive ashes out of devotion. In earlier times, the
distribution of ashes was followed by a penitential procession.
The Ashes
The ashes are made from the blessed palms used in the Palm Sunday
celebration of the previous year. The ashes are christened with Holy
Water and are scented by exposure to incense. While the ashes
symbolize penance and contrition, they are also a reminder that God is
gracious and merciful to those who call on Him with repentant hearts.
His Divine mercy is of utmost importance during the season of Lent,
and the Church calls on us to seek that mercy during the entire Lenten
season with reflection, prayer and penance.
Fasting and Abstinence
It is a traditional doctrine of Christian spirituality that a
constituent part of repentance, of turning away from sin and back to
God, includes some form of penance, without which the Christian is
unlikely to remain on the narrow path and be saved (Jer. 18:11, 25:5;
Ez. 18:30, 33:11-15; Joel 2:12; Mt. 3:2; Mt. 4:17; Acts 2:38). Christ
Himself said that His disciples would fast once He had departed (Lk.
5:35). The general law of penance, therefore, is part of the law of
God for man.
The Church for her part has specified certain forms of penance, both
to ensure that the Catholic will do something, as required by divine
law, while making it easy for Catholics to fulfill the obligation.
Thus, the 1983 Code of Canon Law specifies the obligations of Latin
Rite Catholics [Eastern Rite Catholics have their own penitential
practices as specified by the Code of Canons for the Eastern
Churches].
Canon 1250 All Fridays through the year and the time of Lent are
penitential days and times throughout the entire Church.
Canon 1251 Abstinence from eating meat or another food according to
the prescriptions of the conference of bishops is to be observed on
Fridays throughout the year unless they are solemnities; abstinence
and fast are to be observed on Ash Wednesday and on the Friday of
the Passion and Death of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Canon 1252 All persons who have completed their fourteenth year are
bound by the law of abstinence; all adults are bound by the law of
fast up to the beginning of their sixtieth year. Nevertheless,
pastors and parents are to see to it that minors who are not bound
by the law of fast and abstinence are educated in an authentic sense
of penance.
Can. 1253 It is for the conference of bishops to determine more
precisely the observance of fast and abstinence and to substitute in
whole or in part for fast and abstinence other forms of penance,
especially works of charity and exercises of piety.
The Church, therefore, has two forms of official penitential practices
- three if the Eucharistic fast of one hour before Communion is
included.
Abstinence The law of abstinence requires a Catholic 14 years of age
until death to abstain from eating meat on Fridays in honor of the
Passion of Jesus on Good Friday. Meat is considered to be the flesh
and organs of mammals and fowl. Also forbidden are soups or gravies
made from them. Salt and freshwater species of fish, amphibians,
reptiles and shellfish are permitted, as are animal derived products
such as margarine and gelatin which do not have any meat taste.
On the Fridays outside of Lent the Catholic Bishops Conference of the
Philippines obtained the permission of the Holy See for Catholics in
the Philippines to substitute a penitential, or even a charitable,
practice of their own choosing. They must do some
penitential/charitable practice on these Fridays. For most people the
easiest practice to consistently fulfill will be the traditional one,
to abstain from meat on all Fridays of the year. The substitution is
not however allowed on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.
Fasting The law of fasting requires a Catholic from the 18th Birthday
[Canon 97] to the 59th Birthday [i.e. the beginning of the 60th year,
a year which will be completed on the 60th birthday] to reduce the
amount of food eaten from normal. The Church defines this as one meal
a day, and two smaller meals which if added together would not exceed
the main meal in quantity. Such fasting is obligatory on Ash Wednesday
and Good Friday. The fast is broken by eating between meals and by
drinks which could be considered food (milk shakes, but not milk).
Alcoholic beverages do not break the fast; however, they seem to be
contrary to the spirit of doing penance.
Those who are excused from fast or abstinence Besides those outside
the age limits, those of unsound mind, the sick, the frail, pregnant
or nursing women according to need for meat or nourishment, manual
laborers according to need, guests at a meal who cannot excuse
themselves without giving great offense or causing enmity and other
situations of moral or physical impossibility to observe the
penitential discipline.
Aside from these minimum penitential requirements Catholics are
encouraged to impose some personal penance on themselves at other
times. It could be modeled after abstinence and fasting. A person
could, for example, multiply the number of days they abstain. Some
people give up meat entirely for religious motives (as opposed to
those who give it up for health or other motives). Some religious
orders, as a penance, never eat meat. Similarly, one could multiply
the number of days that one fasted. The early Church had a practice of
a Wednesday and Saturday fast. This fast could be the same as the
Church's law (one main meal and two smaller ones) or stricter, even
bread and water. Such freely chosen fasting could also consist in
giving up something one enjoys - candy, soft drinks, smoking, that
cocktail before supper, and so on. This is left to the individual.
One final consideration. Before all else we are obliged to perform the
duties of our state in life. Any deprivation that would seriously
hinder us in carrying out our work, as students, employees or parents
would be contrary to the will of God.
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