Two or three times a year, I like to use this column as a vehicle for ‘Housekeeping” issues. These are mundane issues in some ways, but important for us to pay attention to. I like to refer to these as some “Ordinariate Etiquette” examples for us to implement. Each of these has been brought to my attention (since my last article about this) in one way or another, and I thought this letter on the last Sunday of Epiphany would be the most appropriate way to address all them before we move into the busy liturgical seasons of Lent and Easter.
If you are on the Parish “email list’ you will have received an email last week about today’s celebration of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple/The Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary/Candlemas. This feast celebrates the ceremony of purification of Our Lady on the fortieth day after the birth of our Lord, and of the presentation of offering of our Lord to the Eternal Father in the Temple, as also prescribed in the Law of Moses for first-born male children.
Last week I wrote that a good way to use these few weeks of "Epiphanytide" is by doing some Spiritual Reading, Well, putting my money where my mouth is, I have been reading (or re-reading) some of the great books by Msgr. Ronald Arbuthnott (I love that middle name) Knox.
Sunday, February 2nd: Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. Also known as Candlemas, this feast commemorates three distinct but related historical events in the life on the Holy Family. It marks the day when Mary and Joseph brought baby Jesus to the temple in Jerusalem, exactly 40 days after his birth. the Mosaic Law required them to consecrate their firstborn son to God (Exodus 13). Additionally, the law required Mary to submit to ritual purification forty days after childbirth (Leviticus 12:2-8).
“The Epiphany season, also known as Epiphanytide or the time of Sundays after Epiphany is a liturgical period, celebrated by many Christian Churches which immediately follows the Christmas Season. It begins on the Epiphany and ends at various points (such as Candlemas, which will be covered in a future letter) as defined by those denominations. The typical liturgical color or the day of Epiphany is white, and the typical color for Epiphany season is green.
It has been my great honor to teach the RCIA (now OCIA, but I am having a hard time getting used to that!) classes here at St. Mary the Virgin. Because we are a small parish, our group might be more aptly named “Seekers Classes” because people come seeking different things. Some are unbaptized adults, seeking baptism and confirmation, becoming part of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. Some are baptized Catholics who have left the Church before receiving all their sacraments and are looking for First Communion and/or Confirmation. And some are Catholics who received their sacraments, but left the Church to follow a different way, and are now coming back into the Church and want to relearn what they didn’t get in their initial religious education. And some have been faithful Catholics who just want to brush up on their faith.
Most of you probably know much, but some (myself included) know very little about it. EPIPHANY comes from the Greek word epiphaneia meaning “manifestation” and being a Christian holiday commemorating the first manifestation of Jesus to the Gentiles, represented by the Magi, (most of us probably knew this but read on) and the manifestation of His divinity, as it occurred at his baptism in the Jordan river and at his first miracle, at Cana in Galilee.
For centuries now, every twenty-five years the Church sets aside a graced time of Jubilee. These Jubilee Years are “a significant moment in the life of the Church in which she celebrates the year of messianic favor inaugurated by Christ through his Incarnation and Paschal Mystery” (cf. Lk 4:19, St. John Paul II, Tertio Millennio adveniente, nos. 11-16). The Year of our Lord 2025 is just such a Jubilee, and so it stands apart as a new opportunity to receive the Lord’s mercy, to give gratitude for his Holy Church.
While the traditional reckoning of the Advent Ember Days is in the Third Week of Advent (nearest St. Lucy’s day), the Ordinariate was given permission to shift them to the First Week of Advent. This was done to safeguard the full observation of the O Antiphons (Sapientiatide), from 17-24
December (this week) in the Ordinariate calendar.
The term “Advent” derives from the Latin adventus, meaning “coming” or “arrival.” Thus it’s a time of waiting and preparation, filled with joy but also with repentance and penance. It anticipates the “coming of Christ” from three different perspectives: the 1st coming in Christ’s Nativity in Bethlehem, Christ’s reception in the heart of the believer, and the return of Christ as King of the Universe at His Second Coming (which we celebrated two weeks ago).
by Marion & Mary Nesvadba, Choir Director & Organist
I am probably "Preaching to the Choir" (this is an old church adage, you know, referring to something commonly known) but the word "Advent" comes from the Latin word "adventus" which means "coming" or "arrival." It is a time to reflect on the humble nature of the birth of Jesus. It is a time to anticipate our heavenly home.
"That in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those that are in Heaven, on earth and under the earth: And that every tongue should confess that the Lord Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the Father.”
—-Philippians 2:10-11
Today, November 24th, the last Sunday of the Church’s Liturgical Year is the Feast of Christ the King. It was established by Pope Pius in his 1925 encyclical Quas Primus. Pius XI wrote that if the truths of Christ “are presented to the faithful for their consideration, they will prove a powerful incentive to perfection.”
Have you ever given your opinion about something, and then said "That's just my two cents worth"? It's a way of letting the person you're talking to know that this is just your own opinion, and the listener is free to disagree. When we add our "two cents worth" to a discussion, we let people know that, "yes indeed, this is what I think, but I could be wrong. Take it for what it's worth - a great deal perhaps, or not much, maybe."
The Scripture readings today are familiar to many here at Mass today. They are the most fundamental principle of Christianity. They are to love God, and Love each Other. We remind ourselves of their importance at the beginning of every Mass which is said or sung in the Ordinariate Form, in what is called the “Summary of the Law”.
By tradition, the Catholic Church dedicates each month of the year to certain devotions. I often like to use my weekly letter to describe some of them. The month of October is dedicated to the Holy Rosary, one of the best known of all Catholic devotions. October includes the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary (October 7). the best way to celebrate the month is, of course, is to [pray the Rosary.
During this month of October we are able to celebrate the Feasts of two great female saints – St. Therese of Lisieux (on October 1st) and Teresa of Avila (on October 15th) of whom we have relics of both, or the two Teresa’s of SMV! (We are also blessed with a Shrine Altar to Saint Therese, a gift of the Oliver family) Because of these connections, I thought I’d share brief outlines of their lives, as inspirations for us today.
Let me sing praises to our Adult Choir. These dedicated people are parishioners (mostly) and give their time to celebrate and enhance the principal liturgies here at SMV.Our Youth Choir has 19 singers of various ages. It should be at least 30 strong. Nevertheless, it is probably the best sounding Youth Choir SMV has ever had. When I hear our congregation sing, I hear a lot more than average voices singing. The Adult Choir meets on Thursday evenings at 7:00 pm. The Youth Choir meets on Sundays immediately after the 10:30 Mass.Come sing with us.
Last Sunday, I used our Shrine of St. Thomas More as a homily illustration. Since we also have a Shrine to St. Therese the "Little Flower" at our church (a memorial from the Olivers) and her reelic, and also since her Feast Day was last Tuesday, I thought I would make her the subject of this week's article.
Although we celebrate the Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity today, September 29th is also the Feast of All Angels. From the Old Testament account of Jacob's wrestling's all the way through to the 'conscious communion' sought in St. John Henry Newman's Dream of Gerontius, mankind has not only been perplexed by the existence of angels, but even more perplexed by whether communication with them is either possible or desirable.
Although one cannot tell this by the temperature. It's now early Fall, and time to focus more on our Religion, our Church and our Parish. I thought therefore that I would use this week's letter to remind everyone of some upcoming events.