Catholic Prayer Club
… a Worldwide Apostolate
January – February 2008 A.D.
THE LITURGICAL YEAR
By Laura Macy
The
Liturgical Year also known as the Christian Year consists of a cycle of
liturgical seasons in the Church, marked by special seasons: Advent, Christmas, Lent, the Triduum (or
Three Days), Easter and Ordinary Time.
It encompasses rites, celebrations, feasts that take place throughout
the Christian Year. The Liturgical Year
Calendar of the Church begins on the first Sunday of Advent. It ends with the Feast of Christ the King.
The
purpose of the Liturgical Year Calendar, used by the Catholic Church, is not to
mark the passage of time, but to celebrate and understand more fully the entire
mystery of Jesus Christ, from his incarnation and birth until his ascension,
the day of Pentecost, and the expectation of his return in glory. During the course of a year, the paschal
mystery, the passion, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus is viewed
from different angles, in different lights.
The
Liturgical calendar celebrated on Sundays follows a three year cycle:
In
year A, Matthew is the primary gospel read during the year.
In
year B, Mark is the primary gospel.
In year
C, Luke is the primary gospel.
The
Sunday Lectionary cycle for 2008 is Year A (Matthew).
In
addition to Sunday worship, the Church also celebrates Solemnities (Holy Days
of Obligation), Feasts, Memorials. These
occur during the year to commemorate special events and persons of high
reverence in the Church.
THE SEASONS OF THE LITURGICAL YEAR
ORDINARY TIME I
Ordinary
time begins on Monday, January 14, 2008 and continues through Tuesday, February
5, 2008.
LENT
Lent
runs from Wednesday, February 6, 2008 (Ash Wednesday) until the beginning of
the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday, March 22.
Ashes
may be distributed to the faithful both within and outside of Mass, at the
conclusion of the Liturgy of the Word.
Ash Wednesday is not a Holy Day of Obligation. It is a penitential day of obligatory fast
regarding all food and abstinence from meat.
Funerals are permitted on Ash Wednesday and all Lenten weekdays, but Ritual
Masses are not permitted, meaning that a funeral or a wedding which takes place
must use the Mass texts and readings for Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday, Lenten Sundays and the days of
Holy Week take precedence over all Solemnities and Feasts. Only Solemnities and Feasts (this year, the
Chair of Peter on February 22 and
Sunday,
March 16, 2008 – Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion.
Holy
Week begins on Passion Sunday and extends through Holy Saturday, March 22.
Wednesday,
March 19, 2008 – Solemnity of
March 20, 2008 – Holy Thursday
March 21, 2008 – Good Friday
March 22, 2008 - Holy Saturday
March 23, 2008 – Easter Sunday
Lent
ends and the Paschal Triduum commences on Holy Thursday, March 20, 2008 with
the beginning of the Mass of the Lord’s Supper.
The Triduum continues through all of Good Friday, March 21, 2008 and
Holy Saturday, March 22, 2008, through Easter Sunday, March 23, 2008. Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday
are not Holy Days of Obligation. Holy
Communion is only distributed during Mass on Holy Thursday or Holy Saturday and
during the solemn commemoration of the Lord’s Passion on Good Friday, except when
it is given outside of Mass to the dying as Viaticum. The sacraments of Penance and Anointing of
the Sick may be administered during the Paschal Triduum, but not within
EASTER
The
Octave of Easter begins with the Easter Vigil on Saturday, March 22, 2008 and
extends through the Second Sunday of Easter, March 30, 2008. During the Easter Octave, every day is a
Solemnity, so that Ritual Masses are not permitted, meaning that weddings which
take place during the Octave of Easter, including those on Friday and Saturday,
March 28 and 29, must use the proper Mass texts and readings taken from the
weekday during the Octave of Easter.
Funeral Masses are permitted during the Octave of Easter. The Paschal Candle is always lit for all
liturgical and devotional services in the Church during the entire Easter
Season.
Sunday, May 4, 2008 –
The Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord
Sunday, May 11, 2008 –
The Solemnity of Pentecost.
The
Easter Season ends with Evening Prayer II of Pentecost.
ORDINARY TIME II
Ordinary Time resumes
on Monday, May 12, 2008.
Sunday, May 18, 2008 – Solemnity
of the Most Holy Trinity
Sunday, May 25, 2008 –
Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
Sunday, June 29, 2008 –
Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul
Friday, August 15, 2008 –
Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mother.
This
is a Holy Day of Obligation.
Sunday, November 2, 2008 –
Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls Day)
Sunday, November 23, 2008 –
Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ the King
This
is the last Sunday in Ordinary Time.
Saturday, November 29, 2008 -The
Liturgical Year ends with the celebration of Evening Prayer I on the Vigil of
the First Sunday of Advent, which begins the 2009 Liturgical Year.
LITURGICAL COLORS
Liturgies
celebrated during the different seasons of the liturgical year have distinctive
music and specific readings, prayers, and rituals. All of these harmonize to reflect the spirit
of the particular season. The colors of
the vestments that the priest wears during the liturgy also help express the
character of the mysteries being celebrated.
White, the color of joy and
victory, is used fro the seasons of Easter and Christmas. It is also used for the feasts of Our Lord,
for feasts of Mary, the angels and for saints who are not martyrs.
Gold may be used on solemn
occasions where white is used.
Red, the color of blood,
is used on days when we celebrate the passion of Jesus on Passion Sunday and
Good Friday. It is also used for the
birthday feasts of the apostles and evangelists and for the celebrations of martyrs. Red, the color of fire, recalls the Holy
Spirit and is used on Pentecost and for the sacrament of Confirmation.
Green, seen everywhere in
plants and trees, symbolizes life and hope and is used during Ordinary Time.
The
colors violet or purple in Advent help us to remember
that we are preparing for the coming of Christ.
Lent, the season of penance and renewal, also uses the colors violet or
purple.
Rose may be used on the
Third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday and on the Fourth Sunday of Lent,
Laetare Sunday. It expresses the joy of
anticipation for Christmas and Easter, respectively.
LENT
Lent
is a forty-day period before Easter. It
begins on Ash Wednesday. The Sundays are
skipped when forty days are counted, because Sundays commemorate the
Resurrection. Lent begins on February 6,
this year and ends on the March 20, Holy Thursday, with the beginning of the
mass of the Lord’s Supper.
It is
a special time of prayer, penance, sacrifice and good works in preparation of
the celebration of Easter. The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy of Vatican
Council II stated, “the two elements which are especially characteristic of
Lent – the recalling of baptism or the preparation for it, and penance – should
be given greater emphasis.” So, the
Church prepares the faithful for the celebration of Easter.
In
most churches, the decorations and vestments are purple.
The
Teutonic word, Lent, derives from the Anglo-Saxon words Lencten, meaning
“spring” and lengthening of days, and lenctentid, which literally means not
only “springtide” but also was the word for “March”, the month in which the
majority of Lent falls.
Since
the earliest times of the Church, there is evidence of some kind of Lenten
preparation for Easter. There were countless variations in the observance of
Lent because of disputes over translations of the “forty”. Days?
Hours? Our forefathers (apostles)
observed a forty day period of Lenten preparation in some form or other. The exact practices and duration were not
agreed upon or determined. The practices and duration of Lent were varied and irregular. In 313
A.D., Lent became more regularized after the legalization of Christianity. The Council of Nicea (325 A.D.) noted that
two provincial synods should be held each year, including “one before the forty
days of Lent”. St. Athanasius (d. 373)
asked his congregation to make a forty day fast prior to the more intense
fasting of Holy week. St. Cyril of
Finally,
Pope Leo (d. 461) preached that the faithful must “fulfill with their fasts the
Apostolic institution of the forty days,” noting the apostolic origins of
Lent. By the end of the fourth century,
Lent existed and prayer and fasting constituted its primary spiritual
exercises.
Once
the forty days of Lent were established, the next development concerned how
much fasting was to be done. The rules
of fasting varied. First, some areas of
the Church abstained from all forms of meat and animal products, while others
made exceptions for food like fish.
Second, the general rule was for a person to have one meal a day, in the
evening or at three in the afternoon.
Eventually, a smaller repast was allowed, and later eating meat was also
allowed during the day to sustain one’s strength from manual labor. Eating fish was allowed, and later eating
meat was also allowed through the week except on Ash Wednesday and Friday. Over the years, modifications have been made:
Ash
Wednesday still marks the beginning of Lent which lasts for forty days, not
including Sundays. The present fasting
and abstinence laws are: On Ash
Wednesday and Good Friday, the faithful fast (only one full meal a day and
smaller snacks) and abstain from meat; on the other Fridays of Lent, the
faithful abstain from meat.
People
are still encouraged to “give up something” for Lent as a sacrifice. Technically, on Sundays and other solemnities
like
In
other words: Repent of sin, Renew faith,
Prepare to celebrate joyfully the mysteries of our salvation during Holy Week.
ASH WEDNESDAY
Jesus
retreated into the wilderness and fasted for forty days to prepare for his
ministry. It was for Him a time of
contemplation, reflection and preparation.
By observing Lent, most Christians join Jesus on His retreat.
Biblical
societies relied very heavily on wood fires for heating and cooking, which
meant that keeping ashes under control was a major housekeeping task.
Ashes
became a sign of remorse, repentance and mourning. Today, someone might wear a black armband to
signify that they are in mourning; back then, they put ashes on their
foreheads.
During
Lent, ancient Christians mourned their sins and repented of them, so it was
appropriate for them to show their sincerity by having ashes on their
foreheads. The custom has persisted in
the church as secular society has changed around us.
It is
most appropriate on Ash Wednesday, when we begin a period of sober reflection,
self-examination, and spiritual redirection.
Traditionally,
the ashes for the Ash Wednesday service come from burning the palm fronds from
the previous year’s Palm Sunday celebration.
ODDS and Ends
v
As the new year commences it is a good
time to set some faith development goals including a commitment to pray daily
and attend daily Mass more often.
v
Don’t forget the importance of
supporting your local parish financially. Please consider increasing the amount
that you give each week.
The
CPC Prayer Intention for This Month
That human society may be solicitous
in the care of all those suffering from debilitating illnesses, especially
children and those without family and all who suffer under the yoke of
addiction, and that the Church may help them to experience the Lord’s love .
Lord, hear our prayer….
Are you looking for a way to draw closer to Christ this year?
Why
not start a prayer group in your home area?
Details are available on the next page……
You can help us spread the good word of our Lord…by becoming a CPC
Prayer Ministry Leader in your home area.
As a CPC Prayer
Minister (PM) you will form and lead a small Home Based Prayer Community (HBPC)
in your hometown.
It’s easy to
get started. All you need to do is invite several friends, co-workers or family
members to join your HBPC. Local communities are generally comprised of from 3
to 15 members who gather in community every other week to pray, reflect and
share our faith. The Catholic Prayer Club will provide you with all of the materials
you need to form organize and lead your ministry and Home Based Prayer
Community.
So if you feel
called to a ministry in the service of the Lord, please contact Steve Macy or
Aurora Ragaza Co-Stewards of The Catholic Prayer Club at
The
Catholic Prayer Club®On the Worldwide Web www.catholicprayerclub.org
And finally…………..
While our Ministry is free of charge
it is not free of cost. Please
consider supporting CPC with a tax - deductible donation by clicking the secure
link below
Donate Here Through
JustGive®
http://www.justgive.org/nonprofits/donate.jsp?ein=14-1977600
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Catholic Prayer Club
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