A New Liturgical Year (Bulletin Column 20151115)

Many of us like to recognize special events in our lives and the lives of others. We will have parties for birthdays, anniversaries and graduations. We will celebrate promotions, retirements and many other things just too numerous to mention. One event that many people celebrate is New Year’s Eve. People will attend parties to “ring-in” the New Year. Others may enjoy a quiet evening by watching television with their family or friends. Regardless of how you bring in the New Year, you are probably with someone that is special to you.

Just as there is a calendar year that mark events in our life, the Church has a liturgical year that will mark events of both the life of Jesus and the Church.  These many events deserve recognition and celebration. By use of the liturgical calendar we are able to revisit the events annually. This gives us the opportunity to rediscover them as we grow in maturity and spirituality. Some yearly celebrations include the birth of Christ, his baptism, passion and resurrection. The calendar also includes the feast days of men and women who have played important roles in the growth of our faith. Through the use of Holy Days, the Church will call our attention to special events in the history of our faith that should be celebrated, remembered and prayed upon.

The liturgical year of the Catholic Church begins with the first Sunday of Advent. There are many things you will immediately notice on the first Sunday of a new liturgical year. The clergy will be wearing violet vestments and not the green color that has been worn since the end of the Easter season. The Church will begin a new cycle of readings. For many churches the most obvious change will be the displaying of an Advent wreath. The Advent wreath is used during the Advent season and will remain out until the beginning of the Christmas season.

The official end of the liturgical year is the last Saturday before the beginning of the Advent season. To properly celebrate the end of the liturgical year we must first consider what has happened during this concluding year. We used the liturgical year to recall the life of Christ here on earth. We heard readings at the Mass that are only read every three years. We celebrated important events in Church history. The Church ends each year in Ordinary time; giving us the opportunity to grow as we contemplated the teachings of Jesus anew.

The last Sunday of the liturgical year is the Solemnity of our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. To “ring-out” the end of the liturgical year the Solemnity will mark the culmination of our spiritual growth and understanding for the ending year. Do not wait until the end of the calendar year to review your spiritual life. Review and resolve to make the changes that will bring you closer to God. Let us “ring-in” the new year proclaiming that Christ is our King.

Second Sunday of Advent

This is the column I wrote for our Church bulletin dated December 7, 2014.

Almost everything we do that is of importance to us requires the devotion of our time. If we like a clean house or a manicured yard we must put in the time to maintain those features. If we like to be good in academics or athletics then we must set aside time for study and practice. Our faith should be the same way. For us to be good Catholics we must devote the time for growth in our faith. This would include personal time for prayer, scripture reading and the study of the writings of our Church fathers.

Personal time is not all that is needed for growth in faith. A few weeks ago was the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. We learned that we are all members of the Kingdom of God. Just as the members of earthly kingdoms do, we must come together to praise and worship our heavenly king. We come together through the celebration of the Mass. This coming together in celebration of the Mass is so important to the formation of our faith that it is one of the five precepts of the Church.

The Precepts of the Church are the basic actions required as a practicing Catholic. The five precepts are;

• You shall attend Mass on Sundays and on holy days of obligation and rest from servile labor.
• You shall confess your sins at least once a year.
• You shall receive the sacrament of the Eucharist at least during the Easter season. 
• You shall observe the days of fasting and abstinence established by the Church.
• You shall help to provide for the needs of the Church. 

The precepts are in place to guarantee each one of us has the opportunity for more growth in our faith. Monday, December 8, is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This is a Holy Day of Obligation. We know that as a precept of the Church, we must attend Mass on Monday and that by attending Mass we will grow in our faith.

The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary was infallible dogma proclaimed by Pope Pius IX in 1854. He stated that “The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin.” We learn through the Catechism of the Catholic Church that Mary, "full of grace" through God, was redeemed from the moment of her conception. Mary was born into our world free of Original Sin.

In this second week of Advent there will be many opportunities to follow the precepts of the Church. Along with attending Mass on the Holy Day of Obligation, our Cathedral will offer a Reconciliation service on December 10th. The Advent giving tree is now available. It is one of many ways you can help provide for the needs of the Church. May your faith continue to grow.