Sunday Special: Happy Easter

Easter Vigil is one of the longest masses at the Catholic Church. Originally lasting all night, literally a vigil for Easter Sunday, it now ranges between three and seven readings from the Old Testament, an epistle, Gospel, baptisms, confirmations, and first communions of those joining the church. Starting outside in the dark, and ending some two and half hours later, it is no small undertaking. And it's hard to focus on.

"Consequently, you too must think of yourselves as being dead to sin and living for God in Christ Jesus"
Rom. 6:3-11

I have attended many Easter Vigil masses with my family, but there was something special about this one. And that quote from Romans really stayed with me, and I kept reading it over and over, trying to commit it to memory. And throughout the rest of the mass, as people receivered various sacraments of initiation, I felt those words close to my heart.

In baptism, we die and are born again, in our Lord's light and love, washed clean of original sin. When confirmed, we are blessed with the grace to consciously turn towards Christ each and every day. And the living bread and wine of Holy Communion sustains us like no mortal food or drink ever could, helping us through our day-to-day struggles, so that we can live in and for the Lord.

It's hard to see the joy in every day events or in sacraments we were raised into. The church I have been a part of my whole life can seem stuffy and boring at times. As I mentioned earlier this month, my prayer life seems to lack joy during its day-to-day routines. But there is joy and beauty in the simple things. We must be dead to sin and alive in Christ; we must push past the dangerous monotony that temptsus to sleep in instead of wake up and pray

The Easter season is for joy and celebration in the church, a sort of new year, an opportunity for a fresh start, resolutions, and to find joy in this littugical season, and the ordinary times to follow.

Tota tua.

. 

Happy Easter!

Our God's not dead, He's surely alive!

Easter is absolutely, positively my favorite holiday.  It doesn't involve an insane amount of shopping or holiday stress.  Buy some candy, stuff some eggs, and hide them around the house.  Put a few treats in a basket and you're set; commercial holiday is satisfied.

But then you have the fun parts; the Easter dresses and suits.  The big, beautiful white church filled with Easter lilies, and finally getting to sing Alleluia!  It's the best service of the year.  Afterwards is full of family; dinner, mass Easter egg hunts, and desserts galore.  It's the most wonderful time of the year.

Remember to make God some part of your Easter, even if it's a small personal prayer of thanksgiving tonight before you go to bed.

Ginna and Luke

Wayne and Elsie 

Ginna and I 

 Here are some shots of my family Easter!

Ginna and Elsie 

Fr. Paul blessing the Paschal Candle 

Luke and Wayne serving at Easter Vigil 

Hope everyone had a blessed Easter Sunday!

Totus tuus,

LeAnn

Holy Week Cheat Sheet, Part II

And so the Tridiuum begins...

But we've already covered what will be going on at Holy Thursday services, so we are going to continue on down the list.  

Holy Saturday, in and of itself, is not all that spectacular.  It's what happens at midnight that makes this day a beautiful day to be a Catholic.  Easter Vigil Mass is said in the evening, or night of Holy Saturday.  Traditionally, it is to be said at midnight, but it can actually be said at any point during the evening of Holy Saturday.  

The service is divided into four parts; service of Light, Liturgy of the Word, Liturgy of Baptism, and the Liturgy of the Eucharist.  

The first service, service of Light begins with a lights off in the church, and the people outside.   The priest lights a (controlled) new fire, and from that he lights the new Paschal Candle, which had been previously marked with a cross, and the Greek symbols Alpha and Omega.  These represent Christ, today and yesterday, beginning and end, all time belongs to Him, and all ages.  

After the candle is lit, the people light their candles from it, and process into the church singing.

In the Liturgy of the Word, seven readings from the Old Testament are heard, and two from the New.  Don't let this scare you off, the readings go quickly, and make perfect sense in the order that they are read.  They are to help us meditate on the works of God since the the beginning of time. The Gloria is sung, and finally, before the Gospel, we get to sing the Alleluia again.  

The third part, Liturgy of Baptism is an opportunity for us all to renew our baptismal promises, and for new members of the Church to be baptized.  We welcome them with open arms, and move on to the final part of the Easter Vigil Mass; the Liturgy of the Eucharist.  

This is celebrated like at any other mass, with a breaking of the bread, consecration of the bread and wine.  The mass ends, and we are dismissed, and with a rousing Easter hymn, the congregation goes home and sleeps.  

Easter Sunday services are a little different.  they are very similar to Christmas Day mass and our regular high Masses.  The church is decked out in white and gold, and filled with Easter lilies.  No special extras, except for the opportunity to renew your baptismal promises.  

With that being said, I have a special reminder for you all; starting tomorrow at 3:00, pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet.  This is a Novena written by Sr. Faustina of Poland who saw and spoke with both Jesus and Mary.  I have put a link in my links page for you to learn how to pray the Chaplet, and I will fill you all in on this amazing opportunity to pray to our God.  

Have a blessed Tridiuum, and I'll fill you all in on the Divine Mercy Chaplet on Sunday along with all of my fun Easter doings!

Totus tuus,

LeAnn 

Holy Week Cheat Sheet

Grind Week - the Tridiuum 

Let's get down to business; it's Holy Week people.  For the last 34 days, we've been fasting, praying, giving alms, adding to our spiritual habits, in preparation for next Sunday.  If there was ever a week to buckle down, and give God all you've got, it would be this week.

Today at mass, we heard Luke's version of the Passion of Christ; Thursday, Friday, and Sunday we will hear the other three versions of the Last Supper, the Crucifixion, and the Resurrection of Christ.  We will venerate the cross, wash feet, and perform other various acts of tradition that most of us don't fully understand.

Is anyone else confused about what all will be going on this week?  Because I remember the first time I really paid attention at Holy Week services, and I was lost.  So, I thought I would offer a friendly, comprehensive Holy Week guide.

Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday (today).  Mass begins with a processional inside, weather permitting.  We had snow where I live, so we started inside.  The priest will bless the palms the people picked up before mass began, and then the entire congregation will process into their pews, with the priest entering last, like a normal mass.  The gospel will be one of the four accounts of the Passion of Christ.

We wave palms in tradition of how Jesus was greeted upon His return to Jerusalem.

So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!"              (Jn 12:13-15)

Holy Thursday is the most important and profound service in the Catholic Church, except for the Easter Vigil Mass.  Holy Thursday celebrates, the Last Supper, otherwise known as the Institution of the Eucharist.  This is the service you remember as child, the one where the priest washed feet.  He does this in reflection and honor of our Servant-Leader, who washed the feet of His Disciples.  This action represents baptism, a forgiveness of sins, and a servile action. We listen to the second Gospel version of the Passion.  At the end of the mass, the priest strips the altar and moves the extra consecrated hosts to another tabernacle off to the side.

All of this is to symbolize a cleansing of the Church, which is how Holy Thursday received it's other name, Maundy Thursday, taken from the word Mandatum, meaning cleansed.

In the Cathedrals around the world, another special mass takes place; the Chrism Mass, which is attended by as many priests as possible.  This mass represents the the institution of the priesthood. The bishop of the diocese washes the feet of twelve priests, and blesses the chrism oil that will be used for Confirmation and Baptism throughout the following year.

Good Friday is the only day of the year that there is no mass.  Anywhere. At anytime.  No mass.

"But wait, I remember receiving Communion at Good Friday services," you're thinking.

Right you are, you did receive Communion.  But it wasn't consecrated in front of you; it was consecrated on Holy Thursday.  Remember the extra hosts I mentioned?  Those are the ones we receive on Good Friday.  We don't have a Eucharistic celebration out of honor for the Passion of our Lord.  Instead, we venerate the Cross.

venerate: to regard with great respect; revere

The Church is bare after Holy Thursday services, we have no musical instruments and will not sing again until Easter Vigil.  All of the congregation's focus is on the Cross. Veneration of the Cross started in the fourth century, after St. Helena discovered the True Cross. The priest would unveil the relic, and announce to the people, "Behold, the Wood of the Cross".

The same is done today, although very few us will get to venerate the True Cross.  Rather, we will give our adoration to the representation of the cross; the Passion of Christ.  You may either kiss, touch, or simply gaze upon the cross.  All that matters is the sincerity with which you approach it.  That cross represents our salvation, the great suffering that Christ went through, and God's great Love for us.

After Veneration, the people will listen to the third Gospel version of the Passion, receive Communion, and quietly, solemnly process out.

Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday need their own special cheat sheet, which I will put up on Holy Thursday before services begin; but this should be more than enough to get you through the first two days of the Tridiuum.

The most important thing to remember is to be reverent  we don't have to understand every single thing we do as Catholics, what is important is to understand that we do it out of love and respect for our Lord, and what He did for us.

Have a blessed Holy Week,

Totus tuus,

LeAnn


Did I miss anything?  Want more details?  I put up all of my sources under the Links page, so that you can investigate for yourselves!  The sites I used had great tips, resources, and explanations for everything going on this week.