Dear Parishioners:
Last Sunday was the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord and marked the end of the Christmas season. Before Vatican II, the Christmas season ended on February 2nd, which was called “Candlemas Day.” This was the day when all the candles that were to be used in the church in the coming year were blessed. Now, we call February 2nd the Feast of the Presentation. The Feast of the Presentation was also a day in which many religious sisters entered the convent for their novitiate formation.
We are now in “ordinary time” in the church year. Visually, the priests and deacons now wear green vestments, not white or purple. In the church, green is the color of hope. Ordinary time lasts until Lent and then, after the Lenten and Easter seasons, ordinary time returns until the start of Advent. In all, 34 weeks of the year are devoted to Ordinary Time.
As the Church liturgical documents tell us:
Besides the times of the year that have their own distinction, there remains in the yearly cycle of thirty-three or thirty-four weeks in which no particular aspect of the mystery of Christ is celebrated (as is true in the Advent, Christmas, Lent and Easter seasons), but, rather, the mystery of Christ itself is honored in its fullness, especially on Sundays. This period is known as Ordinary Time (Universal Norms, paragraph 43).
St. Pope John Paul II brought to the Vatican the tradition of a bigger-than-life outdoor Nativity display in St. Peter’s Square. Interestingly enough, St. Pope John Paul II kept the Vatican Nativity scene up until February 2nd! So, if anyone gives you a hard time because your Christmas decorations are still up, don’t tell people that you procrastinate; rather, tell people you are a traditionalist!
As you know, “time” is very important to us. No one wants to waste time. So, I would like to challenge everyone not to waste time spiritually during “ordinary time.” If we do well spiritually during ordinary time, we can experience extraordinary spiritual results.
The PARISH OFFICES will be CLOSED this Monday and Tuesday (January 20th & 21st). We have to accomplish a major repair to a water line, and that means ALL the water on the campus must be shut off—no water for the church, school, parish center, or rectory. I cannot have people working if there is no bathroom facility, so all offices are closed. We will still offer Mass, BUT there will be no bathrooms available. I am sorry for the inconvenience, but I have no choice. If there is an emergency and you need a priest for an Anointing and Last Rites, call the rectory, and the phone tape will provide an emergency phone number to call.
Remember: Together, we can do something beautiful for God.
In Christ,
Fr. Brian