The readings that we as Catholics use at Mass are not chosen by the priest or members of our parishes. Instead, the Roman Catholic Church around the world has a standard set of scripture readings which the Church has compiled in a set of lectionaries, or books of readings. There are two different sets of “cycles,” as they are called. The first cycle is read on Sundays and is repeated every three years. A different set of readings is read on weekdays and is repeated every two years. This means that after attending Sunday Mass for only three years, a Catholic will have heard large portions of the Gospels, Old Testament texts, and New Testament texts.

At the Second Vatican Council, one of the desires of the gathered bishops was to make scripture more accessible to Catholics around the world. A primary way to accomplish this was by greatly expanding the variety of readings at Mass and reworking the lectionary. In fact, it is widely recognized that the Catholic lectionary is a work of great genius, and several other Christian denominations also use the Catholic lectionary, such as some Lutherans. (There are exceptions to this, such as some books that are not considered canonical). The readings during seasons like Advent and Lent help us to open our hearts more widely to the spirit of the season that the liturgy is trying to convey to us. 

There are some exceptions to the rule that every church has the same readings around the world. When a saint’s feast day is celebrated on a weekday, it is optional to use readings specific to that saint. Generally, priests choose to use the daily readings to maintain the coherence of the scriptural text over several days. However, it is permitted to use the optional readings at the preacher’s discretion. Another exception to the rule of universal readings will be found in Eastern Catholic Churches. This could be the topic for another article, but the Catholic Church is not a homogenous entity, but rather a unity of many Churches. We are members of the Latin Catholic Church, but there is also the Eastern branch of the Church, made up of around 23 other Catholic Churches. They are also Catholic but not part of the Latin tradition. Many of these churches would have their own lectionary cycles because they are part of a different liturgical tradition than the Latin Church. These are different than and not to be confused with Orthodox Churches. 

There are few Eastern Catholic Churches in our part of the world. In fact, I am only aware of one Eastern Catholic parish in our diocese, and it may be closed by now. However, in Eastern Europe and Asia there are many Eastern Catholic Churches. If you are travelling abroad or even elsewhere in the country, you are free to attend an Eastern Catholic Divine Liturgy (Mass). The readings may be different, and the liturgical tradition will be different, but it is still the same Mass. Just make sure that you see the word “Catholic” somewhere in the name of the parish! We are blessed to be part of a Universal Church – a Church which has expanded not only across the world, but also across time for two thousand years. Our Faith is truly a gift from God, and it is a blessing to have the Mass available to us wherever we go around the world! 

Feast Day: December 25^th | Titles: Virgin, Martyr, Deliverer from Potions [“Pharmakolytria” (consider “pharmacy”, “pharmaceuticals”)] | Patronage: Martyrs, Weavers, Widows, Those Suffering from Poison | Attributes: Palm Branch, Martyrs-Cross, Medicine Pot

There are about a dozen saints and blesseds whose feast day is on December 25^th, most because they died on that day, whether from natural causes or because they were martyred. The woman who we get to know today was one of those given the martyrs crown, and though after Vatican II she has not retained a Mass of her own on December 25^th (the various Masses of Christmas are the only ones a priest can celebrate on the 25^th) she is still mentioned in the Roman Canon for which reason we consider her life today.

She comes at the end of the list of saintly women named during the prayer called the “Nobis Quoque”. This Latin phrase refers to the prayer that the priest says after praying for the deceased, he strikes his breast saying “To us, also, your servants, who, though sinners, hope in your abundant mercies, graciously grant some share and fellowship with your holy Apostles and Martyrs:”, going on to list John the Baptist and many other martyrs venerated early on in Rome. Here’s the amazing thing, if you look through that list, you find characters from all over the early Christian world, men and women, some of them martyrs, some of them apostles, some miracle-workers, some great teachers of the faith. Even just looking at the women, you have two from Africa (Felicity and Perpetua), two from Sicily (Agatha and Lucy), two from Rome (Agnes and Cecilia), and Anastasia, whose father may have been Roman, but who lived and died in Sirmium, now in Serbia.

I offer instead of my own biography, excerpts from a Akathist given in veneration of St. Anastasia. An Akathist is a chanted hymn-homilies with interspersed litanies, to a particular biblical character or saint. They originated in the Byzantine side of the Roman Empire in the 500s, and so seem a fitting way to recall our saint from Sirmium.

Kontakion 1: To the chosen saint of Christ, the all-blessed Great Martyr Anastasia, we bring praiseworthy singing, as she who has much boldness to the Lord, deliver from all troubles, sorrows and illnesses, the faithful who cry out freely with love: Alleluia.

Ikos 1: You have become like an angel with a pure mind, having had your mind upon Him, Who is the Creator of all visible and invisible creation, eternal from the beginning and the One desired by all the righteous; we, praising your wise teaching from the holy martyr Chrysogonus, cry out with love:
Rejoice, you who loved the faith of Christ; Rejoice, you who followed the piety of your mother Fausta. Rejoice, you who preserved the purity of your virginity; Rejoice, you who were always guarded invisibly by the angels. Rejoice, for you have drawn near to God by your purity; Rejoice, all-blessed Great Martyr Anastasia, holy visitor and intercessor for our souls in prison.

Kontakion 2: Saint Anastasia, beholding the many Christians suffering in dungeons for the name and teachings of Jesus Christ, began to serve them with zeal, but was helped by God to comfort and heal them, singing with reverence: Alleluia.

Ikos 2: O godly-wise Anastasia, you reasoned that this whole world is passing vanity and corruption, and for this, you despised precious clothing and possessions, and secretly clothed beggars, entering the dungeons to serve as a confessor of Christ; we follow her in our minds, and we appeal to her with love: Rejoice, imitator of Christ; Rejoice, visitor of prisoners in the dungeon; Rejoice, consoler of the confessors of Christ; Rejoice, you who have spent your gold and silver on them; Rejoice, by them who have acquired the Kingdom of Heaven; Rejoice, you who washed the hands and feet of the saints and cleaned their hair. Rejoice, you who healed their ills and honestly buried their bodies; Rejoice, all-blessed Great Martyr Anastasia, holy visitor and intercessor for our souls in prison.

Kontakion 3: Strengthened by power from above, holy martyr, you blessedly served the saints, and shamed the hater of every virtue the devil, enduring enslavement from your impious husband; we, praising your goodness, Anastasia, sing along with you: Alleluia.

Ikos 3: Have great love in the Lord for all who suffer for the Name of Christ in dungeons; we, marveling at her courage, crying to her: Rejoice, chosen bride of Christ; Rejoice, diligent keeper of the commandments of Christ; Rejoice, for you have fulfilled this not in words alone, but in deeds; Rejoice, you who were ready to lay down your life for your friends; Rejoice, for you have received much bitterness for Christ; Rejoice, for you have become like a strong diamond through your patience. Rejoice, all-blessed Great Martyr Anastasia, holy visitor and intercessor for our souls in prison.

– Fr. Dominic Rankin notes that this hymn continues to Kontakion 13 (!), and the whole thing would then be repeated three times (!!). We would need a longer bulletin to print it all, and probably a longer attention span if I were to sing it for my homily… Perhaps the lesson Anastasia teaches us this week is of generosity, not only to our fellow Christians, and not only in risking of our earthly life for Christ, but also, simply, to Our Lord in the time we dedicate to prayer, and to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

“Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord” We heard these words two weeks ago on the First Sunday of Advent.  Since then, this response used for the Responsorial Psalm has been coming up over and over in my mind and heart, and when a passage sticks around like that, it is good to pay attention to it.

On the one hand, from the historical context, these words express the joy of the Jewish people as they journeyed to the Temple in Jerusalem, the place where God dwelt.  To be in that place was a source of great joy, the anticipation of which would serve to motivate pilgrims on the often-difficult journey to arrive at that destination.  On the other hand, this response also indicates the joy we have as pilgrims on the way to House of the Lord, which is of our final home in Heaven.  When on a journey, the thought of home brings us joy, and it serves as a motivator to keep moving forward, knowing of the peace that we will find when we finally rest at home.  

A third and more immediate way of understanding these words is the joy that we should have as Catholics to come to the House of the Lord which is our church.  For each Catholic church or chapel is the New Temple of God, more important because God dwells there, truly and substantially in the Eucharist, Jesus’s Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity.  How much more joy should there be in our hearts when we have the privilege of coming to church?

Perhaps this can be a good point of examination for us on this Gaudete Sunday, the Sunday in which we are instructed, rather commanded to “rejoice in the Lord always” (Phil. 4:4) for He is near.  Not just is He near in the coming celebration of Christmas in two weeks, but He is near to us in each tabernacle, inviting us to come to Him and to be in His presence.  When we are getting ready for Mass each Sunday, is there a joyful anticipation in our hearts that we are going to see our King?  As we drive to church, is there joy in our hearts?  Or, do we find that we have a sense of reluctance and resignation about having to go to Mass?  While at Mass, are we thinking about other things we want to do, other places we would rather be, as opposed to rejoicing in being in the House of the Lord?

In these final two weeks before Christmas, let us spend some time reflecting on the joy (or lack thereof) we should have when coming to and being in the House of the Lord.  Doing so will prepare us to really look forward to coming to Mass on Christmas, seeing it not just as something to get done, but truly as the highlight to which we look forward, joyful that we will get to meet the newborn King and receive His life in the greatest gift possible, the Eucharist.

I would also like to issue a little Advent challenge, if you are willing to accept it!  Since our culture pushes to celebrate Christmas before December 25, we as Catholics have to work hard to maintain a sense of peace and eager expectation for the coming of the Lord.  In the midst of all of the noise, we need silence.  Why not come to the House of the Lord, our church, to find that silence, to be with Christ Himself, who is “the reason for the season.”  Make an effort to make a visit to Jesus in the tabernacle a few times before Christmas apart from coming to Mass.  As we come to Him and make time for Him, even if for just a few minutes, He will give us the gift of His peace and an increase of joy in His love for us, a joy that will prepare our hearts to receive Him not only when we celebrate Christmas, but each time we come to the House of the Lord.

Father Alford     

If you have attended Mass at the Cathedral regularly, or at most parishes in our diocese, you may have noticed that some women wear a veil from the moment they walk in the door of the church until they leave. You might have wondered what this is all about, or thought that Vatican II did away with women veiling during Mass. I have heard some stories from older parishioners of the nuns who made every girl wear a head covering as they attended Mass at their Catholic school – even if that meant a tissue or napkin out of their purse! I am sure that this was not a pleasant experience for some young ladies who did not understand what wearing a veil was all about. 

There is evidence for women wearing veils during prayer in the bible. St. Paul wrote, “A man, on the other hand, should not cover his head, because he is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man … For this reason, a woman should have a sign of authority on her head, because of the angels” (1 Corinthians 11:7-10). Of course, it is true that women are also the image and glory of God, and St. Paul wrote more about this issue than in the few verses I quoted. Essentially, Paul is referring to an analogy that permeates the scriptures to describe God’s relationship with his people: the relationship of a marriage. Earlier in this passage, St. Paul wrote, “The head of every man is Christ, the head of a woman is her husband, and the head of Christ is God” (1 Corinthians 11:3). 

Christ is the head of the Church, and Christ is the spouse of the Church. A husband and wife stand in place of Christ and his Church as a sign – a Sacrament – of God’s relationship to the Church. So, when he instructs a woman to wear a veil, he is asking her to stand as a symbol of the Church as the bride of Christ. Admittedly, this symbolism may seem like a bit of a stretch for our modern parishioners, as Paul is also mixing in certain cultural elements which no longer apply today. As it stands now, the Church does not require women to cover their heads in Church, although many women, especially in non-Western cultures, still choose to do so. 

Earlier, St. Paul said that a woman should cover her head “because of the angels.” What does this mean? According to one author I read (Peter Kwasniewski), this is a reference to Isaiah when he had a vision of heaven. Here is the passage: “I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim; each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory” (Isaiah 6:2). The angels who stand in the presence of God veil themselves using two wings as a sign of reverence, awe, and respect for the God of Israel. In this way, it is a symbol of submission and obedience to God. In this way, the veil is meant to be an exterior expression of an interior disposition of obedience and submission to God. 

I have heard a similar explanation during my years in the seminary, and it’s helpful to understand in the context of our Catholic liturgy. In the Mass, we typically veil certain objects and locations to show reverence and honor to sacred places and things. Many churches have a veil over the tabernacle, which holds the Body of our Lord, as a way to show respect to his Real Presence. In the Cathedral, you can’t see the veil unless the doors are propped open, but our tabernacle has a veil hanging inside between the door and the Eucharist. Traditionally, the chalice at Mass has been veiled before it is used at Mass. In wedding Masses, most brides choose to wear some sort of veil to cover their head, which symbolizes purity and reverence for her husband. In the temple of Israel, the Holy of Holies was covered by a veil which hung from floor to ceiling. 

Most women who wear veils today wear some sort of lace mantilla, but the same idea applies to any kind of hat or scarf which can be used to cover one’s head. I have heard a few stories of young ladies being reprimanded by older women for wearing a head covering in church, thinking that it is a symbol of repression. This is a misunderstanding of the tradition of covering one’s head. In some cultures, it is certainly true that men force women to wear a veil because they see them as lesser members of society. This is not the case in Christian cultures. Mary is almost always depicted wearing some sort of veil, which symbolizes both her great dignity and great humility as the Mother of God. 

An organization called “Veils by Lily” is a great resource for more information about veiling at Mass, along with a good variety of veils for purchase. I used this website in writing this article. Ladies veiling their head during Mass is a pious custom which many find to be a good way to show their love for Jesus. This practice is a beautiful tradition in which the Church still sees great value, but does not currently require at Mass. 

Feast Day: December 6th | Bishop, Wonderworker | Patronage: Children, Sailors, Merchants, Broadcasters, Repentant Thieves, Brewers, Pharmacists, Unmarried | Attributes: Vested as a Bishop, Holding Gospel-Book, Three Gold Coins/Balls; Blessing with Right Hand.

There is an amazing tale told of St. Nicholas, who, being bishop of Myra (in southwest Turkey, a port-city visited by St. Paul 300 years before), attended the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D., and at one particularly strident moment stood before Arius, the priest from Alexandria, who argued that Christ was not fully divine, unequal to God the Father, not eternally begotten, but the first and highest of the Father’s Creation. Nicholas, it is said, stood before the heretic and slapped him in the face. Or maybe punched him. Or maybe it had been that Nicholas knocked Arius to the floor and was stripped of his episcopal regalia and imprisoned by the other bishops for such an unseemly outburst during a Church council. But then, the following morning, he was found in his cell not only wearing his vestments again (in particular, art often depicts him wearing the omophorion, an ancient precursor to the pallium that archbishops now receive) but also carrying the book of the Gospels. It is said that Mary appeared to him restoring his vestments, with Our Lord Himself placing in Nicholas’ trustworthy hands the Holy Gospels. The other bishops were admonished, Nicholas was exonerated, and Arius condemned as a heretic.

Now, this particular story was not written down until a thousand years after the Council of Nicaea, and different lists that date back closer to the time of that council differ on whether Nicholas is included among the bishops in attendance. Of course, since he lived until 345 A.D., Nicholas would have lived during the tumultuous years before and after that great convocation of bishops.  Also, with Athanasius (himself quite the strident defender of the faith) and others considered the leaders of the council, perhaps it is not surprising, especially given the lack (and costliness) of documents at that time, that there would be disagreement between the few, and fragmentary, documentation we do have. (This is true not only of Church documents, but also in the Roman Empire at large. Our records of those years are spotty.)

But perhaps we can uphold the core of this tradition without ever tracking down a parchment that recounts Arius getting knocked flat by a righteously angered Bp. Nicholas. Nicholas’ parents died while he was a priest, or early in his episcopal care, for the people of Myra. Already known for his holiness and generosity, he turned to the Scriptures to find what the Lord was calling him to do with the large inheritance he received from his parents. Hearing “give to the poor and come follow me”, he began his famous incognito visits, distributing funds and food to those who needed them under cover of darkness. This was how he saved the three sisters from prostitution – tossing bags of gold through their window in the middle of the night. Not only does this kind of charity fit with a Church known across the ancient world for its defense of the dignity of women, but it is also told of no other character in antiquity. It stands out among many other stories of the heroism of saints, and so must link back to the actual heroic generosity of Good St. Nicholas. Other legends with similar distinctiveness speak of Nicholas’ being imprisoned before the legalization of Christianity under Constantine, and also providing for the city during famines whether by miracles or plain, audacious, leadership.

One thing is irrefutable. Nicholas was loved and heralded as a saint very soon after his death. Within a century or two pilgrimages were taking place to his tomb, and other priests were taking his name as their own, choosing him as their patron. If I may link a few things together, though we have no writing of St. Nicholas himself, it is eminently logical that as daring, sacrificial, and Christ-like a bishop as Nicholas, would have spoken and acted much like his more famous confrere, Athanasius. Defending the divinity and humanity of Christ, Whom He emulated with a boldness that has not dimmed through the long centuries since.

– Fr. Dominic Rankin cannot help but notice that Nicholas’ risking his own life, his livelihood, even his episcopacy, is itself only an emulation of Christ, Who not only risked, but truly gave away his own life, livelihood, and all earthly esteem in order to give His followers eternal life. When I receive Christ’s Body and Blood am I similarly disposed to risk my own body and blood to love in that same way?

If you have been paying attention to the Catholic media in the United States over the past year or so, you are probably aware of the three-year Eucharistic Revival that is underway here in our county.  But perhaps it is not so clear why this effort is underway.  I found the following description from the official Eucharistic Revival website to be an excellent summary:

The difficulties and challenges over the last few years have shed lights on the Church’s need for healing, unity, formation, and conversion. More than 30 percent of Catholics have not returned to the pews post-pandemic, and recent data reveals that the majority of Mass-going Catholics do not believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. The past decade has also seen the rise of the “nones” among the millennial generation, with more than 40 percent now self-identifying as “unaffiliated” with any religion. Many young Catholics find the faith to be irrelevant to the meaning of their lives and challenges.

Since the Eucharist is the source and summit of our faith, we have great faith that a renewal of our understanding and love for the Eucharist is necessary for the Church as we move forward.

The first year of the Eucharistic Revival is to be a Year of Diocesan Revival, and it officially began on Corpus Christi this past June.  In our diocese, we have chosen to make a slight adjustment to the timeline and have decided to have our diocesan Year of the Eucharist begin this coming Thursday, December 8.  Given that our diocese is under the patronage of the Immaculate Conception, this seems to be a fitting time for us to begin.  It also just so happens that this coming year will mark the 100^th Anniversary of the transfer of the See city of our diocese from Alton to Springfield.  To mark that milestone, Bishop Paprocki will kick off our diocesan Year of the Eucharist with Mass at Ss. Peter and Paul Parish in Alton, the church that served as the Cathedral when the diocese was located in Alton.  The year will conclude with Mass at our own Cathedral Church on December 8, 2023.  Please also mark your calendars for October 28, 2023, as we will be hosting an all-day diocesan Eucharistic Congress at the BOS Center here in Springfield.  That day will highlight various activities and speakers, including Bishop Robert Barron and Dr. Scott Hahn.  The day will conclude with a grand Eucharistic celebration involving thousands from throughout our diocese.

As we begin this year, I acknowledge there is a lot that is yet to be determined about how we will observe this special time.  But we know that the Lord will bless it since the goal is for us to draw closer to His greatest gift of Himself in the Eucharist.  Perhaps the most important thing for us to do now is to pray for the success of this year, and who better to turn to than to our Blessed Mother whose feast day on December 8 will mark the bookends of this Year of the Eucharist.  I am therefore issuing an invitation to add an additional Hail Mary to the three that so many of you have been saying for our parish since last January.  As a reminder, those three Hail Mary’s are for: 1) the clergy of the Cathedral Parish, 2) for the parishioners of the Cathedral Parish, and 3) for yourself individually.  With this 4^th Hail Mary, let us ask Mary’s intercession that this Year of the Eucharist might be fruitful for our diocese, our parish, and ourselves!

Father Alford     

This is a great question, and one that Christians have been talking about since the beginning of the Church. St. Paul tells us that we are justified by faith, and Christ himself told us that unless we are born again of water and the Spirit, one cannot enter the kingdom of God (John 3:5). Here Jesus refers to the sacrament of baptism. But, at the same time, Jesus told the good thief on the cross, “Today, you will be with me in paradise.” The good thief was probably never baptized, but he did express explicit faith in Jesus. This example proves that even if someone has not received the sacrament of baptism, God is able to give sanctifying and saving grace by another means. In the early Church, there were many martyrs who died as Catechumens, meaning they were still in the preparation phase and had not yet been baptized. The Church has said that these martyrs received a “baptism of blood.” They were not literally baptized, but received salvation by their faith and their witness to Christ. Other people, such as the good thief already mentioned, have received a “baptism of desire” in which they explicitly expressed faith, but for some reason, had not actually been baptized. 

A related question is what happened to the Jews who lived before Jesus. After all, they never received the sacrament of baptism, either! I think St. Joseph is a good example to consider. The Scriptures calls him a “just man,” and considering that he was entrusted with caring for God himself, he must have been very holy. However, it is likely that he died before Jesus instituted the sacrament of baptism. Sometimes Church authors refer to the “sacraments” of the Old Covenant. This refers to the rituals and symbols that God gave the Israelites in the various covenants of the Old Testament. For Jews, a major symbol of the Covenant was circumcision, and it has been understood that God also gave sanctifying grace through these “sacraments.” They are not in the same category as the seven sacraments which Christ gave the Church, but they were still occasions on which God gave grace to his people. The sacrifices were only a prefigurement of the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross. God gave grace in the Old Testament, because he foresaw the merits of Christ’s death on the cross. The Jews were (and can be today) justified by faith, through the Covenants that God has given their people. So, St. Joseph is certainly in heaven, as are all of our Fathers in the faith such as Abraham, Moses, and David. 

When faithful Jews died, the gates of heaven were not yet open, so they went to some sort of spiritual “waiting area” until the Savior would open the gates of heaven again. The event of Jesus coming to retrieve these just ones is sometimes called the “harrowing of hell,” referring to the line in the Creed when we say that Jesus “descended into hell.” This is not the same hell that we typically think of today, which is a state of eternal separation from God. Rather, it was the place the dead went while heaven was not accessible. 

A more challenging question to consider is about those who have never known about Jesus, or have known about the Gospel, but not in a compelling way. Plus, what about babies who died without the benefit of baptism? In short, the Church hopes and prays for the salvation of all people, even those who do not explicitly know Christ. They too can be saved by a sort of “baptism of desire,” although only in an implicit way, because they do not know that baptism and faith are necessary for salvation. Some people are seeking to live the truth in their lives, but have not yet seen that Jesus is the Truth. God can give graces in ways that we are not aware of. Other religious traditions such as indigenous religions, Buddhism, and Hinduism are not completely devoid of truth or goodness. They can be understood as a preparation to receive the fullness of religious truth through Jesus Christ. God can certainly use these other religious practices as occasions to give saving grace. 

A traditional way of understanding the Church’s role in salvation is in this Latin phrase: “Extra ecclesiam nulla salus.” This translates as, “Outside the Church, there is no salvation.” A few have incorrectly interpreted this to mean that only baptized Catholics can be saved. This is obviously not true, based on the story of the good thief. This phrase means that whenever God gives grace to a person, it always comes through the Church, the Body of Christ. Ideally, this is through the seven sacraments. But if God were to give grace to a truth-seeking atheist, this grace also comes through Christ and the Church. In every Mass, the Church prays for the salvation of the whole world. I like Eucharist Prayer IV, which includes this prayer to God the Father: “Lord, remember now all for whom we offer this sacrifice: Francis our Pope, … your entire people, and all who seek you with a sincere heart. Remember also those … whose faith you alone have known.” 

The Catechism says in #994, “It is Jesus himself who on the last day will raise up those who have believed in him, who have eaten his body and drunk his blood.” We can understand this to mean that even people who implicitly believed in him can also be raised up on the last day. Of course, I do not mean to diminish in any way the value of the sacraments that Jesus gave us. He especially gave us Baptism as a systematic way to receive his sanctifying grace and forgiveness of our sins. In a world as big and messy as it is, the structured sacramental economy that we have can give us reassurance that we indeed are in the state of grace, and that we have concrete encounters with Christ through the Church. 

Feast Day: December 13^th | Virgin and Martyr | Patronage: Writers; Salesmen; Martyrs; the Blind; Throat Infection; Epidemics; Mtarfa, Malta; and Perugia, Italy | Imagery: Holding a cord, eyes on a dish, a lamp, or swords. A woman: hitched to a yoke of oxen; in the company of Saints Agatha, Agnes of Rome, Barbara, Catherine of Alexandria, and/or Thecla; kneeling before the tomb of Saint Agatha.

This coming year in our diocese, and in all the dioceses of our country, we are setting out on a renewal based on the Eucharist, a Eucharistic Revival, as the USCCB has called it. This first year in the diocese of Springfield, IL, we will begin on December 8^th, (asking the patroness of our diocese, Our Lady in her Immaculate Conception, to bring us to Jesus). By starting on that day, we beg Mary to teach us to “do whatever He [Jesus] tells” us, to “show unto us the Blessed Fruit of thy womb, Jesus”, Our Lord Jesus present personally, truly, in the Blessed Sacrament. Mary, of course, is the Queen of all the saints and angels, and the more we come to know and befriend the saints, the more we find that they also only ever point us towards Jesus. So, this coming year, we are going to take the saints as our guides and encouragers in this great project of our Church, that each of us would encounter Jesus anew and ever more deeply in His gift to us of Himself in the Eucharist.

Most of the saints I will look at this year will be those specifically mentioned in the Roman Canon, the Eucharistic Prayer given the most prominence, and having an amazing pedigree, in our Church. Before seminary I had not paid much attention to the different Eucharistic Prayers that the Church gives the priest to pray. There are four primary ones and multiple others for various occasions, though we are probably most familiar with the Second Eucharistic Prayer (the one that compares the calling-down/overshadowing/epiclesis of the Holy Spirit upon the offerings to “the dewfall”) and the Third Eucharistic Prayer (the one that begins “You are indeed Holy, O Lord, and all you have created rightly gives you praise”, and allows the priest to include after Mary, Joseph, and “Your blessed Apostles and glorious Martyrs” the Saint of the day or a Patron Saint).

But the First Eucharistic Prayer (called the Roman Canon, because it was the prayer that developed especially in Rome during the first five hundred years of the Church’s history), is the one that has had the longest history in the Roman Catholic Church (though there are similarly longstanding Canons/Eucharistic Prayers/Anaphora’s [a word meaning “carrying-up”] found in Eastern Rite Liturgies and the Eastern Churches). Some parts of this prayer stretch back to the very beginning of the Church, as we will find throughout this year, and it has been said by every Roman Catholic priest who celebrated the Mass since Gregory the Great in 590 A.D.! This same prayer was recited by Augustine of Canterbury when he brought England to Christ, and Boniface went to Germany. St. Stephen and later St. Elizabeth, heard it at Mass in Hungary, St. Francis in Italy, and St. Margaret in Scotland. It was this same prayer that was offered to God if you had gone to Mass with Thomas Aquinas, Joan of Ark, John Fisher, Isaac Jogues, Andrew dun Lac and his Companions in Vietnam, Alphonsus Liguori, Maria Goretti, Therésè of Lisieux, Padre Pio, or Mother Theresa. 

But this great and ancient prayer is not marked as much by all of those saints, but double listing of some of the saints of the early church (think of “… John and Paul, Cosmas and Damien …”) and this week we celebrate one of the women listed in the second such litany: St. Lucy. Named after the Latin word for light, [“lux/lucis”, compare with the English words “lux”, “lucid”, “lucifer”, “lumen”], we beautifully begin this year-long project with a saint of light. St. Lucy was a young woman living in the 300s in Sicily. She and her mother, Eutychia, took a pilgrimage to Catania to visit the tomb and shrine of St. Agatha (there Eutychia was cured of her lengthy illness, and Lucy found that she, like Agatha, was being called to consecrate herself as a virgin to Christ). Like Agatha, who had been martyred 50 years before Lucy only 50 miles away, that decision angered the suitors who wanted Lucy’s hand (and dowry) in marriage, and when persecution against Christians arose in that Roman territory in the 3^rd century A.D., Lucy was also maltreated and then martyred. 

How can Lucy begin our delving into the mystery and gift of the Eucharist? Perhaps she teaches us the simplest, but most profound, of truths: the Eucharist is a gift, and must be received. If we receive a gift but never unwrap it, have we really received it?! If we receive Christ, but never return the favor, have we really opened our heart to Him?! When you or I receive Holy Communion, do we listen to Christ then and there to hear how He asks us to give ourselves back? Or do we go on with our day just exactly as we were planning to before?

– Fr. Dominic Rankin often asks himself, and the Lord in prayer, why receiving Holy Communion does not seem to do much to him? Shouldn’t there be results? Where is the joy? Why haven’t I been transformed yet? St. Lucy shows us that the fault lies not with Christ’s gift to me, but my lackluster self-gift back to Him.

A couple of months ago, at our October Pastoral Council Meeting, one of our agenda items was to consider having some sort of parish party, a time for our parishioners to come together for a time of celebration.  As we looked at dates, a few dates in Advent were proposed, thinking that might be a nice season to do something.  One of our members humbly and very insightfully brought up the point that the Advent Season is more of a penitential season, one that is more subdued in nature as we prepare for the birth of Jesus at Christmas.  Wouldn’t having a celebration at the parish send a conflicting message?  What a helpful comment that was as it really helped me to remember the proper focus on Advent, a season which has been so overlooked in a society which basically celebrates Christmas from Thanksgiving until Christmas Day, then moves on.  In reality, Advent has a distinct character of being a season of expectation, one which prepares us to celebrate the Season of Christmas, which only begins on Christmas Day, instead of ending that day as our society is so used to doing.

I offer this as a way of inviting us to enter into this season with the mind of the Church, not the mind of the culture.  This can be a very difficult thing to do because of how overwhelming the Christmas theme is around us over these next four weeks.  We will be offering some recommendations throughout the Advent Season on ways to maintain that proper perspective through the rich devotional life that the Church proposes for us.

Perhaps a good place to start would be participating in our annual Immaculate Conception Novena which takes place each night at 7:00 pm beginning November 30.  Each night we will include Eucharistic Adoration, a Liturgy of the Word with a preached homily on a different Marian title, praying of the Rosary, Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, and the Novena Prayer.  Our themes for this year will be titles related to Mary as Queen.  Mary is a great model for us of how to celebrate this season well.  She carried Jesus in her womb these final four weeks before His birth.  What eager expectation and joy there must have been in her heart as she looked forward to the night that the world would change forever. 

Here is the schedule of topics and preachers for this year’s Novena:

Wednesday, November 30 – Queen of Angels – Very Reverend Brian C. Alford
Thursday, December 1 – Queen of Patriarchs – Deacon Larry Smith
Friday, December 2 – Queen of Prophets – Reverend Paul Lesupati
Saturday, December 3 – Queen of Apostles – Reverend Monsignor David Hoefler
Sunday, December 4 – Queen of Martyrs – Most Reverend Thomas John Paprocki
Monday, December 5 – Queen of Confessors – Reverend Dominic Vahling
Tuesday, December 6 – Queen of Virgins – Deacon Rob Sgambelluri
Wednesday, December 7 – Queen of Families – Reverend Dominic Rankin
Thursday, December 8 – Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception (Novena concludes with the 5:15 pm Mass for the Solemnity)

Father Alford 

Feast Day: December 4^th| Father and Doctor of the Church | Patron of Theology Students, Icon Writers, Hymnographers, Poets, and Pharmacists.

“Iconoclasm.” Not a word we throw around every day, nor even consider all that often. It was a movement in the 700s and 800s, primarily in the Eastern Roman Empire (thus, often referred to as “Byzantine Iconoclasm”), that questioned the place of icons, really any religious imagery, in Christian worship and devotion. If God commands the Israelites to “make no graven image”, why do Christians dare to do so? Shouldn’t the great culture, and great emperor, of Byzantium have better subjects than the poor, unthinking Christians, bowing and venerating images? Does Islam, quickly becoming a real threat on the eastern border of the empire, and which decried the use of images and icons as idolatry, have a point? Have the Christians grown attached to their devotions and fallen from true worship, (and perhaps are afflicted because of it)? As the emperors began to exert their authority to destroy icons and “purify” the worship in churches under their dominion, many Christians were horrified to see the images of the saints, of the Mother of God [theotokus], and of Christ emptied from their churches and burned, but did the emperor perhaps have a point (and all the power)? Into this crisis stepped one of the final Fathers of the Church, and one of its first Doctors, St. John Damascene (of Damascus). He wrote three letters to the emperor, the first of which I offer an excerpt to us today:

This is the word the Lord hath commanded, saying: Set aside with you first fruits to the Lord; let every one that is willing and hath a ready heart, offer them to the Lord: gold, and silver, and brass, violet and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, and fine linen, goat’s hair, and ram’s skins dyed red, and violet, and coloured skins, selimwood, and oil to maintain lights, and to make ointment, and most sweet incense, onyx stones and precious stones for the adorning of the ephod and the rational: Whosoever of you is wise let him come and make that which the Lord hath commanded: to wit, the tabernacle,’ etc.

Behold, then, matter is honoured, and you dishonour it. What is more insignificant than goat’s hair, or colours, and are not violet and purple and scarlet colours? And the likeness of the cherubim are the work of man’s hand, and the tabernacle itself from first to last was an image. ‘Look,’ said God to Moses, ‘and make it according to the pattern that was shown thee in the Mount,’ and it was adored by the people of Israel in a circle. And, as to the cherubim, were they not in sight of the people? And did not the people look at the ark, and the lamps, and the table, the golden urn and the staff, and adore? It is not matter which I adore; it is the Lord of matter, becoming matter for my sake, taking up His abode in matter and working out my salvation through matter. For the Word was made Flesh, and dwelt amongst us. It is evident to all that flesh is matter, and that it is created. I reverence and honour matter, and worship that which has brought about my salvation. I honour it, not as God, but as a channel of divine strength and grace. Was not the thrice blessed wood of the Cross matter? and the sacred and holy mountain of Calvary? Was not the holy sepulchre matter, the life-giving stone the source of our resurrection? Was not the book of the Gospels matter, and the holy table which gives us the bread of life? Are not gold and silver matter, of which crosses, and holy pictures, and chalices are made? And above all, is not the Lord’s Body and Blood composed of matter?

Either reject the honour and worship of all these things, or conform to ecclesiastical tradition, sanctifying the worship of images in the name of God and of God’s friends, and so obeying the grace of the Divine Spirit. If you give up images on account of the law, you should also keep the Sabbath and be circumcised, for these are severely inculcated by it. You should observe all the law, and not celebrate the Lord’s Passover out of Jerusalem. But you must know that if you observe the law, Christ will profit you nothing. You are ordered to marry your brother’s wife, and so carry on his name, and not to sing the song of the Lord in a strange land. Enough of this! Those who have been justified by the law have fallen from grace.

Let us set forth Christ, our King and Lord, not depriving Him of His army. The saints are His army. Let the earthly king strip himself of his army, and then of his own dignity. Let him put off the purple and the diadem before he take honour away from his most valiant men who have conquered their passions. For if the friends of Christ are heirs of God and co-heirs of Christ, and are to be partakers of the divine glory and kingdom, is not even earthly glory due to them? I call you not servants, our Lord says; you are my friends. Shall we, then, withhold from them the honour which the Church gives them? You are a bold and venturesome man to fight against God and His ordinances. [St John Damascene, “On Holy Images”, Part I.]

– Fr. Dominic Rankin has to ask himself two questions this week: In what ways have I also forgotten God, who reveals Himself in matter? Have I also lost my sacramental view of the world, that takes Christmas seriously, and believes that God makes Himself evident to my eyes, darkly now, but will in heaven, truly and fully?! And, digging deeper, would I rather listen to the voice of the world, that says “This is all there is.”, or our days’ emperors “Forget your medieval devotions. Fill your eyes with media, with what it popular, with what is easy.”, or the Evil One, “God isn’t real. You can’t really hear His voice. Why bother? Why struggle? Why try again?” Christian obedience is not just listening to God. It is also not-listening, not obeying, the lies that attack our faith, our Church, and Our Lord.