Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God

by | Dec 29, 2021 | Liturgy

The Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God is a holy day of obligation. Our Mass schedule is:

  • 5p Vigil Mass on Friday, 31 December
  • 10a on Saturday, 1 January
  • 12n EF (Low Mass of the Circumcision)

*EF = Extraordinary Form

Epiphany 2022

by | Dec 29, 2021 | Events

Did you know that the Feast of the Epiphany on 6 January, known in the English speaking world as the Twelfth Night of Christmas, is actually far older than Christmas itself, and for centuries was celebrated with eight days, an Octave, of feasting afterwards?  The Epiphany comes from a Greek word meaning manifestation and actually commemorates three manifestations of the Divinity of Christ: when the Wise Men give gifts fit for a king and a deity to the Christ Child, when Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan and the Father from heaven confirms His divine sonship; and the first miracle of Jesus at the Wedding at Cana.  There are numerous customs of Catholic culture associated with Epiphany, and this year at Prince of Peace, we are going to celebrate as many as we can both in our parish church and in your domestic church.

2 January – Sunday: the Transferred Solemnity of the Epiphany in the Ordinary Form

8a Low Mass in English

10a The Proclamation of the Movable Feasts of the Year of Our Lord 2022 and Solemn Mass of the Epiphany in English

 

2 January – Sunday: the Feast of the Holy Name in the Extraordinary Form

12N Low Mass in Latin

 

5 January – Wednesday: the Vigil of the Epiphany

12N Low Mass EF in Latin

 

6 January – Thursday: the Traditional Feast of the Epiphany in the Extraordinary Form

6.30p Solemn Blessing of Epiphany Water, Chalk, Gold – Frankincense – Myrrh

7p Solemn High Mass of the Epiphany

8p Royal Procession to the Epiphany Crib and Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament

 

8 January – Saturday

6p Blessing of the Great Nativity and Prosecco Toast for Donors

6p Epiphany Party & Potluck Dinner for Our Parish Family

 

On the Feast of the Epiphany in the Domestic Church you are invited to do the following:

  • Take home blessed chalk which will be available in the narthex from 2-6 January and mark the door of your house with 20 + C + M + B + 22. The year of the Incarnation of Our Lord is accompanied by the initials CMB.  In Latin, they stand for two things: Christus mansionem benedicat – May Christ bless this home, as well as the traditional names of the Three Kings, whose relics are in Cologne Cathedral in Germany: Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar.

On the Traditional Feast of the Epiphany, 6 January, we encourage you to come to the evening liturgy and bring with you the following to be blessed by placing them on the table provided in the sanctuary within the Communion rail:

  • Containers of water and salt – Chalk – Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh.
  • Please mark your names on each item and pick them after the Royal Procession to the Epiphany Crib the same night.
  • You can actually buy little coffrets of gold, frankincense and myrrh here.

In Catholic cultures, it was common for the parish priest and the altar servers to go to door in the parish boundaries with blessed Epiphany Water during the Octave of the Epiphany and bless every house in the parish.  Because of the size of our territory and the number of parishioners who live outside the territory, that is impossible at Prince of Peace, but you may bring home the water you have blessed at church, mix the salt into it, and sprinkle the inside and outside of your homes and workplaces.

The Eastern Catholic Traditions

To learn more about these amazing Epiphany customs, please read the following:

  1. To see the actual text of the blessing of Epiphany Water (click here)
  2. Why Epiphany Water is a powerful sacramental to use against the Evil One (click here)
  3. The Chalking of the Doors (click here)
  4. Epiphany Customs (click here)
  5. Dom Gueranger on the Epiphany (click here)
28 December: Feast of the Holy Innocents (‘Childermas’)

28 December: Feast of the Holy Innocents (‘Childermas’)

by | Dec 22, 2021 | CIC Saint Writeups

26 December: Feast of the Holy Family. Little is known about the life of Jesus’s earthly family. The gospels tell of the early years: the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, the flight into Egypt, the finding of Jesus in the temple. Pope Leo XIII promoted this feast day as a way to counter the breakdown of the family unit. The purpose was to present the Holy Family as the model for all Christian families, and for domestic life in general. Family life becomes sanctified when we live the life of the Church within our homes. This is called the “domestic church” or the “church in miniature.” St. John Chrysostom urged Christians to make each home a “family church,” thus sanctifying the family unit. A good way to do this is by making Christ the center of family life: read scripture regularly, pray together as a family, attend Mass, go to confession, teach children about virtues, learn about and imitate the lives of the saints, live liturgically (follow the church calendar at home), and so forth. It is important to note that we don’t become holy despite the busyness of family life, but in and through it. On this feast, may the virtuous example of the Holy Family of Nazareth inspire us to develop homes full of prayer, love, and holiness.

28 December: Feast of the Holy Innocents (‘Childermas’). On the fourth day in the octave of Christmas, the Church remembers the massacre of innocent children in Bethlehem as told in Matthew 2:16-18. King Herod had ordered the death of all male children aged two and under, in his attempt to kill the infant Jesus. “A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”  These children are considered martyrs, Saints of God, by the Church. This feast day is often seen as a day of merrymaking for children. It is custom to give the youngest child in the household the power to rule the day. From what to eat, where to go and what to do, the youngest is in charge. In Mexico, it is a day for children to play practical jokes and pranks on their elders. The Holy Innocents are special patrons of babies and small children. This feast is an excellent time for parents to inaugurate the custom of blessing children. Sign a cross on your child’s forehead with the right thumb and say: “May God bless you and may He be the Guardian of your heart and mind, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.”

Ideas for celebrating at home:

  • Plan a family dinner, having all members involved. Each person can cook or choose a favorite dish (depending on age). Make a table centerpiece by surrounding aChrist-Candle with smaller white candles representing the Holy Innocents. The number of small candles might be as many as there are children in the family. Each child is allowed to light their small candle from the flame of the Christ-Candle, signifying that just as he received life from Christ, he will live for (and if need be, die for) Christ.
  • Do a fun family activity: a game, movie night, reading books aloud together, bonfire, or outing (hike, walk, bike ride). Make popcorn balls, a fun kitchen activity to get all hands involved from young to old.
  • Pray together: the rosary, especially the Joyful mysteries, is an excellent family prayer.
  • Prayer of Consecration of the Family to the Holy Family, the Prayer of Parents for Their Childrenand Prayer to the Holy Family can all be said on this feast day.
  • Purchase a holy family statue or icon for your home, if you don’t own one already.
  • Read Pope Leo XIII’s encyclical On Christian Marriage. You can also check out the Vatican’s page of Papal documents on the Family.
  • Go to mass! 26 December is a Sunday and follows the regular mass schedule. On Tuesday, 28 December, there will be a 9am mass that includes a special Blessing of Children at Prince of Peace. Be sure and bring your children to POP for their blessing!

“The first witnesses of Christ’s birth, the shepherds, found themselves not only before the Infant Jesus but also a small family: mother, father and newborn son. God had chosen to reveal himself by being born into a human family and the human family thus became an icon of God! …Indeed, the family is the best school at which to learn to live out those values which give dignity to the person and greatness to peoples. …The Holy Family of Nazareth is truly the “prototype” of every Christian family which, united in the Sacrament of Marriage and nourished by the Word and the Eucharist, is called to carry out the wonderful vocation and mission of being the living cell not only of society but also of the Church, a sign and instrument of unity for the entire human race. …May [the holy family] help Christian families to be, in every part of the world, living images of God’s love.” – Pope Benedict XVI