Lent & Holy Week
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7 March 2021 THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT Vol. 10, No. 15 Weekly Bulletin for the Cathedral of St. Joseph, Wheeling, West Virginia In this Issue: From the Vice-Rector 2 Lent & Holy Week 3 Schedule Solemnity of St. Joseph 5 Eucharistic Adoration 6 Saint Joseph Cathedral Parish is called to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ as a community. We are committed: to our urban neighborhoods, to being the Cathedral of the Diocese, and to fellowship, formation, sacrament, and prayer. Dear Parishioners of the Cathedral Parish, From time to time in these hebdomadal From the Desk notes to you I make mention or quote of the Vice-Rector from various Saint who are also Doctors Rev. Martin J. Smay of the Church. Catholics are generally aware of what a Saint is – a person of great sanctity whose holiness is officially recognized by the Church This Week and who has been canonized, that is, added to the Church’s official March 7 - 14, 2021 list of those who are in heaven. The Saints are a great asset to us, our “older” brothers and sisters who have already made it to heaven and now stand ready to interceded on our behalf. SUN Third Sunday in Lent 7 The Doctores Ecclesiæ, Doctors of the Church, are all of these things 6:00 pm (Sat) Mass for the Parishioners with a special quality recognized and added: great teaching. Many 8:00 am Mass for John Sheets of my favorite Saints are also Doctors of the Church (I’m not certain 10:30 am Mass for James Evangelist what that says about me). The Latin word doctores (or the singular 6:00 pm Vespers doctor) means “teacher” or “instructor” and thus has the sense of a someone who possesses a terminal degree (i.e. a Ph.D.). There were four Saints who were first named Doctors of the Church MON Lenten Weekday 8 in 1298 by Pope Boniface VIII (a very important pope who also wrote 12:05 pm Mass for Rose Holosko the papal bull Unam Sanctam): Pope Saint Gregory the Great, Saint Ambrose of Milan, Saint Augustine of Hippo, and Saint Jerome. Others have subsequently been added and there are currently 36 TUE Lenten Weekday Doctors of the Church. This title does not in itself indicate that a 9 particular person’s teaching is without error, but it does indicate 12:05 pm Mass for Mary Bridges that they made important contributions to articulating the Church’s teaching and unpacking what Christ the Lord taught and that their teaching adheres closely to the Catholic Faith. Certain of these WED Lenten Weekday Doctors have received greater accolades or approbation. For exam- 10 ple, Saint Thomas Aquinas (who was the first person to be added 12:05 pm Mass for Lemon Jean Marin after the original four) has been highly lauded, especially by Pope Leo XIII who wrote an encyclical titled Aeterni Patris which is noth- ing short of gushing. Saint Alphonsus Liguori’s works have also THU Lenten Weekday received a very strong approbation form Pope Gregory XVI in 1831. 11 Saint Alphonsus had a mind that was so powerful (he graduated 12:05 pm Mass for Alice Malek with a double degree in civil law and canon law at 16 years old!) and was able to reason with such precision and lucidity that Pope Greg- ory XVI said that any opinion of Saint Alphonsus could be safely used FRI Lenten Weekday in the confessional, classroom, or pulpit without the need of weigh- 12 ing his arguments for that opinion. For about a century following 11:15 am Confessions that commendation men studying to be priests were almost exclu- 12:05 pm Mass for Debbie Belville sively trained with the moral theology text books written by Saint 12:45 pm Eucharistic Adoration until 5:45 p.m. Alphonsus. 6:00 pm Stations of the Cross Many of the Doctors have been recognized for contributions in specific areas of theology or have other distinguishing character- istics and have been given certain titles which indicate this: among SAT Lenten Weekday others, Saint Bede the Venerable is the Doctor of the English (the 13 only Doctor to come from England), Saint John of the Cross is the 9:00 am Mass for Nicholas & Nimnoom Ghaphery 5:00 pm Confessions Mystical Doctor, and Saint Augustine is the Doctor of Grace. Hence 6:00 pm Mass for Clara Scheibelhood if we are interested in one of these subjects, understanding it at greater depth, we can pick up their works and drink that pure water of doctrine which comes only from the combination of wisdom and clarity found in the most learned Saints. SUN Fourth Sunday in Lent 14 This list of holy and erudite Saints excluded women until 1970 8:00 am Mass for the Parishioners when Pope Saint Paul VI added Saint Teresa of Ávila (the Doctor of 10:30 am Mass for Dr. Adiel Anghie Prayer) and Saint Catherine of Siena. Since then Pope Saint John 6:00 pm Vespers Paul II added Saint Thérèse of Lisieux and Pope Benedict XVI added Hildegard of Bingen to the list bringing the total number of female Doctors to four. While women are no longer excluded from the list, vvvvv there are no martyrs on it, yet (although French bishops are pushing to have Saint Irenaeus of Lyon, a Martyr of the early third century, named a Doctor). I think most importantly for our purposes, these Saints did not write in a manner which was always academic (boring, difficult, inacces- 2 The Cathedral Courier March 7, 2021 sible). Certainly some of them did write great academic trea- tises. But many of them wrote works that are edifying and full of little nuggets. I wouldn’t recommend picking up Saint Thomas Aquinas; while I love him, he is probably the most LENT & HOLY WEEK academic of them all and most of his works are difficult and dry. Saint Alphonsus Liguori wrote very laborious moral AT THE CATHEDRAL theology (I know because I’ve read some of it) but he also wrote some very down to earth and beautiful books. Among those which I would recommend are: The Way of Salvation Solemn Vespers and of Perfection which consists of about 100 short medi- Every Sunday during Lent tations that can be done in 5 or 7 minutes (but 15 is really 6:00 PM better to consider what he says and our own lives) and are a great aid to prayer and will motivate us to deeper conversion Eucharistic Adoration and love of God; Uniformity with God’s Will and Preparation Every Friday during Lent 12:45 PM to 5:45 PM for Death are also beautiful and discernably practical books. Saint Teresa of Ávila has a simple and down to earth (if not a Stations of the Cross bit scattered) writing style and among the books that I would Every Friday during Lent recommend to one and all would be The Way of Perfection 6:00 PM which is basically a work on prayer and God’s work in the soul. Saint Thérèse of Lisieux likewise has a simple writing Confessions style and especially her autobiography The Story of a Soul is Fridays 11:15 to 11:45 AM to be recommended. The Dialogue of St. Catherine Of Siena Saturdays 5:00 to 5:45 PM was written not by a learned woman (in fact, Saint Catherine did not learn even to write until she was 30 years old, less than three years before she would die) but it contains the Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion - March 28 wisdom and knowledge gained through her mystical experi- Masses 6:00 PM (VIGIL), 8:00 AM, & 10:30 AM ence, reportedly having dictated most of the work while in a Vespers 6:00 PM state of ecstasy. Finally, I cannot conclude this list of books without mentioning a book by the Doctor of Charity, Saint Chrism Mass - March 30 at 4:00 PM Francis de Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life. This last book is of special interest to you and me: Saint Francis was Holy Thursday - April 1 the bishop of Geneva in the midst of the Protestant Revolt. As such, he lived a very active life and that book outlines Confessions 12:00 NOON to 1:00 PM a spirituality that is well-fit for persons who live outside of Mass of the Lord’s Supper 6:00 PM monasteries. There are very many who have learned about Eucharistic Adoration following Mass holiness and love of God in the everyday by reading and until Midnight rereading this book. The above mentioned books and many others written by Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion - April 2 the Doctors of the Church contain the wisdom of the Saints. Stations of the Cross 12:00 NOON This is not a wisdom of a world which is passing away but Confessions 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM a wisdom which comes from and leads to eternal life. We Celebration of the Lord’s Passion 3:00 PM would do well to drink deeply of this wisdom. Holy Saturday - April 3 God love you and keep the Faith! Easter Vigil 8:00 PM Fr. Martin J. Smay Easter Sunday - April 4 Masses 8:00 AM & 10:30 AM Priests’ Health and Retirement Association (PHRA) Collection March 6 - 7, 2021 Offertory A special second collection is scheduled for March 6-7, 2021, to Collection support the Priests’ Health and Retirement Association (PHRA), a fund that provides health insurance and retirement bene- February 28, 2021 fits to retired priests of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston.