St Mary’s Catholic Church @ @ @ @ @ Greenville, South Carolina 9 February 2020 Dear Friends in Christ, Last Sunday in my homily I encouraged everyone to pray the Liturgy of the Hours or Divine Office, the Church’s ancient and official way of praying throughout the day with psalms, canticles, and other texts from Holy Scripture and the Fathers of the Church. The full Liturgy of the Hours is contained in four printed volumes which are not inexpensive, and I do not recommend that you purchase those books for two reasons. First, until you know whether praying the Office will become a habit, it isn’t worth the investment, and second, a new English translation of the Latin original is being prepared and should be published in the next couple of years, after which new books will be needed. Instead, since all of us now carry little computers in our pockets, I recommend that you begin to pray the Office with an app called iBreviary. The Latin word breviarium is used to describe each of the four volumes in the Liturgy of the Hours, and in English this becomes breviary. Both words mean an abbreviated collection of texts from many sources into a single volume. The iBreviary app - which provides translations in several languages - makes all of the texts of the Office available on your phone (both iPhone and all Android phones), and the app is free - although it is possible to make donations through the app to support iBreviary, the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land, or both. To download iBreviary, just go to the app store on your phone or tablet, and then follow the instructions to choose your language and preferences for the display. Then you’ll be able to pray Morning and Evening Prayer, along with the Office of Readings, the little Hours of mid-morning, mid-day, and mid-afternoon, and the last Hour of the day, Night Prayer. On the four Thursdays of March, I will be teaching a class at 6.30 pm, and the first class will be devoted to explaining how to pray the Liturgy of the Hours by using the app iBreviary. So if you want to learn how to take full advantage of this digital resource, plan now to join me at 6.30 pm on Thursday 5 March, and be sure to install the app on your phone before we begin that evening. The other three classes will be an exploration of what we know from divine revelation about the human body, sexuality, marriage, and gender identity. My lectures will be based on a newly published book, which I recommend to everyone with highest praise. The author is Christopher West, and the book is called “Our Bodies Tell God’s Story.” If you or someone you know struggles to understand and accept the traditional Christian teaching on sexuality, marriage, gender identity, and related questions, this book is the place to start your search for answers. I hope you will join me on 12, 19, and 26 March at 6.30 pm for a closer look at this essential dimension of evangelical truth about the human person. Father Newman from our tradition Pre-Lent n the liturgical calendar for the Ordinary Form, the three Sundays immediately preceding Ash Wednesday are Sundays in Ordinary Time (this year the 6th, 7th and 8th). However, in the calendars of the Extraordinary Form I and of the Personal Ordinariates as well as Eastern Catholics and some Protestant communities, these Sundays are called Septuagesima, Sexagesima and Quinquagesima, meaning respectively, the seventieth, sixtieth, and fiftieth days before Pascha. These names are in reference to Quadragesima, the name given in most languages to the season of Lent that starts on Ash Wednesday. For a few examples, in Spanish the name is cuaresma, in French carême, and in Italian quaresima. In English, in contrast, the word for spring, lent, was used, which derives from the German word for long, because at this time of year the days get longer. Liturgical Characteristics From Dom Guéranger’s The Liturgical Year: “The leading feature, then, of Septuagesima is the total suspension of the Alleluia, which is not to be again heard upon the earth, until the arrival of that happy day, when, having suffered death with our Jesus, and having been buried together with him, we shall rise again with him to a new life (Colossians 2.12). “The sweet Hymn of the Angels, Gloria in excelsis Deo, which we have sung every Sunday since the Birth of our Saviour in Bethlehem, is also taken from us; it is only on the Feasts of the Saints, which may be kept during the week, that we shall be allowed to repeat it. The night Office of the Sunday is to lose, also, from now till Easter, its magnificent Ambrosian Hymn, the Te Deum ... Image from Enid Chadwick’s My Book of the Church Year. “After the Gradual of the Mass, instead of the thrice repeated Alleluia, which prepared our hearts to listen to the voice of God in the Holy Gospel, we shall hear but a mournful and protracted chant, called, on that account, the Tract. “That the eye, too, may teach us, that the Season we are entering on, is one of mourning, the Church will vest her Ministers, (both on Sundays and the days during the week, which are not Feasts of Saints,) in the sombre Purple.” What is the purpose of this Pre-Lenten season? This season of pre-Lent was historically used to prepare oneself for the Lenten fast and to develop a plan for Lent. It recognizes the goodness, or even the necessity, of preparing oneself mentally, physically, and spiritually for the ascetical practices of Lent. The same recognition expresses itself in the Eastern practice of observing the Sundays of Meatfare and Cheesefare on the second and first Sundays, respectively, that precede the last Sunday before Lent. From Meatfare Sunday the faithful lay aside all flesh foods until the Pasch. From Cheesefare Sunday the faithful abstain from animal products such as eggs, milk, yogurt, butter, and cheese. Although not celebrated liturgically in the Ordinary Form, you can still take opportunity to think about what you want to accomplish for Lent, in terms of prayer and spiritual growth. What do you think you should do to accomplish the metanoia or turning back on one’s self and re-focusing your spiritual life to be ready for Easter? Take advantage of this time for prayerfully planning how a good Lent is to be kept. Calendar of Events Mass Schedule & Intentions Meetings & Events * Financial Report Sunday, 9 February 2020 Sunday, 9 February 2020 7.30 am @ James & Florence Mooney CCW Bake Sale after Mass (P) Weekend of 1/2 February 9.00 am @ Philip Wilmeth 9.00 am 3 & 4 Year Olds (K4 classroom of Needed 35,200 11.00 am Pro populo Sacred Heart Hall) Received 37,058 1.00 pm Spanish Mass Nursery: During 9.00 am Mass Surplus 1,858 9.00 am Scripture Study Our Solemn Mass at 11 am each Sunday is 6.00 pm High School Youth Group (M) streamed live on our parish Facebook page and is available later as a recording on both our Poor Box 274 Facebook page and the parish YouTube channel. Souper Bowl Monday, 10 February 2020 Monday, 10 February 2020 Collection 2,500 7.00 am Margaret Kelleher & family Offertory Year to Date Needed 1,091,200 Tuesday, 11 February 2020 Tuesday, 11 February 2020 Received 1,124,028 7.00 am Br Evagrius, OSB of Norcia 10.00 am Council of Catholic Women Surplus 32,828 6.30 pm Knights of Columbus Electronic Giving: If you want Wednesday, 12 February 2020 Wednesday, 12 February 2020 to have direct management of your Electronic Fund Transfer 7.00 am @ Edgar Vallar 5.00-6.00 pm Holy Hour & Confessions (church) online, you can now do so 6.30-7.30 pm Religious Education through the “Make a Gift” link 6.30-7.30 pm Introduction to Catholicism on the homepage of our website. For more information or if you have any questions please Thursday, 13 February 2020 Thursday, 13 February 2020 contact Jennifer Anderson at [email protected]. 7.00 am @ Vernon & Betty Young Friday, 14 February 2020 Friday, 14 February 2020 7.00 am @ Barbara Scoggins 5.30-6.30 am Pillars of Christ (early group) 6.15 am Morning Prayer (church) Forward in Faith 6.30-8.00 am Pillars of Christ Capital Campaign 10.00 am Scripture Study Class 3.30-5.00 pm Youth Choir Practice $7 Million to Raise 2019 to 2023 Saturday, 15 February 2020 Saturday, 15 February 2020 Donations 1,567,759 5.00 pm @ Carl Roman & Paul Roman 8.00-9.00 am Rosary - Grove Rd Received abortion clinic 3.30-4.30 pm Confessions (church) Pledge 1,340,520 Balance G - Gallivan Hall M - McGrady Hall * All events in Sacred Heart Hall Still to Go 4,091,721 P - Pazdan Hall Dining Room unless a location is listed. BAKE SALE SATURDAY, 8 FEBRUARY & SUNDAY, 9 FEBRUARY AFTER ALL THE MASSES IN ENGLISH IN DINING ROOM OF PAZDAN HALL SPONSORED BY ST MARY’S COUNCIL OF CATHOLIC WOMEN Your purchases enable us to support our Church and various Catholic charities. Thank you for your continued support. Requiescat in pace Please pray for the repose of the souls of William O’Brien and Robert McEldowney, who died recently. We extend our prayers and sympathy to their family and friends. PARISH NEWS Prayer For The Faithful Departed Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and may perpetual light shine upon them.