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Thirty-Second Sunday of the Year
6 November 2011
Dear Friends in Christ,
1. The last Sunday in the liturgical year is the Solemnity of Christ the King, which falls this year on Sunday 20 November. Because this feast is a celebration of the glorious dominion of the King of all creation, it is our custom to make the sacred liturgy as splendid as we can. At both the 9 and 11 am Masses on that Sunday, the sacred music will be exquisite, and this is one of those occasions when you might want to invite a friend — especially a lapsed Catholic or a non-Catholic — to come with you to Mass.
2. The new Year of Grace begins on the First Sunday of Advent, which falls this year on Sunday 27 November, and to enrich our celebration of Advent, we will once again sing Solemn Vespers on each of the four Sundays of Advent at 5 pm. Vespers, also called Evening Prayer and Evensong, is one of the seven “hours” of the day in the Liturgy of the Hours or the Divine Office, and it is one of the oldest ways for Christians to pray together by singing psalms, hymns, and canticles. As we celebrate it here at St. Mary’s, Vespers takes about 30 minutes on Sunday afternoon, and there is no preaching and no collection. It is prayer pure and simple, lifted by the voices of a schola cantorum — a small group of singers who blend with the congregation to sing the praise of God. Each celebration of Sunday Vespers is also an occasion when you might invite a friend — especially a lapsed Catholic or a non-Catholic — to come with you to pray in a way they have probably never experienced. Plan now to join us at 5 pm on each of the four Sundays of Advent for Vespers.
3. The sacred liturgy this week contains three celebrations of special note. Wednesday is the anniversary of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica — the cathedral church of the Diocese of Rome and therefore of the Bishop of Rome, the pastor of the universal Church. Many Catholics regard St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican as the pope’s cathedral, but that is not so. The Basilica of St. John Lateran is as ancient as St. Peter’s, and it was the primary residence of the popes for nearly one thousand years. Thursday is the feast of Pope St. Leo the Great, who served as Bishop of Rome from 440 to 461, a time of crucial importance to Christianity. He convinced Attila the Hun not to sack Rome, and he defended true doctrine about the divine Person of the Lord Jesus at the Council of Chalcedon. For 21 years, Pope Leo provided such extraordinary leadership to the Church that he was spontaneously acclaimed “Magnus” by Catholics everywhere. Finally, Friday is the feast of St. Martin of Tours, who was born in 316 and became a Christian as a young man. He left his military career and founded a monastery in France (where St. Patrick, the apostle of Ireland would later study for the priesthood), and he was chosen as Bishop of Tours and served there until his death in 397. St. Martin is the first canonized saint who was not a martyr, and more than 1600 years after his death, he remains a powerful witness to the saving power of the Lord Jesus.
Father Newman