SEPTUAGESIMA
(From the 1917 Catholic Encyclopedia)
Septuagesima is the ninth Sunday before Easter, the third before Lent known among the Greeks as "Sunday of the Prodigal" from the Gospel, Luke 15, which they read on this day, called also Dominica Circumdederunt by the Latins, from the first word of the Introit of the Mass. In liturgical literature the name "Septuagesima" occurs for the first time in the Gelasian Sacramentary. Why the day (or the week, or the period) has the name Septuagesima, and the next Sunday Sexagesima, etc., is a matter of dispute among writers. It is certainly not the seventieth day before Easter, still less is the next Sunday the sixtieth, fiftieth, etc. Amularius, "De eccl. Off.", I, I, would make the Septuagesima mystically represent the Babylonian Captivity of seventy years, would have it begin with this Sunday on which the Sacramentaries and Antiphonaries give the Introit "Circumdederunt me undique" and end with the Saturday after Easter, when the Church sings "Eduxit Dominus populum suum."
Perhaps the word is only one of a numerical series: Quadragesima, Quinquagesima, etc. Again, it may simply denote the earliest day on which some Christians began the forty days of Lent, excluding Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday from the observance of the fast.
Septuagesima is today inaugurated in the Roman Martyrology by the words: "Septuagesima Sunday, on which the canticle of the Lord, Alleluja, ceases to be said". On the Saturday preceding, the Roman Breviary notes that after the "Benedicamus" of Vespers
two Alleluias are to be added, that thenceforth it is to be omitted till Easter, and in its place "Laus tibi Domine" is to be said at the beginning of the Office. Formerly the farewell to the Alleluia was quite solemn. In an Antiphonary of the Church of St. Cornelius at Compiègne we find two special antiphons. Spain had a short Office consisting of a hymn, chapter, antiphon, and sequence. Missals in Germany up to the fifteenth century had a beautiful sequence. In French churches they sang the hymn"Alleluia, dulce carmen” (Guéranger, IV, 14) which was well-known among the Anglo-Saxons (Rock, IV, 69). The "Te Deum" is not recited at Matins, except on feasts. The lessons of the first Nocturn are taken from Genesis, relating the fall and subsequent misery of man and thus giving a fit preparation for the Lenten season. In the Mass of Sunday and ferias the Gloria in Excelsis is entirely omitted. In all Masses a Tract is added to the Gradual.
Kroger Community Rewards Update
The 21 households that shopped at Kroger between October 1, 2017 and December 31, 2017 (Cycle 2017, Qtr 4) have earned $91.51 for the parish. If you have not already done so, please register your card by visiting krogercommunityrewards.com and following the simple instructions. Your Kroger purchases will then begin to benefit the parish. Our organization number is 64151, Sacred Heart Church, Fort Wayne, Indiana. This costs both you and the parish nothing. Please note that it is no longer necessary to re-enroll your card each year. Thank you!
FRIDAY, FEB. 2 -- PURIFICATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
We will have a High Mass at 7 PM preceded by the blessing and distribution of candles and procession. This feast marks the end of the Christmas cycle, when our Lord physically went into His temple in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy.
The candles blessed on this day symbolize Jesus, the Light of the World. The wax of the candle made by bees from the nectar of flowers represents the virginal flesh of Our Lord. The wick within symbolizes His Soul and the flame that scatters the darkness is His Divinity.
Any candles that you wish to have blessed may be placed on or near the table in the sanctuary until the beginning of Mass on Friday at 7:00 pm. Be sure your candles are labeled with your name. Blessed candles are a sacramental that may be used especially in times of trouble, temptations, during storms and for sick calls.
Please join us for the evening Mass and candle blessing.
Please join us for the evening Mass and candle blessing.
FIRST FRIDAY AND FIRST SATURDAY
Just a reminder that this Friday and Saturday are First Friday and First Saturday respectively.
Our Lord made the following promise to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque: "I promise you in the excessive mercy of My Heart that My all-powerful love will grant to all those who shall receive communion on the First Friday in nine consecutive months the grace of final penitence; they shall not die in My disgrace nor without receiving their sacraments; My Divine Heart shall be their safe refuge in this last moment."
Friday -- Mass at 7 pm due to the Feast of the Purification. Confessions, Exposition and Devotions are cancelled due to the feast.
Our Blessed Mother made the following promise to Sr. Lucia: "I promise to assist at the hour of death with the grace necessary for salvation all those who, with the intention of making reparation to me, will, on the first Saturday of five consecutive months, go to confession, receive Holy Communion, say five decades of the beads, and keep me company for fifteen minutes while meditating on the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary."
Saturday -- Rosary at 8:25 am, Confessions at 8:30, Mass at 9 am.
| SPECIAL COLLECTION
There will be a special collection next Sunday, Feb. 4, for Church in Latin America. This should have been taken this Sunday, along with the second collection for St. Vincent de Paul, but it was not announced in a timely manner. There will be envelopes marked Special Collections at the entrances of the church. Please pick one up if you would like to be acknowledged for your contribution to either of these. At the top of the envelope please mark what collection the contribution is designated for along with your name. Thank You! |
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