Dear friends,
Our music director, Larry Long, is ill and unable to be with us this Sunday (1/6). Therefore we must cancel Evensong and Benediction for the Epiphany. However, King Cake and punch will be served immediately following Mass!
Please pray for a quick and full recovery for Larry.
God bless you,
Fr Allen
Corpus Christi Updates: the Epiphany of the Lord
Click the image for updates from Corpus Christi Catholic Community for this week.
Letter from Fr. Allen - January 3, 2019
+JMJ+
Dear Friends,
While more personal notes are forthcoming, I want here to express my gratitude to all of you who made this such a lovely Christmas for me and my family. You all love us well, and we are very grateful! (My children are particularly grateful to the anonymous giver of two Harry & David Cinnamon Swirls...)
Of course Christmas is not yet over, and I hope your celebrations continue. And speaking of celebrations, I hope you will join us for the great feast of the Epiphany this Sunday, not only for Mass in the morning, but for also Evensong and Benediction at 4.30PM, which will be followed by a reception featuring King Cake - y'all come! [Update Saturday morning, 5 January: Evensong is cancelled due to illness. The King Cake reception will now take place immediately after 11.00AM Sunday Mass.]
The Epiphany is rich and symbolism and mystery: there are the "wise men from the east," the star that guided them, Herod's rage. There are Epiphany traditions: the blessing of chalk and marking of doorways (see [here]) and King cakes. But at its heart Epiphany is the story of a God who is not silent but reveals himself to those who earnestly and diligently seek him. Let us take the magi, these mysterious strangers, as our model, and never turn back from the path on which God is leading us, till at last we see the Lord face to face, and like the wise men, fall down and worship.
Pope Benedict put it this way:
"Let us return to the Wise Men from the East. These were also, and above all, men of courage, the courage and humility born of faith. Courage was needed to grasp the meaning of the star as a sign to set out, to go forth – towards the unknown, the uncertain, on paths filled with hidden dangers. We can imagine that their decision was met with derision: the scorn of those realists who could only mock the reveries of such men. Anyone who took off on the basis of such uncertain promises, risking everything, could only appear ridiculous. But for these men, inwardly seized by God, the way which he pointed out was more important than what other people thought. For them, seeking the truth meant more than the taunts of the world, so apparently clever."
God bless you,
Fr Allen
Epiphany Blessing of Chalk this Sunday
Epiphany Blessing of Chalk this Sunday!
"For the glorious feast of the Epiphany of the Lord, it is an old and holy tradition to mark the doors of homes with blessed chalk. The letters have two meanings. They are the initials of the traditional names of the Three Magi: Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar. They also abbreviate the Latin words Christus mansionem benedicat: 'May Christ bless the house.' The letters recall the day on which the inscription is made, as well as the purpose of blessing.
The crosses represent the protection of the Precious Blood of Christ, Whose Sacred Name we invoke, and also the holiness of the Three Magi sanctified by their adoration of the Infant Christ.
The inscription is made above the front door, so that all who enter and depart this year may enjoy God’s blessing. The month of January still bears the name of the Roman god Janus, the doorkeeper of heaven and protector of the beginning and end of things. This blessing 'christens' the ancient Roman observance of the first month. The inscription is made of chalk, a product of clay, which recalls the human nature taken by the Adorable and Eternal Word of God in the womb of the Virgin Mary, by the power of the Holy Spirit."
(From Vultus Christi)
May each of our homes be known to all who visit as places of peace and welcome, where Christ may be found!
Friday Penance
FRIDAY PENANCE
Nota bene:
While the Friday in the Octave of Easter is raised to the rank of a Solemnity, the Friday in the Octave of Christmas is not. The normal Friday penance applies, whether you choose to abstain from meat or substitute another form of penance.
Corpus Christi Updates: the Fourth Sunday of Advent and Christmas
Click the image for updates from Corpus Christi Catholic Community for this week.
Letter from Fr. Allen - December 20, 2018
+JMJ+
Dear Friends,
The waiting is almost over and Christmas is almost here. On this fourth Sunday of Advent we will hear again of Our Lady's reaction to the Angel Gabriel's message, which is active love. She goes "in haste" to her kinswoman Elizabeth, bearing a child in her old age, to help and console her, and also to share her joy. In this Christmas season, let us also respond to the glad tidings of the Lord's nativity with active love, seeking out the poor, the sick, the lonely with help and comfort.
I hope by now your preparations are nearly complete for Christmas in your own homes, and that with at least some measure of peace and quietness you will be able to enter in to the mystery of this Child in the manger who is Emmanuel, God-with-us. You will see [here] a schedule of Christmas Masses for St. Mary's (Roman Missal) and Corpus Christi (Divine Worship). I want especially to encourage you to attend, if you are able, our own "Midnight Mass" on Christmas Eve, which will begin at 11PM and have us adoring our Eucharistic Emmanuel, God-with-us on the altar just at midnight. I know (trust me!) that Midnight Mass is difficult, but I believe you will find it more than worth the sacrifice as, with the shepherds of old to whom the angels first announced the birth of the Lord, we keep watch by night, and then rejoice to find "this most holy night to shine with the brightness of the Light of life," as we will pray in the collect. (By the way, as part of our candlelight adoration, we will sing "Silent Night"; did you know this Christmas marks the carol's 200th anniversary?)
Do you need further aesthetic or more mundane encouragement? Well, on the one hand, the music will be beautiful, and on the other, the parking will be easy. So come, let us adore him!
God bless you!
Fr. Allen
Lighting of Advent Wreath Candles: PDF of All Four Sundays of Advent
image: cstar55 / Getty Images
Lighting of Advent Wreath Candles: The Fourth Sunday of Advent
Lighting of Advent Wreath Candles: The Fourth Sunday of Advent
Click here to print (pdf) this week.
All make the Sign of the Cross as the leader begins:
℣ +Our help is in the name of the Lord.
℟ Who hath made heaven and earth.
The following Scripture is read: Luke 1:26-33; Revelation 22:20
IN the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
Light the first and second purple candles in order, then the rose candle, and then the final purple candle.. With hands joined, the leader prays:
RAISE UP we beseech thee, O Lord, thy power, and come among us, and with great might succour us: that whereas, through our sins and wickedness, we are sorely hindered in running the race that is set before us, thy bountiful grace and mercy may speedily help and deliver us; who livest and reignest with the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. ℟ Amen.
The devotion may conclude with a verse from "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel":
O come, thou Wisdom from on high, who orderest all things mightily;
to us the path of knowledge show, and teach us in her ways to go
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to thee, O Israel.
Click here to print (pdf) all four weeks of devotions to pack away with your Advent wreath so it’s ready for next year.
Christmastide Schedule December 2018 - January 2019
Christmastide Schedule
The Nativity of the Lord
a holy day of obligation
Christmas Eve, Monday, 24 December
3.30 PM Children’s Pageant
4.00 PM Holy Mass with Children’s Choir, Roman Missal
6.00 PM Holy Mass with Choir, Roman Missal
11.00 PM Holy Mass with Choir, Divine Worship
Christmas Day, Tuesday, 25 December
11.00 AM Holy Mass, Roman Missal
Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God
a holy day of obligation
Monday, 31 December
6.00 PM Holy Mass, Divine Worship
Tuesday, 1 January
11.00 AM Holy Mass, Roman Missal
Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord
Sunday, 6 January
9.00 AM Holy Mass, Roman Missal
11.00 AM Holy Mass, Divine Worship, followed by a reception with King Cake
Evensong cancelled