The 24th and Last Sunday After Pentecost

Today is the last Sunday of the liturgical year!  Next Sunday is the first Sunday of Advent! What are some of your Advent family practices?

In the Extraordinary Rite, the Gospel is a lesson and teaching of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. So we end the year with the end of the world, and next week we start the new year with anticipation of His First Coming.

In the Ordinary Rite, today was the celebration of Christ the King, which is similar to the ancient tradition since with the Second Coming, He will return in glory and as King!

An Apologist View of the Assumption

The Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary was last week, August 15th. In the Eastern Rites this is celebrated as the Dormition of the Theotokos.

St. John Damascene (d. 749) also recorded an interesting story concerning the Assumption: "St. Juvenal, Bishop of Jerusalem, at the Council of Chalcedon (451), made known to the Emperor Marcian and Pulcheria, who wished to possess the body of the Mother of God, that Mary died in the presence of all the Apostles, but that her tomb, when opened upon the request of St. Thomas, was found empty; wherefrom the Apostles concluded that the body was taken up to heaven." [Qtd. by Fr. Saunders in The Assumption of Mary at: http://www.ewtn.com/faith/teachings/maryc3c.htm]

The Feast is established in the Eastern Church by the Byzantine Emperor Mauritius (582-602)on August 15th and remains celebrated on this date in both Eastern and Western (Latin) traditions.

I selected this picture because it shows our Blessed Lady as an older woman. So many of the other pieces of art we have show the Blessed Virgin as a young lady, even at the time of her assumption into Heaven.

Is The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Contrary to Scripture?

While it is true, Scripture makes no mention of the Assumption, it is not something contrary to Scripture either. Enoch walked with God and was taken by God (Gen. 5:24). Elijah was taken up by a whirlwind as he and Elisha were talking and separated by a chariot of fire (1 Kings 2:11; 1 Macc. 2:58). Elijah's presence in Heaven is made evident as well by his appearance at the Transfiguration - and also at this event was Moses, indicating at least a third person was bodily in Heaven (Matt. 17:3). That being said, Scripture itself does imply she's already there! In Rev. 12:1 we hear of this "woman clothed in the sun" and "crown on her head with twelve stars" - again implying she is already there AND has been crowned, as we refer to her, as Queen of Heaven. We're also sure this passage is talking about the Blessed Virgin Mary because it also speaks of her as giving birth to a Son, whom the Devil sought to destroy, but that Son ascended into Heaven where He sits upon His throne.

Even the staunchest of "Bible-believering Christians" must accept that bodily assumption into Heaven is not something contrary to Scripture.

A Contradiction?

Some may point to John 3:13 and Jesus' own words where He says "And no man hath ascended into heaven, but he that descended from heaven, the Son of man who is in heaven." Does Jesus then contradict what is clearly recorded in Gen. 5:24 and 2 Kings 2:11? By no means! Enoch and Elijah were "taken" to Heaven, they did not ascend by their own accord - and neither did the Blessed Virgin! The only Man who has ascended into Heaven by His own will/accord - is the Son of Man, Jesus Christ.

Another Extraordinary Event During the Ordinal (Counting) Season

And yes, during this time of the liturgical year, in modern times it is referred to as "Ordinary Time," but this is yet another example of the extra-ordinary being celebrated. It is my ongoing mission and plea that we stop referring to this period in the liturgical calendar as "ordinary" and go back to what it was called previously - and that is "Ordinal Time." Yes, both "ordinal" and "ordinary" are from the same root and CAN both mean a period of counting - the more popular use of "ordinary" takes on a lesser meaning of something more general, or humdrum, or run-of-the-mill (see Thesaurus on "ordinary" for more).

Does The Church Have the Authority

Does the Church have the authority to declare such a feast day and dogmatically define such a teaching? Clearly, the answer here is YES! In Matthew 16:18-19 the authority to bind or loose on Earth and in Heaven of whatsoever he chooses is given to our first pope, St. Peter - and in Matthew 18:18 that same authority is given to the Apostles, our first bishops, as a group. So, while St. Peter and/or his successors, can declare such a teaching as dogma (and this did happen in 1950 when Pope Pius XII defined this very teaching as dogma in Munificentissimus Deus. I would add, the ONLY part of that document which is absolutely infallible is the definition itself, and that is:

that the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory.

Bottom line here is, before getting too far into a debate on the Assumption itself, it is best to establish the authority of the Catholic Church - which is truly the more/most fundamental difference between Catholics and those who protest against Catholicism.

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Ordinal v Ordinary

Written on the 12th Sunday After Pentecost

As some of you may know, who have been reading this blog and/or know me, I have a bit of a pet peave over calling this season "Ordinary Time."  There are so many feast days which go quite beyond what we, in the 21st Century, would call "ordinary!"  For example, yesterday, August 6th, was the Feast of the Transfiguration of Christ - what is so "ordinary" about that?  

ordinary:

1250-1300; Middle English ordinarie (noun and adj.) < Latin ordinārius regular, of the usual order, equivalent to ordin- (see order ) + -ārius -ary

Whereas "ordinal" would remain the more appropriate term:

ordinal —That form of the numeral that shows the order of anything in a series. 

adj. late 14c., from Old French ordinel and directly from Late Latin ordinalis ""showing order, denoting an order of succession," from Latin ordo (genitive ordinis) "row, series" (see order (n.)). Meaning "marking position in an order or series" is from 1590s.

Source:  ordinal. (n.d.). Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved August 7, 2016 from Dictionary.com website http://www.dictionary.com/browse/ordinal 

Both words come from the same Latin root - but the suffix -ary (or -ārius) leaves us thinking of "usual" or "common," which was NOT the original intent of the Ordinal Season.  

During "Ordinal Time" or "Counting Time" we count the weeks AFTER a given feast.  There are TWO ordinal times in the liturgical year, the weeks counted after Epiphany, prior to the season of Lent; and the weeks counted after Pentecost, prior to the season of Advent.  We "count" these weeks because they are variable lengths, both dependent upon the date of Easter.  When Easter comes earlier, the counting weeks after Epiphany are fewer and the counting weeks after Pentecost are more and obviously the reverse is true.  

One point in counting these weeks also brings focus back to not only those two great feasts, but also reminds us the whole liturgical calendar revolves around the greatest of feasts - Easter.  We lose the focus on Easter when we 1) just call it "Ordinary Time" and 2) when we combine the two Ordinal Times, for there is no set reference to the holiest of our holy days.  There are always the same number of "counting weeks" when we combine them, and one could suppose that makes the publication of missals and missalettes a bit easier, but for the sake of that "ease" - we have lost so much!

August 15 is the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, yet another far from "ordinary" feast which takes place during this season of "counting."

The Liturgical Year (Traditional)
DAY on the Liturgical Calendar

	FIRST READING	GOSPEL READING  (with links to Nadal's Gospel Illustrations)
First Sunday of Advent	Rom 13:11-14a	Luke 21:25-33
Second Sunday of Advent	Rom 15:4-13	Matt 11:2-10
Third Sunday of Advent	Phil 4:4-7	John 1:19b-28
Ember Wednesday in Advent	Isa 2:2-5  &  Isa 7:10-15	Luke 1:26-38
Ember Friday in Advent	Isa 11:1-5	Luke 1:39-47
Ember Saturday in Advent	Isa 19:20-22;  Isa 35:1-7; Isa 40:9-11;  Isa 45:1-8; Dan 3:47-51, 52-56;  2 Thess 2:1-8	Luke 3:1-6
Fourth Sunday of Advent	1 Cor 4:1-5	Luke 3:1-6
Christmas Vigil (12/24)	Rom 1:1-6	Matt 1:18b-21
Christmas: First Mass at Night	Tit 2:11-15	Luke 2:1-14
Christmas: Second Mass at Dawn	Tit 3:4-7	Luke 2:15-20
Christmas: Third Mass in Daytime	Heb 1:1-12	John 1:1-14 & Matt 2:1-12 (post-communion)
St. Stephen (12/26)	Acts 6:8-10; 7:54-60	Matt 23:34-39
St. John (12/27)	Sir 15:1-6	John 21:19-24
Holy Innocents (12/28)	Acts 14:1-5	Matt 2:13-18
Sunday in Octave of Christmas	Gal 4:1-7	Luke 2:33-40
St. Thomas Becket (12/29)	Heb 5:1-6	John 10:11-16
Sixth Day in Octave of Christmas (12/30)	Tit 3:4-7	Luke 2:15-20
St. Silvester (12/31)	1 Pet 5:1-4, 10-11	Matt 16:13-19
Circumcision of the Lord & Octave of Christmas (1/1)	Tit 2:11-15	Luke 2:21
Holy Name of Jesus (Sunday between Circumcision and Epiphany, or 1/2)	Acts 4:8-12	Luke 2:21
Vigil of Epiphany (1/5)	Gal 4:1-7	Matt 2:19-23
Epiphany of the Lord (1/6)	Isa 60:1-6	Matt 2:1-12 - second plate
Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph (Sunday in the Octave of Epiphany)	Col 3:12-17	Luke 2:42-52
Weekdays after the First Sunday after Epiphany	Rom 12:1-5	Luke 2:42-52
Octave of Epiphany / Baptism of Our Lord (1/13)	Isa 60:1-6	John 1:29-34
Second Sunday after Epiphany	Rom 12:6-16	John 2:1-11
*Third Sunday after Epiphany	Rom 12:16c-21	Matt 8:1-13 - second plate
*Fourth Sunday after Epiphany	Rom 13:8-10	Matt 8:23-27
*Fifth Sunday after Epiphany	Col 3:12-17	Matt 13:24-30
*Sixth Sunday after Epiphany	1 Thess 1:2-10	Matt 13:31-35
Septuagesima Sunday	1 Cor 9:24-27; 10:1-5a	Matt 20:1-16
Sexagesima Sunday	2 Cor 11:19-33; 12:1-9	Luke 8:4-15
Quinquagesima Sunday	1 Cor 13:1-13	Luke 18:31-43 - second plate
DAY	FIRST READING	GOSPEL READING
Ash Wednesday	Joel 2:12-19	Matt 6:16-21 - second plate
Thursday after Ash Wednesday	Isa 38:1-6	Matt 8:5-13
Friday after Ash Wednesday	Isa 58:1-9	Matt 5:43-48; 6:1-4
Saturday after Ash Wednesday	Isa 58:9-14	Mark 6:47-56
First Sunday in Lent	2 Cor 6:1-10	Matt 4:1-1 - 2nd plate - 3rd plate
Monday after First Sunday of Lent	Ezek 34:11-16	Matt 25:31-46
Tuesday after First Sunday of Lent	Isa 55:6-11	Matt 21:10-17
Ember Wednesday in Lent	Exod 24:12-18  &  1 Kings 19:3-8	Matt 12:38-50
Thursday after First Sunday of Lent	Ezek 18:1-9	Matt 15:21-28
Ember Friday in Lent	Ezek 18:20-28	John 5:1-15
Ember Saturday in Lent	Deut 26:12-19;  Deut 11:22-25; 2 Macc 1:23-26, 27;  Wis 36:1-10; Dan 3:47-51, 52-56;  1 Thess 5:14-23	Matt 17:1-9
Second Sunday in Lent	1 Thess 4:1-7	Matt 17:1-9
Monday after Second Sunday of Lent	Dan 9:15-19	John 8:21-29
Tuesday after Second Sunday of Lent	1 Kings 17:8-16	Matt 23:1-12
Wednesday after Second Sunday of Lent	Esther 13:8-11, 15-17	Matt 20:17-28
Thursday after Second Sunday of Lent	Jer 17:5-10	Luke 16:19-31 - 2nd plate - 3rd plate
Friday after Second Sunday of Lent	Gen 37:6-22	Matt 21:33-46 - second plate
Saturday after Second Sunday of Lent	Gen 27:6-40	Luke 15:11-32 - second plate third plage - fourth plate
Third Sunday in Lent	Eph 5:1-9	Luke 11:14-28
Monday after Third Sunday of Lent	2 Kings 5:1-15	Luke 4:23-30
Tuesday after Third Sunday of Lent	2 Kings 4:1-7	Matt 18:15-22
Wednesday after Third Sunday of Lent	Exod 20:12-24	Matt 15:1-20
Thursday after Third Sunday of Lent	Jer 7:1-7	Luke 4:38-44
Friday after Third Sunday of Lent	Num 20:1-3, 6-13	John 4:5-42 - second plate
Saturday after Third Sunday of Lent	Dan 13:1-9, 15-17, 19-30, 33-62	John 8:1-11
Fourth Sunday in Lent	Gal 4:22-31	John 6:1-15 - 2nd plate - 3rd plate
Monday after Fourth Sunday of Lent	2 Sam 3:16-28	John 2:13-25
Tuesday after Fourth Sunday of Lent	Exod 32:7-14	John 7:14-31
Wednesday after Fourth Sunday of Lent	Ezek 36:23-28 & Isa 1:16-19	John 9:1-38
Thursday after Fourth Sunday of Lent	2 Kings 4:25-38	Luke 7:11-16
Friday after Fourth Sunday of Lent	1 Kings 17:17-24	John 11:1-45 - 2nd plate - 3rd plate
Saturday after Fourth Sunday of Lent	Isa 49:8-15	John 8:12-20
Passion Sunday I	Heb 9:11-15	John 8:46-59
Monday after Passion Sunday	Jonah 3:1-10	John 7:32-39
Tuesday after Passion Sunday	Dan 14:27, 28-42	John 7:1-13
Wednesday after Passion Sunday	Lev 19:1-2, 11-19, 25	John 10:22-38
Thursday after Passion Sunday	Dan 3:25, 34-45	Luke 7:36-50
Friday after Passion Sunday	Jer 17:13-18	John 11:47-54
Saturday after Passion Sunday	Jer 18:18-23	John 12:10-36
Palm Sunday (or Passion Sunday II)	Exod 15:27; 16:1-7; Phil 2:5-11	Matt 21:1-9 - 2nd plate - 3rd plate & Matt 26:1-75; 27:1-66
Monday of Holy Week	Isa 50:5-10	John 12:1-9
Tuesday of Holy Week	Jer 11:18-20	Mark 14:1-72; 15:1-46
Wednesday of Holy Week	Isa 62:11; 63:1-7  &  Isa 53:1-12	Luke 22:1-71; 23:1-53
Holy Thursday - The Lord's Supper	1 Cor 11:20-32	John 13:1-15 - second plate
Good Friday - The Crucifixion	Hosea 6:1-6  &  Exod 12:1-11	John 18:1-40; 19:1-42
Holy Saturday - Easter VigilNote: In 1951, the number of OT readings at the Easter Vigil was reduced from twelve to four, retaining only # 1, 4, 8 (v. 1 dropped), and 11. Thus, only four readings were prescribed between 1951 and 1969:   1) Gen 1:1--2:2   2) Exod 14:24—15:1a   3) Isa 4:2-6   4) and Deut 31:22-30.	1)  Gen 1:1-31; 2:1-2 2)  Gen 5:32—8:21 (excerpts; 48 vv.) 3)  Gen 22:1-19 4)  Exod 14:24-31; 15:1a 5)  Isa 54:17; 55:1-11 6)  Baruch 3:9-38 7)  Ezek 37:1-14 8)  Isa 4:1-6 9)  Exod 12:1-11 10)  Jonah 3:1-10 11)  Deut 31:22-30 12)  Dan 3:1-24 NT:  Col 3:1-4	Matt 28:1-7 - more plates
DAY	FIRST READING	GOSPEL READING
Easter Sunday - The Resurrection of the Lord	1 Cor 5:7-8	Mark 16:1-7 - more plates
Monday in Octave of Easter	Acts 10:37-43	Luke 24:13-35
Tuesday in Octave of Easter	Acts 13:16, 26-33	Luke 24:36-47
Wednesday in Octave of Easter	Acts 3:13-15, 17-19	John 21:1-14 - second plate
Thursday in Octave of Easter	Acts 8:26-40	John 20:11-18
Friday in Octave of Easter	1 Pet 3:18-22	Matt 28:16-20
White Saturday (in Octave of Easter)	1 Pet 2:1-10	John 20:1-9
Low Sunday or White Sunday (Octave of Easter)	1 John 5:4-10	John 20:19-31
Second Sunday after Easter	1 Pet 2:21-25	John 10:11-16
Third Sunday after Easter	1 Pet 2:11-19a	John 16:16-22
Fourth Sunday after Easter	James 1:17-21	John 16:5-14
Fifth Sunday after Easter	James 1:22-27	John 16:23-30
Rogation Days (Mon-Wed before Ascension)	James 5:16-20	Luke 11:5-13
Vigil of the Ascension	Eph 4:7-13	John 17:1-11
Ascension of the Lord (Thursday)	Acts 1:1-11	Mark 16:14-20 - second plate
Sunday in the Octave of Ascension	1 Pet 4:7b-11	John 15:26-27; 16:1-4
Saturday Vigil of Pentecost	1)  Gen 22:1-19 2)  Exod 14:24-31; 15:1 3)  Deut 31:22-30 4)  Isa 4:1-6 5)  Baruch 3:9-38 6)  Ezek 37:1-14 NT:  Acts 19:1-8	John 14:15-21
Pentecost Sunday	Acts 2:1-11	John 14:23-31
Monday in Octave of Pentecost	Acts 10:34, 42-48	John 3:16-21
Tuesday in Octave of Pentecost	Acts 8:14-17	John 10:1-10
Ember Wednesday of Pentecost	Acts 2:14-21  &  Acts 5:12-16	John 6:44-52
Thursday in Octave of Pentecost	Acts 8:5-8	Luke 9:1-6
Ember Friday of Pentecost	Joel 2:23-24, 26-27	Luke 5:17-26
Ember Saturday of Pentecost	Joel 2:28-32;  Lev 23:9-11, 15-17, 21; Deut 26:1-11;  Lev 26:3-12; Dan 3:47-51, 52-56;  Rom 5:1-5	Luke 4:38-44
Feast of the Most Holy Trinity (First Sunday after Pentecost)	Rom 11:33-36	Matt 28:18-20
Weekdays after First Sunday after Pentecost	1 John 4:8-21	Luke 6:36-42
Corpus Christi (Thursday after Trinity Sunday)	1 Cor 11:23-29	John 6:56-59
Sunday in the Octave of Corpus Christi (Second Sunday after Pentecost)	1 John 3:13-18	Luke 14:16-24
Sacred Heart of Jesus (Friday after the Octave of Corpus Christi)	Eph 3:8-12, 14-19	John 19:31-37
Sunday in the Octave of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (Third Sunday after Pentecost)	1 Pet 5:6-11	Luke 15:1-10
Fourth Sunday after Pentecost	Rom 8:18-23	Luke 5:1-11
Fifth Sunday after Pentecost	1 Pet 3:8-15a	Matt 5:20-24
Sixth Sunday after Pentecost	Rom 6:3-11	Mark 8:1-9 - related plate
Seventh Sunday after Pentecost	Rom 6:19-23	Matt 7:15-21
Eighth Sunday after Pentecost	Rom 8:12-17	Luke 16:1-9
Ninth Sunday after Pentecost	1 Cor 10:6-13	Luke 19:41-47 - related plate
Tenth Sunday after Pentecost	1 Cor 12:2-11	Luke 18:9-14
Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost	1 Cor 15:1-10	Mark 7:31-37
Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost	2 Cor 3:4-9	Luke 10:23-37
Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost	Gal 3:16-22	Luke 17:11-19
Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost	Gal 5:16-24	Matt 6:24-33
Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost	Gal 5:25-26; 6:1-10	Luke 7:11-16 - related plate
Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost	Eph 3:13-21	Luke 14:1-11
Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost	Eph 4:1-6	Matt 22:34b-46
Ember Wednesday in September	Amos 9:13-15  &  Neh 8:1-10	Mark 9:16-28
Ember Thursday in September	Hosea 14:2-10	Luke 7:36-50
Ember Saturday in September	Lev 23:26-32;  Lev 23:39-43; Micah 7:14, 16, 18-20;  Zech 8:14-19; Dan 3:47-51, 52-56;  Heb 9:2-12	Luke 13:6-17
Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost	1 Cor 1:4-8	Matt 9:1-8
Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost	Eph 4:23-28	Matt 22:1-14
Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost	Eph 5:15-21	John 4:46b-53
Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost	Eph 6:10-17	Matt 18:23-35
Twenty-second Sunday after Pentecost	Phil 1:6-11	Matt 22:15-21
Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost	Phil 3:17-21; 4:1-3	Matt 9:18-26
*Twenty-fourth & Last Sunday after Pentecost	Col 1:9-14	Matt 24:15-35
DAY	FIRST READING	GOSPEL READING

http://catholic-resources.org/Lectionary/Roman_Missal.htm

Mass In The Extra-Ordinary Rite

This article on The Catholic Gentleman's Blog is WELL worth the read!

http://www.catholicgentleman.net/2016/06/lift-hearts-10-tips-newcomers-latin-mass/