The Season of Septuagesima

 

The Season of Septuagesima starts with Septuagesima Sunday and lasts through Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday - and the beginning of the Season of Lent. Of note, the icon in the picture above is an Eastern icon. The Season of Great Lent for Orthodox Christians this year began on February 6th and lasts through Easter Sunday - which again, is a different date than Latin Rite Catholics. Orthodox Easter this year is on April 16th, and for Latin Rite Catholics (and most all other Christian sects) Easter is celebrated on April 9th (more on the date(s) of Easter in a later post during the Lenten season).

For Latin Rite Catholics the pre-Lent season of Septuagesima includes Sexigesima Sunday and Quinquagesima Sunday (60 and 50 days, respectively, and not precisely, before Easter). Of note, in 1969 Pope Paul VI removed the Season of Septuagesima from the liturgical calendar, however in the Extraordinary Rite - this season is still recognized and celebrated.

Septuagesima includes the denial of Once Saved, Always Saved (OSAS), and this declaration, being an Epistle and scriptural reading, makes it very difficult for one to adhere to this anti-scriptural teaching! Of course, I am referring to St. Paul's lesson on "running to win the race..." from 1 Cor. 9:24-27 - and in verse 27 where he points out that even he, the Apostle, St. Paul, after preaching the Gospel, could be disqualified from the prize (eternal life with God and the Saints)! If you have a valid and respectful argument for OSAS, I encourage you to post it in the comments below, and we can discuss this further. Even in the game of Monopoly ®Parker Brothers, the card can be "sold!" 

Your comments and respectful valid arguments are encouraged in the comments below.

Septuagesima!

 Wow!, I let this one sneak up on me! It is now Septuagesima Season!

Septuagesima - 70 days - (not precisely) before Easter. The Septuagesima Season takes us to Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent. However, especially in the Extraordinary Rite, the vestments have already changed back to purple - as this is a season of penance in preparation for Lent.

This season includes Sexagesima (60 days) and Quinquagesima, (50 days) before Easter.

More to follow!

Quinquagesima Sunday

 

Today is Quinquagesima Sunday  

Roughly 50 days before Easter and brings in the last few days before Quadragesima (40 days) for this Wednesday is Ash Wednesday - the start of Lent and the Season of Septuagesima winds to a close.

After today, we have two more days of preparation for Lent. Have you decided what you will be offering up for Lent this year? Have you considered ADDING something to your Lenten practice this year? Yes, the purpose in doing some sort of penance for Lent is to help you grow in holiness toward becoming a saint - so another consideration would be to ADD a practice, such as one of the corporal acts of mercy, during Lent. See the post from this year's Sexagesima Sunday for more on that.

Shrove or Fat Tuesday

How serious are you about Lent? One traditional practice for Lent is to get rid of all eggs and leaven on or by Shrove Tuesday (the day before Ash Wednesday) - and not partake in either until Easter Sunday. This tradition is still followed by Orthodox Christians and many in the Eastern Rite of Catholicism too. This is also where we get the tradition of Easter Eggs! Since you could not eat eggs during Lent, in order to preserve them longer - boil them! Then decorate them and on Easter Sunday, hide them around the house or the yard and let the children go hunting for them!

Ash Wednesday - Quadragesima Begins

The Season of Lent begins with Ash Wednesday, Quadragesima meaning "40 days." Some will say, "but wait, there's more than 40 days from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday!" Well, that is true - BUT - every Sunday, even Sundays during Lent, are "feast days" and are treated as a solemnity - and there is no penance on a solemnity. So, if you do not count the Sundays during Lent, it IS 40 days from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday of Holy Week!

Scripture of the Week - Prep for Lent

 

Scripture of the Week

From my professor:

"Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time." - 1 Peter 5:6

Again, another great reminder of what we should be doing for the Season of Septuagesima! If we truly humble ourselves and approach Lent with a tabla rasa, we can choose a fitting penance to offer up for the Season of Lent. Enduring suffering is something we do as Christians not because the Church has ordered it - but because we know that through uniting our suffering to Christ's Passion and death, even as minor as our's may be in comparison, is the path to becoming more like Christ - it is the path to salvation.

AMDG,

Scott<<<

Septuagesima Season Has Begun

 

Three weeks of preparation for Lent begins today, Septuagesima Sunday. Septuagesima represents 70, as in 70 days before Easter. The reality is, it is 63 days - so why call it "70?" This is because when referring to the days before Easter they once referred to them as decades of days. Therefore, the 63rd day before Easter falls in the decade between 61 and 70 - and here we get Septuagesima.

Happy Epiphany - One Last Time!

Yes, it is STILL the ordinal (counting) time after Epiphany - through today! Tomorrow begins Septuagesima. It seems like Christmas was just here - and in a sense, it was just ten days ago. Christmastide ended on Candlemas (Feb. 2nd) and today is the last day we have reference to the Christchild. In some traditions, Christmastide lasts all the way through the ordinal weeks of Epiphany.

Septuagesima is a preparatory time for Lent. While it is still recognized and celebrated in the Extraordinary Rite, the Ordinary Rite no longer does. For the Ordinary Rite, tomorrow is the 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time. The Church needs her special seasons - and not just "ordinary time." Knowing the season helps keep us focused on Christ and His Church.

Some ask "Why do we call it Septuagesima, which means "70" when there are only 63 days until the end of Lent?" Fr. Zuhlsdorf answers succinctly: 

These Sundays of Septuagesima, Sexagesima and Quinquagesima, before Lent or Quadragesima begins, are rough estimates but within certain parameters.

• Septuagesima is the 63rd day before the Triduum and, therefore, is in the 7th decade or 10-day period before Easter (61st to 70th days),
• Sexagesima Sunday is the 56th before, in the 6th decade (51st to 60th),
• Quinquagesima is the 49th day, 5th decade (41st to 50th) days before the Triduum.
• Quoted from: https://onepeterfive.com/septuagesima-sunday/

Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight His path.

AMDG,

Scott<<<

Last Day of Epiphany Season

 Tomorrow, Septuagesima Sunday marks the ninth Sunday before Easter - and the start of the Septuagesima Season. The Season of Septuagesima is the pre-Lent season. While the penitential time of Lent has not fully begun, Septuagesima is a time for preparation for Lent. The name comes from "70" as in 70 days before Easter - which it's really 63 days.

Septuagesima Sunday

So, what is this funny word? Septuagesima literally translates to 70, as in 70 days before Easter and is actually the ninth Sunday before Easter. The purpose behind Septuagesima is for the faithful to begin thinking about Lent and what your penance for Lent might be. Septuagesima is not a time of fasting and penance, it is a time of preparation. Lent starts in two and a half weeks, on Ash Wednesday.

So why do we fast during Lent? The Season of Lent, forty days, represents the forty days Jesus spent in fasting and prayer in the desert before entering Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. For Lent, we offer up something, and it does not have to be huge - but it should be something you would normally do or partake in every day. By offering up something you do all the time - it provides you an opportunity to think of WHY you are offering it up. You offer it up in union with Christ's sufferings, not only in remembrance of his forty days of fasting but also of His Passion and death on the Cross. So, if you give up chocolate, or coffee, or sodas, or desserts, or whatever you choose - so long as it is something you would participate in regularly and will give you that moment of meditation on Christ's suffering which was FOR YOU.

Why is Septuagesima not in the Ordinary Rite of the Catholic Church?  

We'll answer that in the next posting!

Septuagesima Sunday

Septuagesima is the ninth (9th) Sunday before Easter and the third (3rd) before the start of Lent, which begins on Ash Wednesday.

Farewell to the Alleluias

In the Latin tradition, the Saturday before Septuagesima Sunday is the last time the "Alleluias" are said in Mass until Easter and in place of the Alleluias the "Laus tibi Domini" is added. Also of note, the "Gloria in Excelsis" is omitted completely (Mershman, 1912).

Preparation for Lent

Our lessons are focused upon Genesis and the fall and misery of Man preparing us for our Lenten penance and ultimately the joy of mankind with the culminating event of the Incarnation, the Resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday.

Prepare ye the way of the Lord!

References

Mershman, F. (1912). Septuagesima. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved February 9, 2020 from New Advent: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13721b.htm

Septuagesima Sunday

Why do we call this Sunday, Septuagesima Sunday? Because in the very early days of the Church (as recorded in the First Council at Orleans, 511 AD), some pious Christian congregations began fasting 70 days before Easter.

In the Extraordinary Rite, the vestments have gone back to purple, like in Advent and Lent, because these are days of penance. Unlike the obligatory Lenten penance, during Septuagesima (as well as Sexagesima and Quinquagesima and Quadragesima) this is a period of devotional penance. Extra penance is not required, but is recommended. As such, these penances help get one "into the spirit" of Lent - which begins on Ash Wednesday.

The traditional readings for today are 1 Corinthians 9:24-10:5 - The prize of salvation is compared to running in a race - and we are taught to run as to win that race. And the Gospel is from Matthew 20:1-16 with the parable of the workers being sent into the vineyard to do work for the price of a denarius (or penny). Some of the workers, the owner found at the beginning of the day, but he kept going out and finding more workers. Finally, during the last hour he found still more - and told them to go into the field and they would be given a fair wage. When the day was ended the owner said to his foreman to bring in the workers and pay them from the last ones in to the first - and each one was given the same reward for their work. Those who had been there all day resented the fact that those who came in at the end of the day received the same payment as they did. The owner simply told them that they were not cheated, he paid them what they agreed upon and who are they to question the generosity of the owner?  If he chooses to be charitable to those who only worked an hour, sobeit, they had no right to complain. The analogy here can be that even those who convert to Christ on their deathbed will receive the same reward as those who have been living a faithful life their whole life - eternal life is eternal life!

Under the new lectionary this Sunday is called "The Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time." For those who have been reading this blog for a while, you know how I feel about calling this period of time "Ordinary," when it is anything BUT "ordinary." The term "ordinary" comes from the same root as "ordinal" which means "counting." Traditionally speaking then, this would be the Sixth Sunday after Epiphany - because we are "counting" the weeks after the great Feast of Epiphany. Later in the year then we "count" the weeks after Pentecost, which takes us to the end of the liturgical year - and the new year begins with Advent. In the new lectionary the remembrance of Pentecost is all but forgotten and the "ordinary" days continue their "counting" from where we left off prior to Lent. 

Septuagesima Sunday 2013

Septuagesima Sunday - 3 Sundays before Lent - 9 Sundays before Easter.  The Pre-Lenten Season has begun!  It is time to begin preparing for Lent.  What will your penance be this year?  

Septuagesima is representative of "70" in Latin, however Easter is really 63 days away.  It is thought that both Septuagesima and Sexagesima (60 days) both relate to Quinquagesima Sunday (50 days) as that is closer to the number of days, but even there - it's 49 days.

The Mass readings for today in the Extraordinary Rite (Traditional Latin Mass) are also very related to recent topics of discussion here on the CathApol Blog!  The Epistle: 

EPISTLE I Cor. 9:24-27; 10:1-5Brethren: Know you not that they that run in the race, all run indeed, but one receiveth the prize. So run that you may obtain. And every one that striveth for the mastery refraineth himself from all things. And they indeed that they may receive a corruptible crown: but we an incorruptible one. I therefore so run, not as at an uncertainty: I so fight, not as one beating the air. But I chastise my body and bring it into subjection: lest perhaps, when I have preached to others, I myself should become a castaway. For I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud: and all passed through the sea. And all in Moses were baptized, in the cloud and in the sea: And did all eat the same spiritual food: And all drank the same spiritual drink: (And they drank of the spiritual rock that followed them: and the rock was Christ.) But with most of them God was not well pleased.

Actually, it's a recurring theme here on this blog - note - "all" run in the race, but only "one" receives the prize.  But more importantly here, St. Paul expresses the concern that even he could be "a castaway" - if even St. Paul is concerned for his salvation - how can OSAS (Once Saved, Always Saved) be anything but a fiction?

And the Gospel:

GOSPEL Matt. 20:1-16At that time, Jesus spoke to His disciples this parable:"The kingdom of heaven is like to an householder, who went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard. And having agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And going out about the third hour, he saw others standing in the marketplace idle. And he said to them: 'Go you also into my vineyard, and I will give you what shall be just.' And they went their way. And again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did in like manner. But about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing, and he saith to them: 'Why stand you here all the day idle?' They say to him: 'Because no man hath hired us.' He saith to them: 'Go ye also into my vineyard.' And when evening was come, the lord of the vineyard saith to his steward: 'Call the labourers and pay them their hire, beginning from the last even to the first.' When therefore they were come that came about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. But when the first also came, they thought that they should receive more: And they also received every man a penny. And receiving it they murmured against the master of the house, Saying: 'These last have worked but one hour. and thou hast made them equal to us, that have borne the burden of the day and the heats.' But he answering said to one of them: 'friend, I do thee no wrong: didst thou not agree with me for a penny? Take what is thine, and go thy way: I will also give to this last even as to thee. Or, is it not lawful for me to do what I will? Is thy eye evil, because I am good?' So shall the last be first and the first last. For many are called but few chosen."

The last sentence is the key here - "For many are called but few are chosen."  Let us ask our Calvinist friends if God has failed in the calling of the many - since only a few of those end up being "chosen?"

Mass readings:  http://tridentine-mass.blogspot.com/2013/01/septuagesima-sunday-saint-john.html

Septuagesima Season

Well, I had planned to post on the Sundays prior to Lent beginning and help explain some meaning behind the names of these Sundays which precede Lent.  Since I am a bit behind, I will combine these Sundays:

Septuagesima Sunday and Season
The ninth Sunday before Easter.  Roughly it represents 70 days which is a remembrance of the 70 years the People of Israel we wandering in the desert.  Septuagesima Sunday also begins the Season of Septuagesima.  It is also known as the "Prodigal Sunday" as the traditional reading at Mass is that of the Prodigal Son.  More information can be found here:  http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13721b.htm

Sexagesima (or Sexigesima) Sunday
The Second Sunday before Lent.  As you can tell by the prefix it represents (loosely) 60 days before Easter.  The traditional Gospel reading for Sexagesima Sunday is that of the Sower.  Jesus explains "the seed is the word of God. And they by the wayside are they that hear: then the devil cometh and taketh the word out of their heart, lest believing they should be saved. Now they upon the rock are they who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no roots: for they believe for a while, and in time of temptation they fall away. And that which fell away among thorns are they who have heard and, going their way, are choked with the cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and yield no fruit. But on the good ground are they who in a good and perfect heart, hearing the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit in patience." (Luke 8:4-15)  This Gospel is so anti-Calvinist it isn't funny!  I'll do a separate blog on that.  All the traditional readings for Sexagesima can be found here:  http://mysite.verizon.net/missale/sexagesima.html


Quinquagesima Sunday
Fifty Days (loosely) before Easter.  The traditional Gospel for today is from Luke 18:31-43 wherein Jesus foretells His Passion, Death and Resurrection.  So this last Sunday before Lent we are given the promise of our salvation - but also brought to our mind is the Passion and Death of our Lord.  We enter Lent the following Wednesday, Ash Wednesday for a season of penance and remembrance of what Jesus endured for us, taking our place, becoming sin and dying a horrible death on the cross then going into Hell in our place to defeat Satan and death to rise again on the third day making our salvation possible!  Glory to God in the highest!  And peace to His people on Earth!   But again, this part of the season is to call into remembrance (which has a deeper meaning in Jewish/Early Christian usage, see link) the Passion of Christ.  It is a time for us to offer something up and whenever we would think about partaking in that which we have offered up, we have a special remembrance of that which Jesus offered up for us.  

Lent is almost upon us!  Let us prepare worthily for a good Lent that we might have an even greater celebration of the Resurrection on Easter Sunday!

In JMJ,
Scott<<<