Subtitled: I Love my Church
According to our wise old pastor, the Christmas season ends next Sunday on the feast of the Baptism of Our Lord. And here I’d been avowing that that it ended on Epiphany!
That just goes to show what this cradle Catholic knows. Well, that’s what I love about the faith—there’s always room for learning (and humility).*
In addition to the above photo, which I took during the recessional hymn yesterday, I also managed to get a shot of our altar-serving son as he solemnly shuffled past. He looks…trepidatious, in my opinion, but assures me that the incendiary risks were very low.
Our celebration of the feast of Epiphany was very quiet. I didn’t even make a cake this year, which is just as well because one of us was hit with a stomach bug at supper. Son #2 showed no interest in either the fish sticks (a culinary treat in these parts) or the sparkling grape juice. He sat there on the sofa looking very green and waiting for what he knew was soon to happen—and did not appear amused by my husband’s advice to “Use the force, Luke.”
Stay tuned to watch as the dominoes continue to fall!
Or even better, don’t.
Have I mentioned not feeling quite ready yet for Lent?
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam,
*Something else that I did not know until picking up my Magnificat this morning is that the date of Easter is officially proclaimed on Epiphany.
The Proclamation of the Date of Easter on Epiphany dates from a time when calendars were not readily available. It was necessary to make know the date of Easter in advance, since many celebrations depend on its date.
Although calendars now give the date of Easter and the other feasts in the liturgical year for many years in advance, the Epiphany proclamation still has value. It is a reminder of the centrality of the resurrection of the Lord in the liturgical year and the importance of the great mysteries of faith which are celebrated each year (from The Sacramentary Supplement, pp. 47-50).
What a beautiful altar Margaret. My daughter served for the vigil mass on Sat.(her 3rd time ever) … she looked so nervous, but she did great.
Hope the sickies stay away!
Wow! I learn something new every day. It is kind of odd though, that there is no 1st Sunday in Ordinary time.
I hope no more dominoes fall down in your home. It’s time for some good hand washing practices – something we could do better in our home. 🙂
Everyone I know has the cold/stomach bug thing! We had an Epiphany party yesterday and a child (visitor) threw up twice in my bathroom. It was inevitable…today two of mine are complaining of tummy aches. Sigh…
In the traditional Catholic Calendar, the terminology differs a bit regarding the seasons. There is no “Ordinary Time”. Periods are marked as “Octaves” (the eight days following a major feast) and “Time After Epiphany”.
We have a whole week of “goodbyes” left! I’ll be spending mine taking down the tree, and sweeping up needles, needles, needles!!
And taking care of sick kids…
Oh, good. I was thinking “Christmas is over…now I have to get back to real life.” Glad that I technically have another week of “holiday” to slowly get back into our routine.
I had always thought that ordinary time began today as well…that makes two cradle Catholics with the same mis-information 😉 Thanks for the information! Now, I definitely don’t feel bad about leaving the tree up until next weekend (which we have always done anyway, but now I have a better reason for it!)
Jane
Yes! Since CHristmas didn’t end yesterday I don’t have to feel bad about my tree not being put away; I had meant to do it yesterday!
I have always wondered about that. I sing in our choir and it has next week as “The baptism of the Lord”, and NOT Ordinary Time. So I thought, hmmmm….
Sigh. How very lovely. You must feel very near heaven there (at least until someone pinches their neighbor, drops the kneeler or hisses their “needs” stage style) What a handsome lad you have. Tell him his godmother things he looks just right in vestments.
Or not. But I’m praying…hee hee.
This is a tricky one — some Catholic sources say the Christmas season ends at Epiphany, others at the Baptism of the Lord. We have one visiting priest who insists we should celebrate Christmas until we get our throats blessed on the Feast of St. Blaise on February 2nd!
But I have been thrown too by February 20th being the SECOND Sunday in Ordinary time.
I KNEW there must be a good reason (besides laziness!) to leave our Christmas stuff up for one more week! Thanks for telling us what that reason is!
I love the photo of the inside of your church—it’s gorgeous. I love my church, too, but it’s not a “traditional” looking Catholic church, so I love to see what the insides of some of the older, fancier churches look like.
I think that the first sunday of ordinary time is right before advent…