After the break we discussed how the Liturgical Year developed. No written records exist of course, and historians have been trying to understand how the traditions developed. It developed over time and differently throughout the world and across cultures. Jesus, His apostles, and the early church didn't leave a guideline on the Liturgical Year. For instance, some places don't count Sundays as days of Lent while others do. Trying to keep it to exactly 40 days is a form of historization which resulted in the addition of Ash Wednesday. What’s important is the symbolism (Jesus spent 40 days in the desert), not the exact number of days.
The first holy day created after the resurrection was Sunday, the Lords Day. We were asked to keep the Sabbath Holy, and to build the Church in the breaking of the bread. The story about the Road to Ammaus is not about the road, it’s about community. It’s not about when Jesus is returning, because he is right there next to you.
Originally there were no saint days or evening Mass or other special days, it was just Sunday and the breaking of the bread. Soon after the people began asking if there should be something more than just Sunday, they added the Easter season with an annual feast day to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus. At first a date connected to Passover was chosen, and for a while it was a fixed date like March 6th which might fall on any day of the week. Eventually it was moved to the Sunday closest to the day that Jesus rose from his death. Today of course it’s celebrated on the first Sunday after the first day of spring, and it’s still on the day closest to the day of His Resurrection.
The Acts of the Apostles makes it clear that from very early on Friday was always a fast day. The Triduum celebration developed early as well, and was celebrated from Thursday evening to Sunday evening. Originally people would get baptized at almost any time of the year, but early in the first century it became a part of Easter.
Lent, the time of preparation before Easter, was added by an attempt at historization again. Jesus spent 40 days in the desert prior to His baptism so why shouldn’t we spend time in preparation. The preparation for baptism began to see a vetting process, with catechumenates being prepared for baptism.
This started an argument with some saying that “Easter was more important than Lent”. So now Easter has 50 days, which was derived at by taking the perfect number seven and making it even more perfect by multiplying it by itself, and then making it even more perfect by adding one more day (7x7=49+1=50) Easter was extended to 50 days, which was considered to be perfect perfection.
The early Church wanted this day to be the most important day of the year; however, it’s not about math it’s about symbolism. We are a Church that reveals in the resurrection the fullness of Christ, and we are a Church that celebrates our Baptism. It is such an important day that we cannot contain it in one day, it must go through a whole season.
After the first few centuries Pentecost, a Jewish feast, was taken over by the Christians. Ordinary Time was recognized and eventually Saint Days began to be added. Sometime around the fourth century Christmas as added, again as a result of historization, because after all we should know when Jesus was born. However, the birth of Jesus isn’t based on his actual date of birth, as his death is, although it seems to be based on pilgrimages to the Holy Land that continue even today.
Luke and Matthew don’t use dates in their infancy narratives, and Christmas is not really about the birth of Jesus, it’s about the incarnation of Christ, the Son of God. Several centuries after Christmas becomes a season of its own, Advent was added.
So what do we do with this information about the Liturgical year? The shape of the liturgical year is how early Christians taught people about Jesus, and we can share the story and message of Jesus by the way we celebrate the seasons. We can influence the parish liturgy by planning and celebrating properly. For instance, during Advent we must stand against the culture; we're Catholics and we must help people understand that Christmas doesn't end on Christmas Day; it's a season. When we continue to sing Christmas carols people will ask why, and that will become a teachable moment.
We as leaders must have a deep understanding of what the Liturgical Year is all about so that we can influence others. Every year after someone celebrates their first communion they should know more than they did the year before. Every Sunday is important and we should be trying to improve our liturgy every Sunday.
Every Sunday we should be moving our Parish towards the Triduum. We need to understand how we are celebrating this coming Sunday because of what we learned at the Triduum. The Triduum is the edge of chaos that we talked about on a previous week, where we learn more about Jesus than the rest of the year. How we are living must be different than how we were last year. If the Triduum is really the high point of the year, how does it change us?
Evidently Ash Wednesday is more popular in the West then in other parts of our country, possibly because of the mix of cultures, but what fuels this desire for ashes? If we could figure out what people's deepest longing is we could help them understand that, "ashes are good but there is something better".
We need to discover what we can do in our Parishes so that nobody is sitting in the pews thinking they are not worthy. Every Sunday we need to be helping people understand that they are worthy, like the greeter that meets you and looks at you in the eye, and the lectors who read like it matters, emphasizing the important part of the readings.
Our Priests need to recognize how important the homily is, and it must be a message about love. Those who feel unworthy take the message personally, “He is talking about my sins, so I must not be worthy”. When everyone is singing they will recognize community and be more apt to join in and feel like a part of the community.
The most important thing is a smile, friendly face, and a conversation. Pope Frances is driving new people to our parishes, because he is on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. We need to make an effort! Help people in the sections near the doors should acknowledge all new comers.
There is no single answer for all parishes, but we can try something and change it if it doesn't work. What’s the perfect picture for our Parish? How are we going to celebrate this year differently than last year so that new comers will come back again? We must pick something we can change and work on it even if it takes a full year. We shouldn’t try to fix everything at once, and we should have a plan. It's about leadership, because the pastor may be great but he'll be gone eventually.
There is a story about the whole year that leads up to the Triduum. What are we doing throughout the year that will make the Triduum better than the year before and how will it make the rest of the year better.
My post to the class website:
I find the Liturgical year to be a bit like the two characters of Advent. In it we look back to the first coming of the Son of God, while at the same time we look forward to Christ’s second coming at the end of time. There is so much about the mystery of Jesus that we need the entire year, and indeed a lifetime, to experience its fullness.
Since becoming Catholic, I’ve instinctively understood that the Liturgical Year is not a history of Christianity, but I had not recognized that Christmas is not a story about the birth of Jesus; it is a story about the incarnation of the Christ.
Throughout each year our personal and communal story is reflected in the Liturgical Year, which to me is the shape of a spiral. As the calendar winds around from beginning to end, we become different people moving forward and upward in our relationship with God and our communities.
The shape of the Liturgical Year is how early Christians taught people about Jesus, and we share the story and message of Jesus by the way we celebrate the seasons. We must have a deep understanding of the Liturgical Year; because how we are living this year must be different than how we were living last year.
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