Unfortunately, many of us Catholics have slid into the Protestant language group by using their terminology. Do well tell our kids to "get ready for church" or do we tell them to "get ready for Mass"? Do we try to maintain a prayerful silence in the car to set the tone, or is it business as usual until we step inside the church? Do we dress in better clothes out of respect for God and in recognition of the solemn ritual we are about to assist with, or are we self-congratulating pharisees, overdressing for attention at the weekly fashion show?
And what about at Mass? Are we looking for entertainment or are we engaged with the Holy Sacrifice that is to take place before us? Are we focusing on the personality of the priest, or are we worshipping the High Priest who offered Himself for our sins? When we approach Holy Communion, are we waving and winking at our friends in the pews, or are we focused on Who we are about to receive? When we leave Mass, are we loud and joking, or are we reverent, aware of what we have just witnessed and Who we carry within us?
Catholics don't just go to Church. We go to Mass.
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Baltimore Catechism No. 3 - Lesson 35
Lesson Thirty-Fifth: On the First and Second Commandments of the Church
Q. 1325. Are not the commandments of the Church also commandments of God?
A. The commandments of the Church are also commandments of God, because they are made by His authority, and we are bound under pain of sin to observe them.
Q. 1326. What is the difference between the commandments of God and the Commandments of the Church?
A. The commandments of God were given by God Himself to Moses on Mount Sinai; the commandments of the Church were given on different occasions by the lawful authorities of the Church. The Commandments given by God Himself cannot be changed by the Church; but the commandments made by the Church itself may be changed by its authority as necessity requires.
Q. 1327. Which are the chief commandments of the Church?
A. The chief commandments of the Church are six: 1.1. To hear Mass on Sundays and holydays of obligation. 2.2. To fast and abstain on the days appointed. 3.3. To confess at least once a year. 4.4. To receive the Holy Eucharist during the Easter time. 5.5. To contribute to the support of our pastors. 6.6. Not to marry persons who are not Catholics, or who are related to us within the third degree of kindred, nor privately without witnesses, nor to solemnize marriage at forbidden times. 7.
Q. 1328. Why has the Church made commandments?
A. The Church has made commandments to teach the faithful how to worship God and to guard them from the neglect of their religious duties.
Q. 1329. Is it a mortal sin not to hear Mass on a Sunday or a holyday of obligation?
A. It is a mortal sin not to hear Mass on a Sunday or a holyday of obligation, unless we are excused for a serious reason. They also commit a mortal sin who, having others under their charge, hinder them from hearing Mass, without a sufficient reason.
Q. 1330. What is a "serious reason" excusing one from the obligation of hearing Mass?
A A "serious reason" excusing one from the obligation of hearing Mass is any reason that makes it impossible or very difficult to attend Mass, such as severe illness, great distance from the Church, or the need of certain works that cannot be neglected or postponed.
Q. 1331. Are children obliged, under pain of mortal sin, the same as grown persons, to hear Mass on Sundays and holydays of obligation?
A. Children who have reached the use of reason are obliged under pain of mortal sin, the same as grown persons, to hear Mass on Sundays and holydays of obligation; but if they are prevented from so doing by parents, or others, then the sin falls on those who prevent them.
Q. 1332. Why were holydays instituted by the church?
A. Holydays were instituted by the Church to recall to our minds the great mysteries of religion and the virtues and rewards of the saints.
Q. 1333. How many holydays of obligation are there in this country?
A. In this country there are six holydays of obligation, namely:
- Feast of the Immaculate Conception (Dec. 8th);
- Christmas (Dec. 25th);
- Feast of the Circumcision of Our Lord (Jan. 1st);
- Feast of the Ascension of Our Lord (forty days after Easter);
- Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin (Aug. 15th); and
- Feast of All Saints (Nov. 1st).
Q. 1334. How should we keep the holydays of obligation?
A. We should keep the holydays of obligation as we should keep the Sunday.
Q. 1335. Why are certain holydays called holydays of obligation?
A. Certain holydays are called holydays of obligation because on such days we are obliged under pain of mortal sin to hear Mass and keep from servile works as we do on Sundays.
Q. 1336. What should one do who is obliged to work on a holyday of obligation?
A. One who is obliged to work on a holyday of obligation should, if possible, hear Mass before going to work, and should also explain this necessity in confession, so as to obtain the confessor's advice on the subject.
Q. 1337. What do you mean by fast-days?
A. By fast-days I mean days on which we are allowed but one full meal.
Q. 1338. Is it permitted on fast days to take any food besides the one full meal?
A. It is permitted on fast days, besides the one full meal, to take two other meatless meals, to maintain strength, according to each one's needs. But together these two meatless meals should not equal another full meal.
Q. 1339. Who are obliged to fast?
A. All persons over 21 and under 59 years of age, and whose health and occupation will permit them to fast.
Q. 1340. Does the Church excuse any classes of persons from the obligation of fasting?
A. The Church does excuse certain classes of persons from the obligation of fasting on account of their age, the condition of their health, the nature of their work, or the circumstances in which they live. These things are explained in the Regulations for Lent, read publicly in the Churches each year.
Q. 1341. What should one do who doubts whether or not he is obliged to fast?
A. In doubt concerning fast, a parish priest or confessor should be consulted.
Q. 1342. When do fast days chiefly occur in the year?
A. Fast days chiefly occur in the year during Lent and Advent, on the Ember days and on the vigils or eves of some great feasts. A vigil falling on a Sunday is not observed.
Q. 1343. What do you mean by Lent, Advent, Ember days and the vigils of great feasts?
A. Lent is the seven weeks of penance preceding Easter. Advent is the four weeks of preparation preceding Christmas. Ember days are three days set apart in each of the four seasons of the year as special days of prayer and thanksgiving. Vigils are the days immediately preceding great feasts and spent in spiritual preparation for them.
Q. 1344. What do you mean by days of abstinence?
A. By days of abstinence I mean days on which no meat at all may be taken (complete abstinence) or on which meat may be taken only once a day (partial abstinence). This is explained in the regulations for Lent. All the Fridays of the year are days of abstinence except when a Holyday of obligation falls on a Friday outside of Lent.
Q. 1345. Are children and persons unable to fast bound to abstain on days of abstinence?
A. Children, from the age of seven years, and persons who are unable to fast are bound to abstain on days of abstinence, unless they are excused for sufficient reason.
Q. 1346. Why does the Church command us to fast and abstain?
A. The Church commands us to fast and abstain, in order that we may mortify our passions and satisfy for our sins.
Q. 1347. What is meant by our passions and what by mortifying them?
A. By our passions are meant our sinful desires and inclinations. Mortifying them means restraining them and overcoming them so that they have less power to lead us into sin.
Q. 1348. Why does the Church command us to abstain from flesh-meat on Fridays?
A. The Church commands us to abstain from flesh-meat on Fridays in honor of the day on which our Savior died.
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Advent
New Advent
(Latin ad-venio, to come to).
According to present [1907] usage, Advent is a period beginning with the
Sunday nearest to the feastof
St. Andrew the Apostle (30 November) and embracing four Sundays. The first
Sunday may be as early as 27 November, and then Advent has twenty-eight days, or as late as 3 December, giving the season only twenty-one days.
- to prepare themselves worthily to celebrate the anniversary of the Lord's coming into the world as the incarnate God of love,
- thus to make their souls fitting abodes for the Redeemer coming in Holy Communion and throughgrace, and
- thereby to make themselves ready for His final coming as judge, at death and at the end of the world.
Symbolism
To attain this object the
Church has arranged the Liturgy for this season. In the official
prayer, the
Breviary, she calls upon her
ministers, in the Invitatory for
Matins, to adore "the Lord the King that is to come", "the Lord already near", "Him Whose glory will be seen on the morrow". As Lessons for the first
Nocturn she prescribes chapters from the
prophet Isaias, who speaks in scathing terms of the ingratitude of the
house of Israel, the chosen children who had forsaken and forgotten their Father; who tells of the Man of Sorrows stricken for the
sins of His people; who describes accurately thepassion and death of the coming
Saviour and His final glory; who announces the gathering of the
Gentiles to the Holy Hill. In the second
Nocturn the Lessons on three
Sundays are taken from the eighth
homily of
Pope St. Leo (440-461) on
fasting and
almsdeeds as a preparation for the advent of the Lord, and on one Sunday (the second) from
St. Jerome's commentary on
Isaiah 11:1, which text he interprets of the
Blessed Virgin Mary as "the rod out of the root of Jesse". In the
hymns of the season we find praise for the coming of
Christ, the Creator of the
universe, as Redeemer, combined with
prayer to the coming judge of the world to protect us from the enemy. Similar
ideas are expressed in the
antiphons for the Magnificat on the last seven days before the Vigil of the Nativity. In them, the
Church calls on the Divine Wisdom to teach us the way of
prudence; on the
Key of Davidto free us from bondage; on the Rising Sun to illuminate us sitting in darkness and the shadow of death, etc. In the Masses the intention of the
Church is shown in the choice of the Epistles andGospels. In the Epistle she exhorts the faithful that, since the Redeemer is nearer, they should cast aside the works of darkness and put on the armour of light; should walk honestly, as in the day, and put on the
Lord Jesus Christ; she shows that the nations are called to praise the name of the Lord; she asks them to rejoice in the nearness of the Lord, so that the price of
God, which surpasses all understanding, may keep their hearts and minds in
Christ Jesus; she admonishes them not to passjudgment, for the Lord, when He comes, will manifest the secrets hidden in hearts. In the Gospels the
Church speaks of the Lord coming in glory; of Him in, and through, Whom the prophecies are being fulfilled; of the Eternal walking in the midst of the
Jews; of the voice in the
desert, "Prepare ye the way of the Lord". The
Church in her Liturgy takes us in spirit back to the time before the incarnationof the
Son of God, as though it were really yet to take place.
Cardinal Wiseman says:
We are not dryly exhorted to profit by that blessed event, but we are daily made to sigh with the Fathers of old, "Send down the dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain the Just One: let the earth be opened, and bud forth the Redeemer." The Collects on three of the four Sundays of that season begin with the words, "Lord, raise up thy power and come" — as though we feared our iniquities would prevent His being born.
Duration and ritual
On every day of Advent the
Office and
Mass of the Sunday or Feria must be said, or at least aCommemoration must be made of them, no matter what grade of feast occurs. In the
Divine Office the
Te Deum, the joyful
hymn of praise and thanksgiving, is omitted; in the Mass the
Gloria in excelsis is not said. The
Alleluia, however, is retained. During this time the solemnization of matrimony (
Nuptial Mass and Benediction) cannot take place; which prohibition binds to the feast of Epiphany inclusively. The celebrant and sacred
ministers use violet vestments. The
deacon and
subdeacon at Mass, in place of the
dalmatics commonly used, wear folded
chasubles. The
subdeacon removes his during the reading of the Epistle, and the
deacon exchanges his for another, or for a wider stole, worn over the left shoulder during the time between the singing of the Gospel and the Communion. An exception is made for the third
Sunday (
Gaudete Sunday), on which the vestments may be rose-coloured, or richer violet ones; the sacred
ministers may on this Sunday wear
dalmatics, which may also be used on theVigil of the Nativity, even if it be the fourth
Sunday of Advent.
Pope Innocent III (1198-1216) states that black was the colour to be used during Advent, but violet had already come into use for this season at the end of the thirteenth century.
Binterim says that there was also a law that pictures should be covered during Advent. Flowers and
relics of Saints are not to be placed on the altarsduring the Office and Masses of this time, except on the third
Sunday; and the same prohibition and exception exist in regard to the use of the
organ. The popular
idea that the four weeks of Adventsymbolize the four thousand years of darkness in which the world was enveloped before the coming of
Christ finds no confirmation in the Liturgy.
Historical origin
It cannot be determined with any degree of
certainty when the celebration of Advent was first introduced into the
Church. The preparation for the feast of the
Nativity of Our Lord was not held before the feast itself existed, and of this we find no evidence before the end of the fourth century, when, according to Duchesne [Christian Worship (London, 1904), 260], it was celebrated throughout the whole Church, by some on 25 December, by others on 6 January. Of such a preparation we read in the Acts of a
synod held at Saragossa in 380, whose fourth canon prescribes that from the seventeenth of December to the feast of the Epiphany no one should be permitted to absent himself from church. We have two
homilies of
St. Maximus,
Bishop of
Turin (415-466), entitled "In Adventu Domini", but he makes no reference to a special time. The title may be the addition of a copyist. There are some
homilies extant, most likely of
St. Caesarius,
Bishop of Arles (502-542), in which we find mention of a preparation before the birthday of
Christ; still, to judge from the context, no general lawon the matter seems then to have been in existence. A
synod held (581) at
Mâcon, in
Gaul, by its ninth canon orders that from the eleventh of November to the Nativity the Sacrifice be offeredaccording to the
Lenten rite on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of the week. The GelasianSacramentary notes five
Sundays for the season; these five were reduced to four by
Pope St. Gregory VII (1073-85). The collection of
homilies of
St. Gregory the Great (590-604) begins with asermon for the second
Sunday of Advent. In 650 Advent was celebrated in
Spain with five
Sundays. Several
synods had made
laws about
fasting to be observed during this time, some beginning with the eleventh of November, others the fifteenth, and others as early as the autumnal equinox. Other
synods forbade the celebration of matrimony. In the
Greek Church we find no documents for the observance of Advent earlier than the eighth century. St. Theodore the Studite (d. 826), who speaks of the feasts and
fasts commonly celebrated by the Greeks, makes no mention of this season. In the eighth century we find it observed not as a
liturgical celebration, but as a time of fast and abstinence, from 15 November to the Nativity, which, according to Goar, was later reduced to seven days. But acouncil of the
Ruthenians (1720) ordered the fast according to the old rule from the fifteenth of November. This is the rule with at least some of the Greeks. Similarly, the Ambrosian and theMozarabic Riterites have no special liturgy for Advent, but only the fast.
