“What are you giving up for Lent?” Over the years I’ve had more than one non-Catholic friend (or Catholics who don’t practice) ask me that question. Some of them do it with considerable eye-rolling, others asked it as a sincere way to practice a spirituality they find valuable. I prefer the question “How are you observing Lent?” because adjusting our reliance on things is one way to create a new spiritual discipline. I haven’t made my final decision about how I’ll observe Lent, but whatever I do, I want it to be a sacrifice for me and a benefit to the earth. (READ MORE)

When you enter a Catholic church, compared to most other churches, you will often find many unattended and lit candles-a rare sight in this world of insurance regulations. We could intuit that candles are an essential part of our faith. + Cuando ingresa a una iglesia católica, en comparación con la mayoría de las otras iglesias, encontrará muchas velas encendidas y desatendidas, algo poco común en este mundo de regulaciones de seguros. Podríamos intuir que las velas son parte esencial de nuestra fe.

If you have looked in a Missal (collection of the readings assigned by liturgical day) you may have noticed a text for Entrance and Communion. You may have also noticed that these texts may not have been said (or sung).  + Si has buscado en un Misal (colección de lecturas asignadas por día litúrgico) es posible que hayas notado un texto para la Entrada y la Comunión. También habrás notado que es posible que estos textos no hayan sido dichos (o cantados).

Over these past few weeks we have been exploring the different types of liturgical days we have including Solemnities and Feasts. This time we explore Memorials. + Durante estas últimas semanas hemos estado explorando los diferentes tipos de días litúrgicos que tenemos, incluidas solemnidades y fiestas. Esta vez exploramos los Memoriales.

We have now completed the Christmas Season (which lasts longer than we think). Now we are in Ordinary Time. We use the term ordinary in many ways liturgically. It applies to a season, status of ministers, and the type or texts used at Mass. It isn’t meant to be derogatory in any way, but we are immersed in a culture of hyperbole and intense adjectives which can make ordinary feel very ho-hum. Read more...

We have entered a new year and the waning days of the Christmas season, which culminate with the Feast of the Epiphany-the Twelth Day of Christmas (which we celebrate on the closest Sunday). Epiphany means a revealing of something (truth, mysteries, etc…) + Hemos entrado en un nuevo año y en los últimos días de la temporada navideña, que culminan con la Fiesta de la Epifanía, el duodécimo día de Navidad (que celebramos el domingo más cercano). Epifanía significa revelación de algo (verdad, misterios, etc…)

During the octave of Christmas we have several feast days for St. Stephen(12/26), Saint John(12/27), and the Holy Innocents(12/28).  Since we celebrate these, what exactly is a feast and what does it mean?  Historically in the church any special liturgical day was referred to as a feast.  These Holy Days (holidays) were important breaks from the normal life in Christendom. 

Christmas is a magical time and there are probably many ways your family marks this time. I am thankful the church is part of that for you. Especially as we often say- Jesus is the reason for this season. See more... La Navidad es una época mágica y probablemente haya muchas maneras en que su familia celebra esta época. Estoy agradecido de que la iglesia sea parte de eso para ustedes. Especialmente como solemos decir: Jesús es la razón de esta temporada.

The highest ranking type celebrations in the church are Solemnities. We just had one last week for the Immaculate Conception. Generally they celebrate something about Jesus' life, an aspect of Mary, or the life of another very important Saint. Read more...

In the coming few days we celebrate several different types of special liturgical days: The optional Memorial of St. Nicholas(12/6), The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception(12/8), The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe(12/12), and the Memorial of St. Lucy(12/13). What do these titles for the different days mean? Well in the Catholic Church we have a ranking of the liturgical importance of certain days from the Triduum(the highest) to the Tuesday of the First Week of Ordinary Time(the lowest). Over the next few weeks we will dig into these different titles and why they are ranked in certain ways.

In an effort to deepen our faith and understanding of liturgy, I will be writing a weekly column to dig deeper into the mysteries and details of our celebration of Mass and our faith.  I hope you find this fruitful for you, and I encourage you to submit any questions you have to abeeken@cdlex.org  

Advent Speaker Series featuring Carolyn Blase on Sunday, December 3 and Monday, December 4