A type of censer called a thurbile is used to contain incense as it is burned. During the liturgy, the thurifer, a server carrying the thurible, approaches the minister conducting the service, often with a boat bearer carrying the boat, a receptacle which contains the unburned incense. Incense is taken from the boat and, after being blessed with a prayer, is spooned on red-hot coals. The thurible is then swung toward the people or objects being reverenced. In the Latin Rite, the thurible is swung in groups of three to represent the Persons of the Holy Trinity. The number of swings depends on the sanctity of the object being reverenced and whether the person is alive or dead, clergy or laity and a cleric’s rank within the hierarchy. Traditionally, incense can be used to reverence the bread and wine offered for the Eucharist, the consecrated Eucharist, the Gospel during its proclamation, the crucifix, icons in Eastern Churches, clergy, the congregation, the Paschal candle and the body of the deceased person during a funeral. It is also used during processions. Additionally, five grains of blessed incense are placed in the Paschal Candle as a reminder of Christ’s wounds.
Incense is an aromatic substance made from plant materials that, when burned, releases fragrant smoke. It has been used by many cultures and religions throughout the world, both for its religious symbolism and for various health reasons. Incense has been used in Christian worship since antiquity. It has been particularly used in Eastern Christian churches, Roman and Eastern Catholic Churches, Old Catholic Church and some Anglican and Lutheran Churches. The practice is rooted in the traditions of Judaism in the time of the Second Temple. Its use is interpreted as both a form of sacrificial offering to God and as a symbol of the prayers of the faithful rising to heaven. It is also used as a form of purification. The use of incense during liturgies is intended to remind the faithful of the sweet smell of the presence of God and that our worship transcends the gap between heaven and earth.
A type of censer called a thurbile is used to contain incense as it is burned. During the liturgy, the thurifer, a server carrying the thurible, approaches the minister conducting the service, often with a boat bearer carrying the boat, a receptacle which contains the unburned incense. Incense is taken from the boat and, after being blessed with a prayer, is spooned on red-hot coals. The thurible is then swung toward the people or objects being reverenced. In the Latin Rite, the thurible is swung in groups of three to represent the Persons of the Holy Trinity. The number of swings depends on the sanctity of the object being reverenced and whether the person is alive or dead, clergy or laity and a cleric’s rank within the hierarchy. Traditionally, incense can be used to reverence the bread and wine offered for the Eucharist, the consecrated Eucharist, the Gospel during its proclamation, the crucifix, icons in Eastern Churches, clergy, the congregation, the Paschal candle and the body of the deceased person during a funeral. It is also used during processions. Additionally, five grains of blessed incense are placed in the Paschal Candle as a reminder of Christ’s wounds. Banns of marriage are the public announcement in a Christian parish of an impending marriage between two persons. The word “bann” comes from the Old English verb “bannan” which means “to proclaim.” As such, banns as we know them today are proclamations intended to enable anyone to raise canonical or civil legal impediments to the marriage and, thus, prevent invalid marriages from occurring. Such impediments include a preexisting marriage that has not been dissolved or annulled, a vow of celibacy, lack of consent, or the couple being related within the prohibited degree of kinship.
The original Cannon law requiring banns to be read, which was designed to prevent clandestine marriages, was decreed in 1215 at the Lateran IV Council. On November 11, 1563, the Council of Trent made the provisions for banns more precise. It required that before the celebration of marriage the names of the contracting parties must be announced publicly in church during Mass by the parish priests of both parties on three consecutive Holy Days, Sundays being included as Holy Days. Traditionally, the banns were read from the pulpit and were also published in the parish bulletin. Complications arose under this system for marriages between a Catholic and a non-Catholic as the non-Catholic would not have a Catholic parish in which the banns could be read. In the 14th century, marriage licenses were introduced to allow the usual period under the banns to be waived. This was accompanied by the required payment of a fee and a sworn declaration that there was no canonical impediment to the marriage. These first marriage licenses were usually issued by an archbishop, bishop or archdeacon and could be sought for many reasons: wishing to avoid the three week delay, desire to be married in a church other than your home parish or as a status symbol because of the cost associated with obtaining a marriage license. By the late 20th century, greater mobility had limited the usefulness of banns to determine impediments to marriage. Because of this, the 1983 Code of Canon Law stated that the norms regarding publication of banns should be established by individual national bishops’ conferences. However, although it is no longer required by Canon Law, many parishes still publish banns of marriage in their weekly bulletin. Pentecost is a Christian holiday which occurs fifty days after Easter. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles following Christ’s Ascension to heaven. According to the Gospel of Luke, the first Pentecost occurred during the Jewish feast of Shavuot, also called the Feast of Weeks, celebrating the giving of the Law to Moses at Mount Sinai. Tradition holds that it occurred in a room called the Cenacle, which is the same Upper Room where the Last Supper and the Institution of the Eucharist took place. Pentecost is also referred to as the “Birthday of the Church” because it is the day when the Apostles first preached the Good News publicly to those in Jerusalem.
Traditionally, the color red has been used during liturgical celebrations to symbolize joy and the fire of the Holy Spirit. It is worn by priests and other ministers and is used in church decorations. Similarly, red flowers such as roses and geraniums are often used to decorate the altar and other places in the church. During the Middle Ages, Holy Ghost holes could be found in many churches. These are small circular openings in the roof which, on Pentecost, were decorated with flowers. During Mass on Pentecost, a dove would be lowered through the hole into the church to symbolize the Holy Spirit descending. Many countries have traditions associated with Pentecost. In German-speaking lands in Central Europe, green branches, traditionally birch branches, are used to decorate churches. In Italy, rose petals are scattered from the ceiling as a symbol of the fiery tongues which descended upon the Apostles. In France, it is customary to blow trumpets to recall the sound of the mighty wind in the Upper Room. In England, Pentecost is referred to as “Whitsunday.” This name comes from the word “wit” and refers to the wit and wisdom the Apostles received from the Holy Spirit. In northwest England, church parades called Whit Walks are held. These parades contain brass bands and choirs and girls who attend wear white. Other English traditions on Whitsunday include Whit Fairs (also called Whitsun Ales), morris dancing and cheese rolling. Flores de Mayo is a festival held in the Philippines during the month of May. It is devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary and lasts the entire month of May. Flores de Mayo began after the proclamation of the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception in 1854. The name comes from the Spanish for “flowers of May” and can also be called Flores de Maria (“flowers of Mary”) or Álay (Filipino for “offering”). The Santacruzan (form the Spanish for “Holy Cross”) is a ritual pageant held on the final day of the festival. It honors the finding of the True Cross by St. Helena.
Celebrations vary throughout the Philippines. In the Bicol Region, celebrations are held every Wednesday and Saturday. The ritual begins by reciting the rosary, followed by reciting the Salve Regina and the Litany of Loreto. Afterwards, children are given simple snacks. In Western Visayas, children gather in a chapel or a church to offer flowers to Mary and receive a simple catechism about the life and story of Mary, Christian doctrines and values. They are also taught prayers and songs unique to Flores de Mayo, a tradition reminiscent of the Fatima apparition. The children also receive snacks and, in some places, tickets which can be redeemed for school supplies. In Batangas, the main celebration is the Luglugan. This is a nightly devotion and party honoring Mary. Flowers and prayers are offered to Mary followed by a party, which is hosted by a different family each night. The culmination of Flores de Mayo is the Santacruzan, a religio-historical beauty pageant and parade depicting the finding of the True Cross by St. Helena. It is the most colorful of the festival celebrations and many movie and television stars participate in the major Santacruzan. Prior to the pageant, a novena is held in honor of the Holy Cross. Pageant participants represent two different groups. The first represent biblical figures and traditional personifications such as the Queen of Sheba, Judith, Cleopatra and the Queens of Faith, Hope and Charity. The second group wear costumes which allude to a title of Mary or a figure associated with her. The last member of the procession is always the Reyna Elena, or Queen Helena, who carries a crucifix in her arms and is accompanied by a small boy playing Constantine the Great. The role is the most prestigious and is often awarded to the most beautiful girl or important matron in the town. In many towns, the identity of Queen Helena is a closely guarded secret. The entire procession is accompanied by a brass band playing the Dios te Salve with devotees walking along the route signing the prayer and holding candles. A Mary Garden is a small, sacred garden enclosing a statue or shrine of the Virgin Mary. It is most commonly associated with denominations which hold Mary in special esteem, particularly among Roman Catholics and Anglicans. Mary Gardens can be of any size, from a small indoor pot to a large plot of land outdoors. The statue of Mary is central and is surrounded by flowers, shrubs and trees associated with legends of Mary and may include benches and a location in which to light votive candles. Devotion is shown to Mary in two ways: through designing, building and maintain the garden and through attendance, contemplation and prayer in the garden. In this way, Mary Gardens are similar to the Buddhist tradition of Zen gardens, although Zen gardens are never dedicated to a specific person as Mary Gardens are. Mary Gardens originated among the monasteries and convents of medieval Europe. People in the Middle Ages saw reminders of Mary in the flowers and herbs growing around them and recalled stories associated with the various plants. The first reference to a garden specifically dedicated to Mary is that of St. Fiacre, the patron saint of gardening, in 7th century France. At his hospice for the poor and infirm, he planted a garden around the oratory dedicated to Mary. St. Mary’s Gold, another name for the calendula, is the first recorded instance of a flower named after Mary, found in a 1373 English recipe for a drink to ward of plague. Frances Crane Little established the first public Mary Garden in the United States in 1932 at St. Joseph’s Church in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. She was inspired by the symbolic flowers and herbs she encountered during a visit to England. This garden inspired Edward McTague and John Stokes to establish their own Mary’s Gardens in Philadelphis in 1951. These gardens served as a project to research flowers associated with Mary and to make seeds and information available to start Mary Gardens throughout the United States. Almost any flower or herb can be used in a Mary Garden, but several have specific Marian legends associated with them. Some of the more famous include:
Traditionally, the month of May has been associated with devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary. This practice is believed to have originated in Italy in the 17th century where it was observed with floral processions and crownings of Marian statues and icons. By the 19th century, this devotion had spread to the entire Roman Catholic Church. May was probably chosen because several Marian feasts currently occur or used to occur during May: Our Lady, Queen of Apostles (Saturda after the Ascension); Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament (May 13); Our Lady of Fatima (May 13); Mary, Help of Christians (May 24); Mary, Mediatrix of All Graces (May 31); and the Visitation (May 31). Additionally, four approved Marian apparitions occurred during May: the 1830 appearance to St. Catherine Laboure; the 1846 appearance to the children of La Salette, France; the 1858 appearance to St. Bernadette at Lourdes, France; and the 1917 appearance at Fatima, Portugal.
Mary has long been named as “Queen of Heaven and Earth.” In addition, Mary has held the title “Queen of May” in many countries, as reflected in many traditional Marian hymns. These titles were confirmed by Pope Piux XII in his 1954 encyclical Ad Caeli Reginam in which he established the feast of the Queenship of Mary to be celebrated on May 31. (The celebration of this feast was later transferred to August 22.) In Eastern churches, crowning Mary involved adding ornamentation to icons of Mary. This practice was honored by Pope Clement VIII when he added crowns to the Marian icon “Salus Populus Romani” in the St. Mary Major Basilica. In the western Church, parishes and private groups often process and crown an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary with flowers. This can be done on any solemnity or feast of Mary, but, in many countries, it takes place on May 1st. In the United States, it has become traditional to crown Mary on or around Mother’s Day. There is no official rite for a May Crowning ceremony, but it often consists of singing Marian hymns and reciting prayers such as the Litany of Loreto. The climax of the ceremony involves placing a crown of flowers on Mary’s head. This crown is often carried by a younger girl with Mary being crowned by the “May queen,” often one of the oldest girls. The traditional flowers used for the crown are hawthorn flowers, which are considered a symbol of hope, however many different flowers are used in contemporary practice. The flowers are often replaced with fresh flowers throughout the month. Basilica is a Latin term which comes from the Greek basilike which means royal and literally means “royal palace” or “hall of the king.” Originally, it described an ancient Roman public buildings where courts and other public functions were held. For ancient Roman it served the same function as a town hall would today. Every Roman city had one, and it was generally centrally located, usually adjacent to the main forum. Roman basilicas were rectangular in shape with a tall central nave and shorter aisles with raised platforms at one or both ends where the judges would sit during court. The taller nave allowed for a row of windows to be incorporated above the aisles, a feature known as a clerestory, creating an open, light-filled space. This style of architecture also was incorporated into imperial palaces as a meeting hall, with a throne being placed at one end for the use of the emperor.
Following the decriminalization of Christianity under the Edict of Milan in AD 313, Christians were prepared to build larger, more public worship spaces than had previously been used. In looking for a model, temples were rejected due to the darkness of the interior and their association with pagan religions. However, basilicas were deemed an acceptable model as they were not used for pagan religious functions. Early churches of this type followed the same basic plan as secular basilicas, with an altar replacing the throne at one of end of the basilica. Emperor Constantine ordered the addition of a transept perpendicular to the nave to create the form of a cross. The first of these imperial basilicas was St. John Lateran, which was given to the Bishop of Rome around the time of the Edict of Milan. These basilicas often stood behind an enclosed forecourt ringed with a colonnade or arcade. Today, churches in this style are referred to as architectural basilicas The term “basilica” can also refer to ecclesiastical basilicas. These are large and important Roman Catholic churches which have been given special ceremonial rights by the Pope. The first of these were created in 1300 when Pope Boniface VIII coined the term “major basilica” for St. Peter’s Basilica and St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome. This was a Holy Year, and pilgrims could gain an indulgence through visiting these two churches and confessing their sins. During subsequent jubilees, the title of major basilica was extended to St. John Lateran and St. Mary Major, also both in Rome, due to their historic nature as the cathedral of the Bishop of Rome and the oldest church dedicated to the Virgin Mary in Rome. In the 18th century, the classification of “minor basilica” was created as a way of designating important churches while distinguishing them from the four major basilicas. This designation is conferred only by papal brief and entitles the basilica to certain privileges including precedence over other churches in a diocese with the exception of the cathedral; the right to use the conopaeum (a baldachin resembling an umbrella) and a bell (called a tintinnabulum) during processions on important occasions; and the right to include the papal symbol of the crossed keys on banners, furnishings and the basilica’s seal. As of June 30, 2016, there are four major basilicas and 1,748 minor basilicas, the majority of which are in Europe and including 82 in the United States. A litany is a form of prayer used in services and processions. It consists of a number of petitions and usually takes the form of a petition read by the leader with a response by everyone else. The name comes from the Latin litania via the Greek lite meaning “supplication.” The original form of the litany was probably the frequent repetition of the Kyrie, which was in use in Asia and Rome from a very early date. The number of repetitions was dependent on the celebrant. It is still used today at the consecration of a church while the relics to be placed in the altar are carried in procession around the church.
In the 5th century, public devotions and processions became more frequent and took the name litany. In Rome, the pope and the people would go on procession to a different church each day, especially during Lent. This is the origin of the Roman “Stations” during Lent and the “Litania Major” which takes place on April 25. Each of these features a procession during which the Litany of the Saints is recited. In 477, the “Litania Minor”, which took place the week before the Ascension, was introduced in France to pray for fewer earthquakes and calamities. A similar litany was held in Spain the week after Pentecost. Because of their popularity, numerous variations of the litanies were developed. These included litanies in honor of God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Ghost, the Precious Blood, the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Immaculate Conception, various patron saints, the souls in Purgatory and more. By 1601, there were about 80 different litanies in publication. Consequently, and to prevent abuses, on September 6, 1601 Pope Clement VIII forbade the publication of any litanies other than the Litany of the Saints and the Litany of Loreto (also known as the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary). Later, litanies of the Holy Name of Jesus, the Sacred Heart, the Precious Blood and St. Joseph were approved for use. Other litanies are used in private prayer but are not approved for public recitation. The Chaplet of the Divine Mercy is a Christian devotion to the Divine Mercy. It is based on apparitions of Jesus reported by St. Faustina Kowalska, Polish mystic and religious sister of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy. The chaplet is often said as a rosary-based prayer which uses the same set of beads that are used to recite the Holy Rosary. The chaplet is about a third of the length of the Rosary, and its structure has remained unchanged since St. Faustina received it. It can also be recited without the use of beads and is often accompanied by veneration of the Divine Mercy Image. On September 13, 1935, St. Faustina recorded in her diary that she had a vision of Jesus during which he asked her to pray the chaplet and instruct others to do so. According to her diary, the chaplet’s prayers for mercy are intended to obtain mercy, to trust in Christ’s mercy and to show mercy to others. St. Faustina wrote that Jesus promised that all who recite this chaplet at the hour of death or in the presence of the dying will receive great mercy. Traditionally, the chaplet may be said at any time, but it is said especially on Divine Mercy Sunday (the Sunday after Easter) and Fridays at 3:00 PM (the hour Jesus died by crucifixion, called the Hour of Mercy). As a novena, it is usually said each of the nine days from Good Friday to Divine Mercy Sunday. St. John Paul II was instrumental in extending the devotion to the Divine Mercy worldwide and promoted it in a Papal Blessing in 2001. For more information about the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy and how to pray it, visit the USCCB page. Easter Vigil is the first official celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus and is celebrated in Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran and Orthodox churches. Historically, during this service people are baptized and adult catechumens are received into full communion with the Church. Easter vigil is the most important vigil and liturgy of the liturgical year and high point of the Triduum. As a vigil, it begins after sunset on Holy Saturday and must conclude before sunrise on Easter Sunday. Liturgically, the new day begins at sunset so it is the first celebration of the feast of Easter.
In the Roman Rite, the Easter Vigil consist of four parts: the Service of Light, the Liturgy of the Word, Christian Initiation & the Renewal of Baptismal Vows, and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. The Service of Light symbolizes Christ passing from the darkness of the tomb to the light of new life. The congregation assembles in front of a fire which is blessed. The Easter, or Paschal, candle is lit from this fire and carried through the darkened church with smaller candles being lit from it. When the procession reaches the sanctuary, the Exsultet or Easter Proclamation is sung. The Liturgy of the Word begins with seven readings from the Old Testament. These readings allow the congregation to meditate on the wonderful things God has done for his people from the beginning. Each reading is followed by a responsorial psalm or canticle and a short reading which relates the reading to the mystery of Christ. Following these readings, the Gloria is sung, the lights in the church are turned on and the altar candles are lit. This is followed by a reading from the Epistle to the Romans followed by Psalm 118. The Alleluia is sung for the first time since Lent began, and the Gospel is proclaimed. The Liturgy of the Word concludes with the homily. During the celebration of Christian Initiation, new members of the Church are baptized and adult catechumens receive the sacrament of Confirmation. As part of this ceremony, a tub of water is blessed using the Easter candle. This provides holy water for the coming year. After the celebration of these sacraments, all present renew their baptismal promises and are sprinkled with holy water. The Eater Vigil then concludes with the Liturgy of the Eucharist which is celebrated as during a regular Sunday Mass. At this time, the newly baptized and confirmed receive their first Eucharist. |
ABOUTSt. Peter Parish is a Roman Catholic faith community. The purpose of this blog is to help parishioners and community members come to a better understanding of our Catholic faith and traditions. Spotify Top Christian TracksArchives
June 2017
Categories
All
|