Dear friends,
Happy feast of Christ the King! Today we enter into the last week of Ordinary Time before gearing up for Advent. As we consider the end of the liturgical year, its worth reflecting on how all of its seasons serve a singular purpose: to prepare us for the coming of Christ and help us to welcome Him as our King.
This Sunday I mentioned one of my favorite quotes from the first book of The Chronicles of Narnia:
“Aslan is a lion- the Lion, the great Lion.” “Ooh” said Susan. “I’d thought he was a man. Is he-quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion”…”Safe?” said Mr Beaver …”Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (C.S. Lewis)
And it’s true: Christ isn’t safe – and who would want Him to be ‘safe’ anyway?!? But He is good, and He is King. The only thing He is lacking is our invitation to demonstrate the goodness of His reign in our lives, here and in eternity.
Of course, looking down the road isn’t only about the Four Last Things! One of the preparations for Advent is transitioning to a new Mass setting. For this Advent (and later on, Lent), we will be using the Kyriale Mass XVII. Though it is more complex than the Mass setting we’ve used in the past (called the Missa Primitiva [Latin] in our Source & Summit missals), it’s not too difficult!
I’ve been doing some practice (the priest leads the Kyrie, so I’ve had some homework) and it definitely has some handy repetition and patterns, particularly in the last half of each ‘eléison’. I highly recommend the video above, along with the modern notation (which is what is in our missals). Rest assured that I’ll be pitching things a bit down – and keeping the pace up. Singability is just as much my priority as anyone else’s! I’m excited to learn this new setting with you all.
May the Lord bless you as we move into the new year. Rest assured of my prayers for you.
yours in Christ,
Father Maurer
P.S. Our December movie nights are coming up – if you’re planning on coming, visit our online poll to vote on or suggest which movies we should watch!
November 26 – Today is the final Sunday in Ordinary Time – the solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. The celebration is relatively new, established in the early 20th century by Pope Pius XI as a response against growing secularism. Read more at the Vatican News website.
November 30 – Today is the feast of the apostle Saint Andrew. We know relatively little about him: that he was Saint Peter’s brother, that they were called together, that he was the one who spoke up about the boy who had the loaves & fishes. Legend has it that he was crucified on an X-shaped cross, thus his depiction holding a X-shaped cross. Read more at Aleteia.
December 1 – Its our first movie night! We’ll be watching Last Holiday – one of my favorite Christmas movies – in Sullivan Hall at 6:30 pm. I hope you’ll join in the fun!
December 2 – Today is the Saint Mark Catholic Classical School Cookie Exchange & Bake Sale! If you the baking type, there are two ways you can take part – exchanging baked goods you’ve made for others and/or purchasing baked goods. It should be a tasty time 🙂