REPOST: Information for the Feast of the Epiphany Jan 6 in the EF Calendar (2nd Sunday after New Years in O.F.)

REPOSTED FROM Jan 6, 2013 (http://torontotlmserving.blogspot.ca/2013/01/blessed-chalk-facts-about-feast-of.html) with slight changes for this year of 2017:

FYI .... Missa Canata/Sung High Mass for Epiphany @ 0930h/am tomorrow, Jan 6, 2017, with blessing of Epiphany Holy Water in the EF at 0915h/am in Mississauga (Toronto proper), at Carmel Heights Retirement Home chapel. Celebrant is veteran priest to the EF Mass in Toronto, Fr. Russell Asch. 

Hello Everyone,

I decided for this Sunday's liturgical feast, that of the Epiphany, because both the Ordinary and the Extraordiary Forms' calendars are in rare sync, and there are some fun and family-freindy Traditional Catholic practices associated with this feast day (that in my opinion SHOULD be resurrected by Catholic families everywhere), I bring to you some information on this feast day, including the traditions herein in the Church.

The information I bring to you, comes from a word document I created for myself that is for my info, but also for my future children someday to teach them about major liturgical calendar days of the year. Here I share with you one portion: That of the Feast of the Epiphany:

Feast of the Epiphany

When? – Usually January 6 in both forms, however in the Novus Ordo it is usually moved to the Sunday near it after Christmas.

What? – From Crossroads Initiative of Dr. Marcellino D’Ambrosio: “The Solemn feast of the Epiphany of the Lord, traditionally occurs on January 6 following the twelve days of Christmas.  Epiphany commemorates three scriptural events: the visit of the Magi to the stable of Bethlehem following the nativity of Jesus, Christ's Baptism in the Jordan, and his first miracle at the wedding feast at Cana.  This Epiphany article focuses on the significance of the Magi or three wise men who follow the star in search of the King of kings.”

Also from Archbishop Terrence Prendergast of the Diocese of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: “The Epiphany celebrates the peoples of the world coming to know God's Son as their Saviour. In the words of Ephesians concerning Jesus' death and resurrection, thereby 'the Gentiles have become fellow heirs [with believing Jews], members of the same body [the Church, Christ's Body], and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel'.”

From the 1962 Baronius Press Missal:

“The word “epiphany” means “manifestation.” The Church in the Mass, commemorates a triple manifestation of Christ: to the Magi, that is, to the Gentiles; in His Baptism, when the Voice from "Heaven declared: “This is My Beloved Son”; and in the miracle of changing the water into wine at Cana.”

Source: January 6, The Epiphany of Our Lord. The Daily Missal and Liturgical Missal with Vespers For Sundays and Feasts From the Editio Typica of the Roman Missal and Breviary, 1962 With Supplements Containing The Additional Masses for Englang and Wales, Scotland, United States and Australasia. Summorum Pontificum Edition. Baronius Press: London. 2009. p.237.

Notes:

1. It is this part of the season of Advent liturgically where we are introduced to the “Wise Men/Kings” in the readings. People think the wise men are associated with Christmas. They are in the SEASON of Advent or more traditionally known as the Octave of Christmas, but not Christmas (the Feast of the Nativity) itself.

2. This is a HOLY DAY OF OBLIGATION according to the Catechism. In other parts of the world this feast day might be transferred to the previous Sunday before the 6^th. Regardless, the Catholic obligation to Mass must be obeyed, Sunday or not:

The Sunday Eucharist

2177 The Sunday celebration of the Lord’s Day and his Eucharist is at the heart of the Church’s life. “Sunday is the day on which the paschal mystery is celebrated in light of the apostolic tradition and is to be observed as the foremost holy day of obligation in the universal Church.”¹¹⁰

“Also to be observed are the day of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Epiphany, the Ascension of Christ, the feast of the Body and Blood of Christi, the feast of Mary the Mother of God, her Immaculate Conception, her Assumption, the feast of Saint Joseph, the feast of the Apostles Saints Peter and Paul, and the feast of All Saints.”¹¹¹

Sources:

SCRIPTURAL PASSAGES:

Extraordinary Form

Isaiah 60:1-6 and Matthew 2:1-12

Novus Ordo

Also Isaiah 60:1-6, Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6 and Matthew 2:1-12. No change from the EF except for the addition of a 2^nd reading for the NO liturgy.

Benedict XVI, Pope. Homily of His Holiness Benedict XVI Vatican Basilica Thursday Jan 6, 2010. Online. Available: [http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/homilies/2011/documents/hf_ben-xvi_hom_20110106_epifania_en.html]. 14 Jan 2010.

http://www.crossroadsinitiative.com/library_article/371/Feast_of_Epiphany.html 

http://archbishopterry.blogspot.com/2011/01/manifestation-of-lord-to-nations.html

TRADITIONAL CATHOLIC EPIPHANY TRADITION FOR FAMILY

Blessed Chalk Writing with Epiphany Holy Water blessing - http://www.churchyear.net/epiphany.html -  

"Various customs have developed around Epiphany. In the East, there is a solemn blessing of water. In the West, in the Middle Ages, houses were blessed on Epiphany. Holy water was sprinkled in each room. The whole family was involved. The father led the procession with a shovel of charcoal on which he burned incense and the oldest son had the bowl of holy water. The rest of the family followed along saying the rosary and/or singing hymns. While the father and oldest son were incensing and blessing the house, the youngest child carried a plate of chalk. The chalk had been blessed with a special blessing after morning Mass. The father took the blessed chalk and wrote over every room that led outside: 20 + C + M + B + 08 which stands for "Anno Domini 2008 -- Caspar, Melchior, Balthasar" and means "The three Holy Kings, Caspar, Melchior, Balthasar, in the year of Our Lord, 2008" or whatever the year may be. The letters C, M, and B are also thought to stand for Christus mansionem benedicat, meaning "Christ bless this home." This tradition of blessing the doorways symbolizes the family's commitment to welcome Christ into their homes on a daily basis through the year."

So guess what? It's not just a "Middle Ages" tradition to be left back in the 1400's, you can do this beautiful family tradition as well! My [former] serving ally Robin provided this photo on our Latin Mass associated facebook group so I hope he does not mind me posting this here. Here is the picture with instructions as to what the priest or the head of the household (Father usually speaking) is to do with the blessed chalk and Epiphany holy water, though note one correction: The number at the end should be 13 17 to mark the year as 2013 2017:

Now you may be asking what to do about how to get that chalk blessed? Well, Domincan Priest Dom Mark Kirby  at Vultus Christi - http://vultus.stblogs.org/2013/01/epiphany-blessing-of-chalk-and.html - Provides us with the appropriate prayer in English that a priest should use to bless the chalk:

Blessing of Chalk
V. Our help is the name of the Lord.
R. Who made heaven and earth.
V. The Lord be with you.
R. And with thy spirit.
Let us pray.
Bless, O Lord God, this creature chalk
to render it helpful to Thy people.
Grant that they who use it in faith
and with it inscribe upon the doors of their homes
the names of Thy saints, Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar,
may through their merits and intercession
enjoy health of body and protection of soul.
Through Christ our Lord.
And the chalk is sprinkled with Holy Water.

Do note there are the special prayers/blessings in Latin that your EF priest/parish will use from the Rituale Romanum 1962 (see the link below), and for sure you can count on those blessings! So do to try to go to an EF priest/parish for those items (Epiphany Holy Water and the Chalk) if possible. However, do not hesitate if all you can get is Novus Ordo chalk/holy water and blessings from Novus Ordo priests.

By the way, a note on the Epiphany Holy Water. This is likely difficult to obtain and you may have to settle for regular holy water. This special type of Holy Water needs to be blessed the eve before the Epiphany and has its own special blessing/prayers. See here - http://www.sanctamissa.org/en/resources/books-1962/rituale-romanum/48-blessings-for-special-days-and-feasts.html

Regardless, have fun and make this a Catholic Tradition your family will uphold every year. If Christ blesses me with marriage and a family, I will certainly want to do this. Pax, Julian. 

Finally! His Eminence Cardinal Thomas Collins' 3 Minute Intervention at #Synod15!

Skimming through blogs, I came to First Things, which is covering #Synod15 in an interesting style, akin to Fr. Francis Zavier Murphy with Vatican II.

Under a fictional pen name, Xavier Rynne II, an author is being given much information and coverage, of the Ordinary Synod on the Family 2015. While we don't know this reporter/editoralist's name, he/she is gaining a wealth of information, and even cardinals' own 3 minute speeches (the "interventions") published online. For more, including past articles, please see this website on first things: http://www.firstthings.com/tag/synod2015

Well .... Finally it is here!!! Allow me to be the first to bring the scoop to the SCCB!!!! His Eminence, Thomas Cardinal Collins, has finally given his 3 minute intervention in the Synod. While we were gobbling turkey this weekend, ++Collins delivered the the intervention on Saturday Oct 10. Xavier Rynne II has just included it as part of their latest report on First Things, given today this morning. I repost it here in full, to break the scoop.

If you choose to include it in your blog post, feel free to link to either one of our blogs (but if you choose mine, please credit First Things and XR2 for the original publishing, and S.U.D. for breaking the scoop.) 

Enjoy this good morning wakeup!!! Pax tibi Christi, Julian Barkin. 

Cardinal Collins on the Art of Accompaniment

The following intervention was given to the general assembly of the Synod of bishops on Saturday, October 10, by Cardinal Thomas Collins, the Archbishop of Toronto, with special reference to section 110 of the Synod’sInstrumentum Laboris:

We are called to accompany people with a compassion that challenges, and that leads to conversion and to a heart on fire for Christ. Here are some ways to do that:

1. Pastors, who must daily accompany their people in their struggles, should imitate Jesus on the road to Emmaus, and with clarity and charity preach the call to conversion, which is the foundation for the liberating message of Jesus “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17).

2. The Gospel message is entrusted to us; but our greater task is to form messengers, for all the faithful are called to the apostolate, especially parents entrusted with the evangelization of their children.

3. Men in particular need to be challenged in order to assume their responsibilities in society, so that the young are not deprived of paternal models to guide them along the sure path that can sustain their hope.

4. Young people should be presented with the fullness of God’s plan for human love, with all of its challenges and its invitation to heroic sanctity. Pastoral experience shows that they rise to this challenge with a reaction similar to the disciples of Emmaus: “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the scriptures?” (Luke 24:32).

Our mission is to make disciples, but secular culture is more effective in unmaking them. This is nowhere more evident than in the secular vision of the family, of sexuality, of gender, of fidelity, and of the human person.

We must certainly start where people are at, in their subjective personal situations, and accompany them. But to do so with evangelical integrity, we must effectively share with them the objective truths of Sacred Scripture and Tradition, which challenge the secular assumptions that they draw in with the air they breathe. The goal is to form missionary disciples within the family who will evangelize the world.

“Go, make disciples” (Matthew 28:19). That is the mandate Jesus gives us at the end of the Gospel of Matthew. In Luke, on the road to Emmaus, he shows us how to do so.

First, he drew near, and accompanied his downcast disciples as they walked in the wrong direction, into the night. He started by asking questions about their present disposition and by listening to them, but he did not stop there. Instead, he challenged them with the Word of God: “Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared!” (Luke 24:25). His presentation of the objective vision of Scripture broke through their subjective self-absorption and, along with his loving presence, brought them to conversion. The disciples of Emmaus accepted the Word of God that challenged them, and asked Jesus to remain with them. When the Lord was made known to them in the Breaking of the Bread they changed direction and, with burning hearts, raced through the night to Jerusalem to bear joyful witness to the community gathered there.

Off the Beaten Path: #howtodad ad for Cheerios

Hello Everyone,

Time to take a break from my usual posts, and go off the beaten path. While viewing my blogs, this advertisement popped up in the side screen:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GYxH2-WeZY

What makes this video so epic? Well it's a salute in an advertisement that hails all fathers out there, but also large families.

Watch the whole thing from start to finish. In the video, this guy has 4 kids. That's right, 4! That is a statement in itself where most families are not procreating enough, especially Catholic families. Further, this dad is NOT a bumbling idiot as portrayed by the man-sterilizing, anti-male, misandrist media and society. No, rather he's protector, advice giver, multi-tasker, and man-in-command of this house as he associates with all the members he's got.

Kudos to General Mills and their latest advertisement for Cheerios. If you aren't a organic foods/health nut, then go buy a box of Cheerios and let them know you did it because of this ad. Especially you Catholics!

Pax, Julian.

Blessed Chalk! Facts about the Feast of the Epiphany in the Octave of Christmas

Hello Everyone,

I decided for this Sunday's liturgical feast, that of the Epiphany, because both the Ordinary and the Extraordiary Forms' calendars are in rare sync, and there are some fun and family-freindy Traditional Catholic practices associated with this feast day (that in my opinion SHOULD be resurrected by Catholic families everywhere), I bring to you some information on this feast day, including the traditions herein in the Church.

The information I bring to you, comes from a word document I created for myself that is for my info, but also for my future children someday to teach them about major liturgical calendar days of the year. Here I share with you one portion: That of the Feast of the Epiphany:

Feast of the Epiphany

When? – Usually January 6 in both forms, however in the Novus Ordo it is usually moved to the Sunday near it after Christmas.

What? – From Crossroads Initiative of Dr. Marcellino D’Ambrosio: “The Solemn feast of the Epiphany of the Lord, traditionally occurs on January 6 following the twelve days of Christmas.  Epiphany commemorates three scriptural events: the visit of the Magi to the stable of Bethlehem following the nativity of Jesus, Christ's Baptism in the Jordan, and his first miracle at the wedding feast at Cana.  This Epiphany article focuses on the significance of the Magi or three wise men who follow the star in search of the King of kings.”

Also from Archbishop Terrence Prendergast of the Diocese of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: “The Epiphany celebrates the peoples of the world coming to know God's Son as their Saviour. In the words of Ephesians concerning Jesus' death and resurrection, thereby 'the Gentiles have become fellow heirs [with believing Jews], members of the same body [the Church, Christ's Body], and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel'.”

From the 1962 Baronius Press Missal:

“The word “epiphany” means “manifestation.” The Church in the Mass, commemorates a triple manifestation of Christ: to the Magi, that is, to the Gentiles; in His Baptism, when the Voice from "Heaven declared: “This is My Beloved Son”; and in the miracle of changing the water into wine at Cana.”

Source: January 6, The Epiphany of Our Lord. The Daily Missal and Liturgical Missal with Vespers For Sundays and Feasts From the Editio Typica of the Roman Missal and Breviary, 1962 With Supplements Containing The Additional Masses for Englang and Wales, Scotland, United States and Australasia. Summorum Pontificum Edition. Baronius Press: London. 2009. p.237.

Notes:

1. It is this part of the season of Advent liturgically where we are introduced to the “Wise Men/Kings” in the readings. People think the wise men are associated with Christmas. They are in the SEASON of Advent or more traditionally known as the Octave of Christmas, but not Christmas (the Feast of the Nativity) itself.

2. This is a HOLY DAY OF OBLIGATION according to the Catechism. In other parts of the world this feast day might be transferred to the previous Sunday before the 6^th. Regardless, the Catholic obligation to Mass must be obeyed, Sunday or not:

The Sunday Eucharist

2177 The Sunday celebration of the Lord’s Day and his Eucharist is at the heart of the Church’s life. “Sunday is the day on which the paschal mystery is celebrated in light of the apostolic tradition and is to be observed as the foremost holy day of obligation in the universal Church.”¹¹⁰

“Also to be observed are the day of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Epiphany, the Ascension of Christ, the feast of the Body and Blood of Christi, the feast of Mary the Mother of God, her Immaculate Conception, her Assumption, the feast of Saint Joseph, the feast of the Apostles Saints Peter and Paul, and the feast of All Saints.”¹¹¹

Sources:

SCRIPTURAL PASSAGES:

Extraordinary Form

Isaiah 60:1-6 and Matthew 2:1-12

Novus Ordo

Also Isaiah 60:1-6, Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6 and Matthew 2:1-12. No change from the EF except for the addition of a 2^nd reading for the NO liturgy.

Benedict XVI, Pope. Homily of His Holiness Benedict XVI Vatican Basilica Thursday Jan 6, 2010. Online. Available: [http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/homilies/2011/documents/hf_ben-xvi_hom_20110106_epifania_en.html]. 14 Jan 2010.

http://www.crossroadsinitiative.com/library_article/371/Feast_of_Epiphany.html 

http://archbishopterry.blogspot.com/2011/01/manifestation-of-lord-to-nations.html

TRADITIONAL CATHOLIC EPIPHANY TRADITION FOR FAMILY

Blessed Chalk Writing with Epiphany Holy Water blessing - http://www.churchyear.net/epiphany.html -  

"Various customs have developed around Epiphany. In the East, there is a solemn blessing of water. In the West, in the Middle Ages, houses were blessed on Epiphany. Holy water was sprinkled in each room. The whole family was involved. The father led the procession with a shovel of charcoal on which he burned incense and the oldest son had the bowl of holy water. The rest of the family followed along saying the rosary and/or singing hymns. While the father and oldest son were incensing and blessing the house, the youngest child carried a plate of chalk. The chalk had been blessed with a special blessing after morning Mass. The father took the blessed chalk and wrote over every room that led outside: 20 + C + M + B + 08 which stands for "Anno Domini 2008 -- Caspar, Melchior, Balthasar" and means "The three Holy Kings, Caspar, Melchior, Balthasar, in the year of Our Lord, 2008" or whatever the year may be. The letters C, M, and B are also thought to stand for Christus mansionem benedicat, meaning "Christ bless this home." This tradition of blessing the doorways symbolizes the family's commitment to welcome Christ into their homes on a daily basis through the year."

So guess what? It's not just a "Middle Ages" tradition to be left back in the 1400's, you can do this beautiful family tradition as well! My serving ally Robin provided this photo on our Latin Mass associated facebook group so I hope he does not mind me posting this here. Here is the picture with instructions as to what the priest or the head of the household (Father usually speaking) is to do with the blessed chalk and Epiphany holy water, though note one correction: The number at the end should be 13 to mark the year as 2013:

Now you may be asking what to do about how to get that chalk blessed? Well, domincan Priest Dom Mark Kirby  at Vultus Christi - http://vultus.stblogs.org/2013/01/epiphany-blessing-of-chalk-and.html - Provides us with the appropriate prayer in English that a priest should use to bless the chalk:

Blessing of Chalk
V. Our help is the name of the Lord.
R. Who made heaven and earth.
V. The Lord be with you.
R. And with thy spirit.
Let us pray.
Bless, O Lord God, this creature chalk
to render it helpful to Thy people.
Grant that they who use it in faith
and with it inscribe upon the doors of their homes
the names of Thy saints, Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar,
may through their merits and intercession
enjoy health of body and protection of soul.
Through Christ our Lord.
And the chalk is sprinkled with Holy Water.

Do note there are the special prayers/blessings in Latin that your EF priest/parish will use from the Rituale Romanum 1962 (see the link below), and for sure you can count on those blessings! So do to try to go to an EF priest/parish for those items (Epiphany Holy Water and the Chalk) if possible. However, do not hesitate if all you can get is Novus Ordo chalk/holy water and blessings from Novus Ordo priests.

By the way, a note on the Epiphany Holy Water. This is likely difficult to obtain and you may have to settle for regular holy water. This special type of Holy Water needs to be blessed the eve before the Epiphany and has its own special blessing/prayers. See here - http://www.sanctamissa.org/en/resources/books-1962/rituale-romanum/48-blessings-for-special-days-and-feasts.html

Regardless, have fun and make this a Catholic Tradition your family will uphold every year. If Christ blesses me with marriage and a family, I will certainly want to do this. Pax, Julian. 

Off the Beaten Path: What a Catholic Parent Should Adopt with Regards to Giving Children Technology

Hello to all of you,

For those of you who are parents who are traditionally Catholic or attend the Latin Masses, or just devoutly Catholic, many of you are likely highly devoted to your families and actually practice what is desired of us by the Church with regard to our families: Making them the primary source of faith and moral education as desired in the Vatican II document Gravissimum Educationis:

"3. The Authors of Education
Since parents have given children their life, they are bound by the most serious obligation to educate their offspring and therefore must be recognized as the primary and principal educators.(11) This role in education is so important that only with difficulty can it be supplied where it is lacking. Parents are the ones who must create a family atmosphere animated by love and respect for God and man, in which the well-rounded personal and social education of children is fostered. Hence the family is the first school of the social virtues that every society needs. It is particularly in the Christian family, enriched by the grace and office of the sacrament of matrimony, that children should be taught from their early years to have a knowledge of God according to the faith received in Baptism, to worship Him, and to love their neighbor. Here, too, they find their first experience of a wholesome human society and of the Church. Finally, it is through the family that they are gradually led to a companionship with their fellowmen and with the people of God. Let parents, then, recognize the inestimable importance a truly Christian family has for the life and progress of God's own people.(12)" 

Families are the wellspring of the faith and the first encounter of your children with our Lord Jesus. What you do, will impact them down the road, and should they fall off the path to salvation, your choice to parent them in the Catholic Faith (or as true to the teachings of it as capable) can make or break your kid's prodigal return to you and our Lord.

I am also sure, that those of you who are younger, and who share my status as a Catholic "revert" to the faith after a period of laxity or falling away, are seeking what you can to ensure that you do not bestow the same legacy your parents did on you with regard to their upbringing in the faith (or lack there-of/lukewarm Catholicism) and want to properly raise responsible, faithful, Catholic children.

We can surely start with the smaller things, the practical things, like what they get their hands on, including technology. Ok, ESPECIALLY technology, as every kid now a days in our modern society gets a kiddie version of an Ipad or an Ipod or a laptop when they are young, and eventually the real thing, even in elementary school! That or they play on their parents` electronic toys. What should Catholic parents and aspiring parents to be do?

Well, this shall be a little humourous and important all at once with regard to that question! On my blog roll I read a deacon's blog, Greg Kandra, who writes on the Patheos Web portal at "The Deacon's Bench". Today, a great article came up of a parent who made a contract for their teenage son with regard to getting an Iphone for Xmas/his 13th birthday. I wholeheartedly agree this is a Catholic and awesome approach to such a device, as usually parents give this stuff freely to their kids with no boundaries. Check it out here:

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/deaconsbench/2013/01/mother-gives-13-year-old-son-an-iphone-and-some-rules/

I will say on a more serious note, that the last part, # 12, of the contract is something serious that every parent, current or aspiring, should be concerned about. Go read the article to see it, but what I will say is that it can have tragic consequences, as to what happened to young teenager Amanda Todd this past year. Her tragedy reflects many serious things in our society, from the lack of self-policing with regard to usage of technology, to the sexual evils rampant amongst us.

She made a critical mistake with her phone: flashing her pre-pubescent naked self and sending it to her "boyfriend", at the time, a practice by both sexes commonly termed ``sexting``. Unfortunately, what followed after the breakup was cyber-stalking, bullying, physical and internet harassment (even after changing schools,) and self-mutilation, eventually leading to two attempts at suicide with the second being sadly successful. All this should NEVER have had to happen to a young child. Even more tragic is she made a YouTube video of herself with flashcards saying who she was and what was happening to her, and yet, did anyone follow up on this or try to reach out and get her help?

Please pray for the repose of her soul and for the mercy of our Lord, Jesus upon it.

I do not know if she was Catholic, or even Christian, but suicide is a serious matter in the Church. While it does allow for possible diminishing of the responsibility on the person in the case of grave psychological disturbances, anguish, or grave fear of hardship (Catechism of the Catholic Church 2282), we cannot know the status of her soul after all she went through. However, let their be eternal justice on all those who encouraged her to kill herself, even after her first attempt to down bleach as those who voluntarily co-operate in suicide are acting contrary to the moral law (CCC 2282). This should extend to anyone who encourages another to kill themselves. May we pray for her soul, and for all those sinners who encouraged her to die and harassed her during her life and post-humously on the internet.

I do apologize for the severity of the posting near the end and I did not intend on going down that road, but it hit a nerve with me near the end. Do still consider the seriousness of everything involved with this Iphone contract and what it touches with regard to the Catholic faith.

Save that last contract point, do have a chuckle about the contract too.

Pax Tibi Christ, Julian.