Author: Fr. Jim

Baptisms – Wu & Mebrahtu Families

Eric & Marie Ann  baptize their son,

Abraha & Rozina baptize their daughter

Sunday Morning Mass – August 3, 2014

Presider:   Rev. Barry J. Anwender

Photos:   Courtesy of Fe Hipolito

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Baptism – Hanowski Family

Brett & Rina baptize their daughter

Sunday Morning Mass – July 6, 2014

Presider:   Rev. Barry J. Anwender

Photos:   Courtesy of Fe Hipolito

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Baptism – Vey Family

Marcus & Marilou baptize their daughter

Saturday Evening Mass – June 28, 2014

Presider:   Rev. Barry J. Anwender

Photos:   Courtesy of Fe Hipolito

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Canada Day Livestream

           First Livestream Broadcast               for the Archdiocese of Regina

Livestream & Camera Operator:  Rev. Barry J. Anwender

Photos Courtesy of Fey Hipolito

Blessed Sacrament Parish celebrated its annual Canada Day Mass with Archbishop Daniel J. Bohan presiding.  This event is a joint effort of the Father Hugonard 4th Degree Assembly of the Knights of Columbus, the Father John Riffel 4th Degree Assembly of the Knights of Columbus, Santo Nino Council of the Knights of Columbus and Blessed Sacrament Parish.   The Canada Day Eucharistic celebration highlights the Knights of Columbus fourth pillar of patriotism.

 “The Order is dedicated to the principles of Charity, Unity, Fraternity and Patriotism.”

This year July 1st was preceded by three days of torrential rains that resulted in severe flooding across several Regina subdivisions, as well as numerous municipalities throughout the south and eastern regions of Saskatchewan.  The rain put a damper on the traditional pancake brunch with sausages, eggs and coffee, as well as the free face painting and popsicles for children that were planned to precede the Mass.  Despite the rain and cancelled outdoor festivities, Blessed Sacrament church was packed with visitors who gathered to celebrate Mass with Archbishop Bohan.

 “Blessed Sacrament Church is the oldest Roman Catholic Church building in Regina, and the city’s second oldest church still in use.”

In the spirit Regina’s Pioneer Catholics, this year’s Canada Day Mass was also the first event in the archdiocese to be broadcast as a livestream video feed on the Internet.  The Archdiocese and Blessed Sacrament parish websites promoted the Canada Day event with URL links to Livestream.com who hosted the internet broadcast. Livestream.com reporting that 150 viewers watched the live video of the Mass from their computers, mobile phones and tablets.

 “I had indeed noticed this on our website and took some pleasure in thinking about our “oldest Roman Catholic Church building in Regina ” leading the way here in things like Livestream … !!!!! The Livestream viewers continue to grow … the quality is wonderful–so clear—and a pleasure to watch.”        ~ Loretta

“Saw the beautiful Canada Day Mass celebration.  THANK YOU for filming it so all can enjoy … a spectacular end product, the sound was clear as a bell and your church was showcased beautifully.  Blessed Sacrament really is a beautiful church.”        ~ Sharon

Blessed Sacrament parish is home to Catholic immigrants from many countries.  Several parishioners reported that their relatives watched the Mass on the internet from different provinces in Canada, as well as various countries around the globe.  One week after the event, Livestream.com reported that 250 viewers had watched the archived event.  You can watch the original livesteam broadcast of the Canada Day Eucharistic Celebration by clicking/tapping on the graphic banner below:

Watch Livestream Anywhere

Get the “app” for your mobile device or purchase a Roku to watch live streaming on your HDTV or watch it on your desktop computer using any internet browser.

The Acolyte & Altar Server

THE ACOLYTE AND ALTAR SERVER

(The Pastoral Companion — A Canon Law Handbook of Catholic Ministry, pp86-87) Franciscan Press, 1995: John M. Huels, O.S.M., J.C.D.

The acolyte is instituted by the local ordinary (i.e. bishop) to serve at the altar and to assist the bishop, priest and deacon.  In particular it is for him to prepare the altar and the vessels and, as a special minister of the Eucharist, to give Communion to the faithful (General Instruction Roman Missal, 65).  This norm pertains to the stable ministry of acolyte, not to be confused with the temporary ministry of altar server.  Like the stable ministry of reader,

the ministry of acolyte is conferred only for seminarians preparing for the priesthood and candidates for the permanent diaconate.

NORMS FOR THE CELEBRATION AND RECEPTION OF COMMUNION

Vatican II, THE HOLY AND LIVING SACRIFICE

(The Liturgy Documents—A Parish Resource, p261) Liturgy Training Publications, Third Edition, 1991

29. In every celebration of the Eucharist there should always be a sufficient number of ministers for the distribution of Communion. Priority is always given to ordinary ministers (bishops, priests, deacons) and auxiliary ministers (instituted acolytes). When there are large numbers of the faithful present and there are insufficient ordinary and auxiliary ministers at hand, special or extraordinary ministers properly appointed beforehand should assist in the distribution of Communion.

GENERAL INSTRUCTION OF THE ROMAN MISSAL

Duties and Ministries in The Mass

(Renewed by Decree of Vatican II, Promulgated by Authority of Pope Paul VI and Revised at the direction of Pope John Paul II) Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2011

100. In the absence of an instituted acolyte [by the local ordinary], there may be deputed lay ministers to serve at the altar and assist the Priest and the Deacon;

these carry the cross, the candles, the thurible, the bread, the wine, and the water, or who are even deputed to distribute Holy Communion as extraordinary ministers.

110. If at Mass with the people only one minister is present, that minister may exercise several different functions.

111. There should be harmony and diligence among all those involved in the effective preparation of each liturgical celebration in accordance with the Missal and other liturgical books, both as regards the rites and as regards the pastoral and musical aspects. This should take place under the direction of the rector [pastor] of the church and after consultation with the faithful in things that directly pertain to them. However, the Priest who presides at the celebration always retains the right of arranging those things that pertain to him.

 

Non-Integration of Mass Ministries

NON-INTEGRATION OF MASS MINISTRIES

(Sacred Mysteries-Sacramental Principles & Liturgical Practice, p169) Paulist Press, 1995: Dennis C. Smolarski, S.J.

The proper celebration of liturgical rites assumes the presence of several ministers in addition to the one presiding. At the minimum, a typical celebration includes a reader, a cantor and a server. This is in stark contrast to the Tridentine missal and the 1614 A.D. Ritual, which presumed the presence only of a server and which also required the priest to repeat quietly texts sung by the choir or proclaimed by the deacon and sub-deacon.

The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy encourages the distribution of tasks during liturgical services and cautions that ministers “should carry out all and only those parts” that pertain to their ministry.

Such advice is repeated in the liturgical books themselves, for example, when the General Instruction of the Roman Missal states that the presiding priest should not proclaim the gospel if a deacon or another priest is present.

Integration and coordination of ministries presupposes several things. It presupposes the existence of qualified ministers. It presumes that all ministers know what is proper to their own ministry and what is proper to other ministers. It also assumes that the presiding minister actually permits and encourages other ministers to do all that their ministry requires.

It may be difficult to recruit and train enough ministers to fill all the liturgical needs of a community. But such difficulty is no excuse for certain ministers regularly to usurp the roles of others. God has given the members of the assembly various gifts and talents, and they should not be overlooked. Gifted individuals need to be identified and their talents cultivated for the benefit of the community.

We should no more consider certain ministries optional than we should consider vesture or vessels optional. A reader at mass, for example, whether on Sunday or during the week, is not a nice addition when one is present. In most cases, the participation of a reader should be considered a necessity if the celebration is to be considered authentic. Without bread and wine, we cannot celebrate the mystery of the Eucharist. We should also think twice about the advisability of celebrating any liturgical mystery without the assistance of appropriate ministers.

NORMS DRAWN FROM THE NATURE OF THE LITURGY

Vatican II, CONSTITUTION ON THE SACRED LITURGY

(The Liturgy Documents—A Parish Resource, pp15-16) Liturgy Training Publications, Third Edition, 1991

22. §1. Regulation of the liturgy depends solely on the authority of the Church, that is, on the Apostolic See and, accordingly as the law determines, on the bishop.

§2. In virtue of power conceded by the law, the regulation of the liturgy within certain defined limits belongs also to various kinds of competent territorial bodies of bishops lawfully established.

§3. Therefore, no other person, not even if he is a priest, may on his own add, remove, or change anything in the liturgy.

28. In liturgical celebrations each one, minister or layperson, who has an office to perform, should do all of, but only, those parts which pertain to that office by the nature of the rite and the principles of liturgy.

32. The liturgy makes distinctions between persons according to their liturgical function and sacred orders and there are liturgical laws providing for due honors to be given to civil authorities. Apart from these instances,

NO SPECIAL HONORS ARE TO BE PAID IN THE LITURGY TO ANY PRIVATE PERSONS OR CLASSES OF PERSONS, WHETHER IN THE CEREMONIES OR BY EXTERNAL DISPLAY.

 

The Role of Laity

THE ROLE OF LAITY

The Second Vatican Council [1962–1965] devoted its decree on the apostolate of the laity Apostolicam actuositatem and chapter IV of its dogmatic constitution Lumen gentium to the laity in a sense narrower than that which is normal in the Catholic Church.

The definition of laity is that given in the Code of Canon Law:

By divine institution, there are among the Christian faithful in the Church sacred ministers who in law are also called clerics; the other members of the Christian faithful are called lay persons.  There are members of the Christian faithful from both these groups who, through the profession of the evangelical counsels by means of vows or other sacred bonds recognized and sanctioned by the Church, are consecrated to God in their own special way and contribute to the salvific mission of the Church; although their state does not belong to the hierarchical structure of the Church, it nevertheless belongs to its life and holiness (Canon 207).

The narrower sense in which the Second Vatican Council gave instruction concerning the laity is as follows:  The term laity is here understood to mean all the faithful except those in holy orders and those in the state of religious life specially approved by the Church.  These faithful are by baptism made one body with Christ and are constituted among the People of God; they are in their own way made sharers in the priestly, prophetical, and kingly functions of Christ; and they carry out for their own part the mission of the whole Christian people in the Church and in the world (Lumen gentium, 31).

In this narrower sense, the Council taught that the laity’s specific character is secularity: they are Christians who live the life of Christ in the world.  Their role is to sanctify the created world by directing it to become more Christian in its structures and systems:

“the laity, by their very vocation, seek the kingdom of God by engaging in temporal affairs and by ordering them according to the plan of God (Lumen gentium, 31).”  The laity are full members of the Church, fully share in Church’s purpose of sanctification, of “inner union of men with God (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 775),”

acting with freedom and personal responsibility and not as mere agents of the hierarchy.  Due to their baptism, they are members of God’s family, the Church, and they grow in intimate union with God, “in” and “by means” of the world. It is not a matter of departing from the world as the monks and the nuns do that they sanctify themselves; it is precisely through the material world sanctified by the coming of the God made flesh, i.e. made material, that they reach God.   Doctors, mothers of a family, farmers, bank tellers, drivers, by doing their jobs in the world with a Christian spirit are already extending the Kingdom of God.   According to the repeated statements of Popes and lay Catholic leaders, the laity should say “we are the Church,” in the same way that the saints said that “Christ lives in me.”  Lay involvement takes diverse forms, including participation in the life and Mass ministries  of the parish.

 

Astronomy for “The Light of The Cosmos”

Date & time of Easter Vigil – Christ Our Light

Much debate and conflict has been spawned by efforts to determine the date this feast should be celebrated annually.  The difficulty comes in translating an “immovable feast” from a lunar to the Christian solar calendar (Julian, and now Gregorian), on which it becomes a movable feast (one that moves to a certain day of the week, the way Thanksgiving moves to a Thursday, instead of one that is always celebrated on a particular date, immovably, like a birthday).  The Council of Nicaea in 325 placed Easter on the first Sunday following the first full moon after March 20 (which is the vernal equinox, when the sun is directly above the earth’s equator).  This date allowed pilgrims to have moonlight for traveling to the great Easter festivals of that day.  According to this method of reckoning, Easter could be as early as March 22 and as late as April 25. (331, Klein: The Catholic Source Book; #1170, Catechism of the Catholic Church)

The Easter Vigil takes place at night. It should not begin before nightfall and should end before daybreak. It is never permitted to anticipate the Mass of Easter before the Easter Vigil or celebrate more than one Easter Vigil service in the same church (111, Huels: The Pastoral Companion; 197-note 2, Ordo: Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops).

The precise time of the nightfall can be obtained from any basic astronomy program which is capable of calculating “the time of sunset” and then one adds 30 minutes to allow for the residual evening sunlight to dissipate.  The image below shows the precise time of sunset for April 19, 2014.

Nightfall = Time of Sunset + Dissipation of Residual Evening Light

Nightfall = 7:59 p.m. + 30 minutes

Therefore Easter Vigil 2014 A.D. begins at 8:30 p.m.

 

 

Why cover crosses & images during lent?

Catholic Tradition:  There is long tradition in the Catholic Church to cover all crucifixes, statues, and pictures in purple cloth from two Sundays before Easter until Holy Saturday. Under the old liturgical calendar prior to the Vatican II reforms in 1964, The Fifth Sunday of Lent, one week before Palms Sunday, was called Passion Sunday or Judica Sunday after the first work of the introit “Judge me, O Lord …” (Psalm 43). The veiling referred to the closing words of the Sunday gospel, “They picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple” (John 8:59). The Lenten veil also expressed the sorrow of the Church at this time. As a matter of fact, the Roman Missal still says, in a note about the Saturday of the fifth Sunday of Lent, that this tradition may be observed, continuing the veiling until the beginning of the Easter Vigil. Also, the unveiling of the cross prior to the veneration on Good Friday is still and optional part of the liturgy (337, Klein: The Catholic Source Book).

 Renewed 2011 Roman Missal: In the Dioceses of Canada, the practice of covering crosses and images throughout the church from this Fifth Sunday of Lent may be observed. Crosses remain covered until the end of the celebration of the Lord’s Passion on Good Friday, but images remain covered until the beginning of the Easter Vigil (239, Renewed 2011 Roman Missal: Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops).

 Historical Perspective by: Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum Pontifical University. First of all, I would first like to recommend Monsignor Peter Elliott’s excellent guide “Celebrations of the Liturgical Year” published by Ignatius Press in 2002. It is a very useful resource for all those involved in the practical aspects of liturgical planning.

The duration of such veiling varies from place to place. The custom in many places is to veil from before first vespers or the vigil Mass of the Fifth Sunday of Lent while others limit this veiling from after the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday.

In some places images and statues are actually removed from the church and not simply veiled, especially after Holy Thursday. Crosses are unveiled after the Good Friday ceremonies. All other images are unveiled shortly before the Mass of the Easter Vigil. Neither the Stations of the Cross nor stained glass windows are ever veiled.

The bishops’ conference may decide if the veiling during this period should be obligatory within its territory.

The veils are usually made of lightweight purple cloth without any decoration. The custom of veiling the images during the last two weeks of Lent hails from the former liturgical calendar in which the Passion was read on the Fifth Sunday of Lent (hence called “Passion Sunday”) as well as on Palm Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday of Holy Week, and Good Friday.

For this reason the period following the Fifth Sunday of Lent was called Passiontide. A remnant of this custom is the obligatory use of the first Preface of the Lord’s Passion during the Fifth Week of Lent.

As Monsignor Elliott remarks, “The custom of veiling crosses and images … has much to commend it in terms of religious psychology, because it helps us to concentrate on the great essentials of Christ’s work of Redemption.”

Although this is true, the historical origin of this practice lies elsewhere. It probably derives from a custom, noted in Germany from the ninth century, of extending a large cloth before the altar from the beginning of Lent.

This cloth, called the “Hungertuch” (hunger cloth), hid the altar entirely from the faithful during Lent and was not removed until during the reading of the Passion on Holy Wednesday at the words “the veil of the temple was rent in two.”

Some authors say there was a practical reason for this practice insofar as the often-illiterate faithful needed a way to know it was Lent. Others, however, maintain that it was a remnant of the ancient practice of public penance in which the penitents were ritually expelled from the church at the beginning of Lent.

After the ritual of public penance fell into disuse — but the entire congregation symbolically entered the order of penitents by receiving ashes on Ash Wednesday — it was no longer possible to expel them from the church. Rather, the altar or “Holy of Holies” was shielded from view until they were reconciled to God at Easter.

For analogous motives, later on in the Middle Ages, the images of crosses and saints were also covered from the start of Lent. The rule of limiting this veiling to Passiontide came later and does not appear until the publication of the Bishops’ Ceremonial of the 17th century.

and You Gave Me Food

Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry … (Matthew 25:37)

Blessed Sacrament Parish has two special collections each year to support our neighbour, the Marian Centre in the downtown Regina.

“Marian Centre provides meals and used clothing for men in need. We try to witness to a spirit of simplicity and poverty. But most of all, we try to offer friendship and warm hospitality to all who enter. There is no charge for meals, no question asked, no judgement made.”

This year Pope Francis launched the 2014 Caritas’ “One Human Family, Food for All” lenten campaign.  The Pope gave his blessing and encouraged actions to bring an end to hunger.

On March 14, 2014 Fr. Barry, Pastor of Blessed Sacrament visited Doreen, Nancy, Charlie, Shaun and Hugo to deliver the parish lenten collection to help Marian Centre feed and cloth the men they serve.

 

 

Calculating 40 Days of Lent

How Are the 40 Days of Lent Calculated?

Lent, the period of prayer and fasting in preparation for Easter, is 40 days long, but there are 46 days between Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent in the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar, and Easter. How can that be?

The answer takes us back to the earliest days of the Church. Christ’s original disciples, who were Jewish, grew up with the idea that the Sabbath—the day of worship and of rest—was Saturday, the seventh day of the week, since the account of creation in Genesis says that God rested on the seventh day.

Christ rose from the dead, however, on Sunday, the first day of the week, and the early Christians, starting with the apostles (those original disciples), saw Christ’s Resurrection as a new creation, and so they transferred the sabbath from Saturday to Sunday.

Since all Sundays—and not simply Easter Sunday—were days to celebrate Christ’s Resurrection, Christians were forbidden to fast and do other forms of penance on those days.  Therefore, when the Church expanded the period of fasting and prayer in preparation for Easter from a few days to 40 days (to mirror Christ’s fasting in the desert, before He began His public ministry), Sundays could not be included in the count.

Thus, in order for Lent to include 40 days on which fasting could occur, it had to be expanded to six full weeks (with six days of fasting in each week) plus four extra days—Ash Wednesday and the Thursday, Friday, and Saturday that follow it.  Six times six is thirty-six, plus four equals forty.  And that’s how we arrive at the 40 days of Lent!

 

Lenten Practices

Season of Lent

The annual observance of Lent is the special season of grace for the ascent to the holy mountain of Easter.  Through its twofold theme of repentance and baptism, the season of Lent disposes the faithful to celebrate the paschal mystery.  The faithful, listening more intently to the Word of God and devoting themselves to prayer, are prepared for the Solemnity of Easter through a spirit of repentance to renew their baptismal promises.

 Ash Wednesday

On the Wednesday before the First Sunday of Lent the faithful, by receiving ashes, enter upon the season appointed for spiritual purification.  This sign of penance, biblical in origin and preserved among the customs of the Church until our own day, express the human condition as affected by sin.  In this sign we outwardly profess our desire for forgiveness before God and thereby, prompted by the hope that the Lord is kind and compassionate, patient and bounding in mercy, express our desire for inward conversion.  This sign is also the beginning of the journey of conversion that will reach its goal in the celebration of the sacrament of reconciliation during the days leading to Easter.

 Eucharistic Fast

Before receiving Holy Communion one should abstain for at least one hour from all food and drink except water and medicine.  Those who are advanced in age or suffer from some illness, as well as those who care for them, may receive the Holy Eucharist even if they have taken some food during the preceding hour. (Huels, The Pastoral Companion, p97; The Church’s Code of Canon Law, 919)

 Days of Fast & Abstinence

The penitential days and times in the universal Church are Ash Wednesday, Fridays and Good Friday during the season of Lent.  Abstinence from eating meat or from some other food as determined by the Episcopal Conference is to be observed on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.  Abstinence from eating meat on other Fridays of the year is recommended, but not required.  Also recommended on all Fridays of the year is prayer and penance (especially eating less food), and almsgiving for the sake of world peace. (Huels, The Pastoral Companion, p333ff; The Church’s Code of Canon Law, 1251)

The requirement to fast prescribes that only one full meal a day be taken.  Two lighter meals are permitted to maintain strength according to each one’s needs.  Eating between meals is not permitted, but liquids, including milk and fruit juices are allowed. The requirement of abstinence forbids the eating of meat, but eggs, milk products and condiments made from meat can be eaten.  Fish and all cold blooded animals may be eaten (Paul VI, Apostolic Constitution Paenitemini, Feb 17, 1996, AAS 58 (1996), n.III; CLD 6:676-78).

 Ages for Fast & Abstinence

Those bound to abstain are those who have completed their fourteenth (14th) year and older.  The requirement of fasting binds all from the age of majority up to the beginning of their sixtieth (60th) year, that is between the ages of 18 and 59 inclusive.  Pastors and parents should see to it that even those who, due to their young age, are not bound to the law of fast or abstinence are nevertheless educated in a genuine sense of penance. (Huels, The Pastoral Companion, p334ff; The Church’s Code of Canon Law, 1252)