February 2011 Archives
Here is the homily, the choir anthem "There shall a star" (A Sewanee tradition, I might add), and the intention through the canon of the mass. Today's masses were offered in thanksgiving for the life and ministry as well as for the repose of the Rev'd Canon Robert Long.
VIII Ordinary 2011.mp3Sermon
Anthem VIII Ordinary 2011.mp3Anthem
Sung Canon and Prayers VIII Ordinary 2011.mp3
VIII Ordinary 2011.mp3Sermon
Anthem VIII Ordinary 2011.mp3Anthem
Sung Canon and Prayers VIII Ordinary 2011.mp3
I wrote this article in 2008 for Trinity Episcopal church, where I served as assistant. As Lent is nearly upon us, I thought it might time to drag it out again.
From Pancakes to the Pascha Nostrum - The Liturgical Journey to the Resurrection
by Fr. Trey Garland
The journey to Easter Sunday is steeped in tradition, allowing us to actively participate in the body of Christ as a group, preparing to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus the Christ on Easter Sunday. The season of Lent, of course, is forty days long, not counting Sundays. The word "Lent" is a Teutonic word for "Spring" or "Spring season." It is an easier word to pronounce than the older term to denote Lent: Quadragesima, which means "forty days." The Teutonic form most likely came to us from the Anglo-Saxon period.
There is a small two day period before Lent that is referred to as "Shrovetide." Shrovetide is the Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday in which God's people are shriven of their sins by confession, absolution, and penance. This is culminated by a feast to prepare for the day of fasting on Wednesday. Shrovetide is also referred to as Carnival, which means to "remove flesh" (lit. carne levare). Only recently has carnival come to mean something entirely different. The custom of eating pancakes is a distinctively English custom. The people would have to use up the eggs and fat in their household before the forty days of Lent, as eggs and fat were forbidden during Lent.
Ash Wednesday comes from the Latin dies cinerum, literally "day of ashes." It marks the beginning of Lent. Ashes from the previous Palm Sunday are imposed on the forehead as a mark of our mortal nature. It is also a direct allusion to the Old Testament figures who repented by wearing sackcloth and ashes. Ash Wednesday is traditionally an all day fast day, breaking the fast with breakfast the next morning.
The next major shift is the fourth Sunday in Lent called "Laetare Sunday," or "Rejoice Sunday," which is
taken from the beginning of the introit for the Sunday, Laetare Ierusalem, "Rejoice, Jerusalem." On this day, the vestments may be rose colored instead of purple and a feeling of restrained joy is present. This Sunday has also been called "Refreshment Sunday," as the Gospel was the miracle of the loaves and fishes. This idea of restrained joy ends when the first star of the evening may be seen.
Palm Sunday is the sixth and last Sunday of Lent. It is a Sunday of the highest liturgical rank with no commemorations allowed. It marks the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem prior to His crucifixion. The blessing of the palms and processional is relatively new, as the earliest written source that denotes this custom is dated in the 10th century, though some recent scholarship points to the 8th and 9th centuries. The procession with the palms is a representation of Christ's entry, and ultimately ends with Palm Sunday's Gospel, the Passion and Crucifixion of Our Lord.
The Holy Triduum, or "Three Days," is made up of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. Maundy Thursday is named after mandatum or commandment. In the Gospel of St. John, Chapter 13, Jesus washes his disciples feet, and then a little later in Chapter 13 says, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." The giving of the new commandment, as well as the institutions of the Lord's Supper and the washing of the feet, are the hallmarks of Maundy Thursday. At the Maundy Thursday Mass, extra sacrament is consecrated for the Mass of the Presanctified on Good Friday. Some churches also a have a chapel or garden of repose where the faithful may sit and pray in the presence of the sacrament. This is an allusion to Jesus asking his disciples to sit and pray with Him in Gethsemane.
Good Friday derives its name from the Old English Godde's Friday, or God's Friday. It marks the day on which Jesus was crucified. The service includes the solemn collects, the Crucifixion reading, and the adoration of the cross. Here at Trinity we replace parts of the Proper Liturgy for Good Friday with the Stations of the Cross. After the proper liturgy, there is the Mass of the Presanctified, where those who wish to receive communion may do so from the sacrament that was reserved from the night before. This service ends without a blessing or a dismissal.
Holy Saturday is a very short liturgy and it is rubrically forbidden to celebrate the Holy Eucharist on this day. Some churches, after the first evening star is visible, will celebrate the Great Easter Vigil, which incorporates the lighting of the new Easter fire, the blessing of the Paschal candle, the chanting of the Exsultet, readings and Psalms, and usually culminates with the first of the Easter masses. The organ, which is traditionally silent after Maundy Thursday, is first heard again at the vigil when the lights come on and the first "Alleluia" is said.
The journey to the Resurrection is complete on Easter Sunday. "Alleluia!" returns to the service, and in many churches, the great Easter hymn Pascha Nostrum, "Christ our Passover is Sacrificed for Us," is substituted for the Gloria. The Gospel reading is that of the finding of an empty tomb. Usually, during Eastertide, the confession of sins is omitted. Easter comes from an old Teutonic deity named Ester, who was a goddess of light and springtime. Easter now comes to represent the feast of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ who triumphed over death, that we may have eternal life.
From Pancakes to the Pascha Nostrum - The Liturgical Journey to the Resurrection
by Fr. Trey Garland
The journey to Easter Sunday is steeped in tradition, allowing us to actively participate in the body of Christ as a group, preparing to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus the Christ on Easter Sunday. The season of Lent, of course, is forty days long, not counting Sundays. The word "Lent" is a Teutonic word for "Spring" or "Spring season." It is an easier word to pronounce than the older term to denote Lent: Quadragesima, which means "forty days." The Teutonic form most likely came to us from the Anglo-Saxon period.
There is a small two day period before Lent that is referred to as "Shrovetide." Shrovetide is the Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday in which God's people are shriven of their sins by confession, absolution, and penance. This is culminated by a feast to prepare for the day of fasting on Wednesday. Shrovetide is also referred to as Carnival, which means to "remove flesh" (lit. carne levare). Only recently has carnival come to mean something entirely different. The custom of eating pancakes is a distinctively English custom. The people would have to use up the eggs and fat in their household before the forty days of Lent, as eggs and fat were forbidden during Lent.
Ash Wednesday comes from the Latin dies cinerum, literally "day of ashes." It marks the beginning of Lent. Ashes from the previous Palm Sunday are imposed on the forehead as a mark of our mortal nature. It is also a direct allusion to the Old Testament figures who repented by wearing sackcloth and ashes. Ash Wednesday is traditionally an all day fast day, breaking the fast with breakfast the next morning.
The next major shift is the fourth Sunday in Lent called "Laetare Sunday," or "Rejoice Sunday," which is
taken from the beginning of the introit for the Sunday, Laetare Ierusalem, "Rejoice, Jerusalem." On this day, the vestments may be rose colored instead of purple and a feeling of restrained joy is present. This Sunday has also been called "Refreshment Sunday," as the Gospel was the miracle of the loaves and fishes. This idea of restrained joy ends when the first star of the evening may be seen.
Palm Sunday is the sixth and last Sunday of Lent. It is a Sunday of the highest liturgical rank with no commemorations allowed. It marks the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem prior to His crucifixion. The blessing of the palms and processional is relatively new, as the earliest written source that denotes this custom is dated in the 10th century, though some recent scholarship points to the 8th and 9th centuries. The procession with the palms is a representation of Christ's entry, and ultimately ends with Palm Sunday's Gospel, the Passion and Crucifixion of Our Lord.
The Holy Triduum, or "Three Days," is made up of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. Maundy Thursday is named after mandatum or commandment. In the Gospel of St. John, Chapter 13, Jesus washes his disciples feet, and then a little later in Chapter 13 says, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." The giving of the new commandment, as well as the institutions of the Lord's Supper and the washing of the feet, are the hallmarks of Maundy Thursday. At the Maundy Thursday Mass, extra sacrament is consecrated for the Mass of the Presanctified on Good Friday. Some churches also a have a chapel or garden of repose where the faithful may sit and pray in the presence of the sacrament. This is an allusion to Jesus asking his disciples to sit and pray with Him in Gethsemane.
Good Friday derives its name from the Old English Godde's Friday, or God's Friday. It marks the day on which Jesus was crucified. The service includes the solemn collects, the Crucifixion reading, and the adoration of the cross. Here at Trinity we replace parts of the Proper Liturgy for Good Friday with the Stations of the Cross. After the proper liturgy, there is the Mass of the Presanctified, where those who wish to receive communion may do so from the sacrament that was reserved from the night before. This service ends without a blessing or a dismissal.
Holy Saturday is a very short liturgy and it is rubrically forbidden to celebrate the Holy Eucharist on this day. Some churches, after the first evening star is visible, will celebrate the Great Easter Vigil, which incorporates the lighting of the new Easter fire, the blessing of the Paschal candle, the chanting of the Exsultet, readings and Psalms, and usually culminates with the first of the Easter masses. The organ, which is traditionally silent after Maundy Thursday, is first heard again at the vigil when the lights come on and the first "Alleluia" is said.
The journey to the Resurrection is complete on Easter Sunday. "Alleluia!" returns to the service, and in many churches, the great Easter hymn Pascha Nostrum, "Christ our Passover is Sacrificed for Us," is substituted for the Gloria. The Gospel reading is that of the finding of an empty tomb. Usually, during Eastertide, the confession of sins is omitted. Easter comes from an old Teutonic deity named Ester, who was a goddess of light and springtime. Easter now comes to represent the feast of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ who triumphed over death, that we may have eternal life.
