Ponderings on Misunderstandings - an unfinished post on the Liturgical Calendar

I found this post in my draft folder today when I opened the blog to post the Chart of Christmas Sundays (included below). I had forgotten I had started this! While I still have more images to load and some additional information, I'll just post what I have for now.

Quotes are from the CGS Materials Manual FAQ regarding the wooden Liturgical Calendar. 

This is a major work, and there is a great level of nuance to it (including the Metonic Cycle, ecclesial date of the equinox, time zones and so much more!). I have found ways to keep it essential but accurate enough that a child's understanding can build into the nuances if they choose to explore deeper. I am deeply saddened when inaccurate information is put forth for the sake of the essential. This only sows confusion and discord within a child's heart to have to re-learn (or choose not to because now it is too tedious!). 

 

"The Liturgical Calendar moves counterclockwise. This is in keeping with Maria Montessori’s version of the Liturgical Calendar as a reminder that “God’s time is not our time.”"

It is true that Dr. Montessori suggested having the Liturgical Calendar material counterclockwise for this reason, but it was not her "version" - it is simply her explanation for why something was set up already and had been so for centuries. It is only in the United States of America (and areas influenced by USA) that anyone even thinks to have the liturgical calendar clockwise. 

Some images of liturgical calendars throughout Europe: 

http://www.lemeestudies.com/jean/article-Labyrinth.html
Chartres

"This Liturgical Calendar from Rome does not show Sundays of Christmas.  However, the Liturgical Calendar in the USA shows 3 white prisms for the Sundays of Christmas.   The three white prisms include: (1) one prism for Christmas Day itself (that may or may not fall on a Sunday) (2 ) a second prism for the Feast of the Holy Family (3) a third prism for the Epiphany of the Lord "

"While the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord is actually the first Sunday of Ordinary Time, the color worn by the priest that Sunday is white because the Roman Catholic Ordo calls for wearing white vestments."

There is no "first Sunday of Ordinary Time." The actual term would be "Sunday in the First Week of Ordinary Time" but that day does not exist. It is *always* Baptism of the Lord or Epiphany. Both sets of these readings and related Liturgical prayers are found in the Christmas section of the Roman Missal.  There is a "Monday in the First Week of Ordinary Time." To say this another way, some "liturgical weeks" do not have 7 days or they never use all of their 7 days in the same year; and several are partial some years vs others. That is another topic of discussion (think the first days of Lent, Holy Week, the weekdays after Pentecost and the first two Sundays after Pentecost (these three weeks all are "Ordinary Time" weeks but their Sunday is something else), etc.). 

Conclusion for this topic of discussion: there should be a prism for the Baptism of the Lord. See chart below. 

 

"Note: The Feast of Christmas falls on a Sunday every seven years. When Christmas does not fall on Sunday, an extra white prism is not added for the Feast of Christmas. But if your completed material has 53 instead of 52 prisms, that is fine, you do not need to change it."

That's not how it works. We have a leap year that messes with the system. Christmas falls on Sunday on a pattern of 6, 5, 6, 11. We just had Christmas Sunday in 2022. The next time Christmas will be on Sunday is in 11 years: in 2033.  2039, 2044, 2050, 2061.

 

"Note: When Christmas and New Year’s Day both fall on Sundays, the Feast of the Holy Family is celebrated on December 30. But then you would still have the second white prism for the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God and the third white prism for the Feast of Epiphany."

Accurate. Ish. Here is a chart showing what happens for each possibility. Note that there is a 28-year cycle where we repeat the same solar calendar: 

Chart of the Sundays after Christmas based on the weekday of Christmas. 
By far, 3 Sundays are needed after the Christmas prism. 

From the Roman Missal, with my added bold and italics for emphasis.

VI. Ordinary Time

44. Ordinary Time begins on the Monday which follows the Sunday occurring after January 6 and extends up to and including the Tuesday before the beginning of Lent; it begins again on the Monday after Pentecost Sunday and ends before first vespers (evening prayer i) of the first Sunday of advent.

During these times of the year there is used the series of formularies given for the Sundays and weekdays of this time both in the Missal and in the Liturgy of the hours (vol. iii-iv).

I have another draft post about Finding the Date of Easter and how to build the Liturgical Calendar accurately but simply! 

Advent Prophecy Themes 2013

Each year, it seems that particular themes are honed in on by the children - even across two geographical locations and educational lifestyles. I wonder how much is affected by our readings in the Liturgy perhaps - and in the world at-large.


This year our focus has been on emphasizing the First Coming of Christ and the Second Coming of Christ.

Some points the children hone in on:

Historical Context:

• Periods of light and darkness in the history of Israel
• Moments of light in the deepest darkness - bring us HOPE
• Ancient Church's historical practice of fasting and penance during ALL of Advent and Lent. 

Interesting tidbits learned: 

• Which season has Gaudete Sunday - which has Laudete Sunday (or Laetare - we're doing some research on that one --- either way the 4th Sunday of Lent starts with an L to match Lent - and that's how we remember which one goes with which season ;) )
• Why THAT Sunday of each season? 1 Sunday past the half-way mark - to give us hope that the penitential time is coming to an end soon. Don't give up now! 
• Who knew Ms Jessica could connect prophecy studies to the sacraments. Wait - does that mean our faith is INTER-connected? Just like the VINE? Oh. Oops. Guess we need to keep paying attention (yeah, some stories there - the children are so intuitive this way)

First Coming

• We can't really prepare for a Baby to be born in the PAST - but we do prepare our individual hearts and lives to receive the gifts He gave us with His first coming: His Life (Eucharist) and His Light (received at Baptism, spreading throughout the world)
• The prophecies prepared the Hebrews for the First Coming - but also prepared the world for His Second Coming. Not all prophecy has been fulfilled. 
• Some of the Jews at the time of Christ thought that all Messianic prophecies would be fulfilled at one time. But now we look and see that with TWO comings, He will come once as a Child - and once a Glorious King. 

Second Coming

• As we prepare ourselves to receive more and more fully the Gifts of the first coming - we are also preparing ourselves to spread the light of Christ - and therefore be ready for the Parousia, at whatever moment it begins. 
• As we prepare, we know there are still going to be times of darkness and difficulty - but God always wants us to come back to Him. 

Thus not only are we seeing songs of preparation and of Advent (Light One Candle, Light the Advent Candle (I can't recall the name of that tune precisely at the moment), Come Lord Jesus, O Come Emanuel, etc.) --- we are also seeing songs of Reconciliation, tying in perfectly with the children in one of my sacramental preparation groups who are receiving this sacrament for the first time in the month of December.

Our favorite?

Create in me a clean heart - 

Help me start over again. 

Please Lord don't leave me, 

I need your Spirit, 

I cannot make it alone. 

Restore to me the Joy of Salvation - 

Oh my God. 

~Based on Psalm 51 (also our source for the Lavabo prayer!)~

It is OH so time for a YouTube video of that song. I'll see if a group of parents will let me record their children singing if I just videotape the words with the children's voices in the background....


Additional observations: 

I have one young man, 3rd grade, who insists on always mentioning "judgment" before mentioning "Parousia". Perhaps it is time to pull out the level 3 work on "Holy Bible and Parousia" for him. Seriously. This child canNOT get off the judgment portion of Parousia - and there is SO MUCH MORE to it.

Not Quite Christmas

It is not quite Christmas and I have a hard time believing it.

Advent slipped away. Amidst what? Not the shopping (I've bought groceries once this past month and all gifts this year are home-made or already purchased); not the parties (we really minimize those - just one thus far - all others will be during the Christmas season); not the decorating (we decorate on Christmas eve).

Amidst the vitriolic words directly towards others, including myself. Amidst reading and hearing about the evil attitudes of people in the stores. Amidst the job losses. Amidst hearing stories of consumerism. Amidst the stories of mental illness and the sufferings of families.


It doesn't feel like Christmas. Perhaps this was what the first Christmas felt like: a world in need of a Savior.

A world filled with bitterness. Filled with accusations against another's morality. A world filled with lack of understanding; lack of trying to understand. A world devoid of peace and goodwill towards one's neighbor.

And today these things coming from Christians.

If that is how non-Christians see Christians, no wonder they would rather stay away. Far away. I don't blame them.

No wonder they laugh at us for saying "Jesus is the reason for the season" as they put up signs saying, "Use reason for the season!" implying that Jesus could not be what we claim Him to be.

Because we can't even get His teachings right - His teaching on morality and accusing one's neighbor and planks and splinters. Therefore, how could we possibly get right an understanding of His birth? And death? and resurrection?

Something to ponder next time one is tempted to call into question a stranger's 'Christianity'. Are we judging splinters through our planks?


So yes. Perhaps it does feel like Christmas. That first Christmas. A world filled with disbelief. And vitriolic hatred - because that is what it is when Christians behave with such malice, with such worldly consumerism. The world was full of it that first Christmas. Then, just a few months after that first Christmas, innocent children were slaughtered in the name of murdering a newborn King - by a man with a mental illness.

Sound familiar yet?


The truly faithful were begging for Him to come then; the truly faithful are begging now. Search your heart - are you begging for Him to come now? Or are you hoping for another day, another year, another lifetime?

Perhaps it is time to prepare for the coming of Jesus into our own hearts. Our own stony, cold hearts. That is what Advent was supposed to be about. Is supposed to be about. Preparation for His coming - not the first time; but the second time - the Parousia. When God will be all in all.

Prepare our hearts to receive Him - all of Him, in all of us.

It begins NOW.

It is not quite Christmas - there is not peace in our hearts. But doesn't that mean it IS quite Christmas?


It is not quite Christmas. Christ is not quite present.

Can we make it happen? Can we be ready for Him?

Only then, can it truly be Christmas. As He intended it.

It begins NOW.