Trivia Thread

[Ann M]

I'm still looking

 

[Ann M]

Answers.com

In Roman Catholic liturgical observance, the Triumph of the Cross belongs to the same class of holy days as Good Friday and the Feast of the Sacred Heart, in that the Crucifixion is commemorated on all three days. Red vestments are worn at church services conducted on this day, and, in the Roman Catholic calendar, if the day falls on a Sunday, its Mass is used instead of that for the Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time which would otherwise fall during that week.

Prior to 1970 in the Roman Catholic Church and 1976 in the Anglican churches, the Wednesday, Friday and Saturday of the calendar week after the one in which September 14 falls were designated as one of each year's four sets of Ember days.

In the Gallician usage, beginning about the seventh century, the Feast of the Cross was celebrated on May 3. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, when the Gallician and Roman practices were combined, the September date was used to commemorate the rescue from the Persians and the May date was kept as the Finding of the Holy Cross or Invention of the True Cross to commemorate the finding. (Note: the term "Invention" is from the Latin invenire, to find, and should not be understood in the modern sense of creating something new.)

This feast was removed from the General Roman Calendar effective in 1970 by the Second Vatican Council as part of its policy of either moving or abolishing feasts that would typically occur during Advent or Lent, or in the time between Christmas and the Epiphany or in the time between Easter and Pentecost (May 3 always falls during the latter). However, it is still commemorated in some Catholic parishes, and the churches of the Anglican Communion (such as the Church of England and the Episcopal Church in the United States of America) still recognize it as an optional observance.

So I assume I'm still looking for information for the Invention of the Cross Feast.

Hmm if this feast fell during ordinary time then it would outrank the Sunday, but because it falls between Easter and Pentecost.

 

[Ann M]

Lesser feasts get cancelled if they land on a Sunday, major feast, or major feria. Frequently seen lesser feasts are:

January 5 St. Edward Confessor

9 St. Adrian 13 St. Hilary

18 St. Prisca

19 St. Wulstan

21 St. Agnes

25 Conversion of St. Paul

February 3 St. Blaise

5 St. Agatha

14 St. Valentine

22 The Chair of St. Peter

24 St. Mathias (February 25 in leap years)

March 1 St. David (patron of Wales)

2 St. Chad (or Cedde)

7 St. Perpetua

12 St. Gregory

17 St. Patrick, patron of Ireland

18 St. Edward King of Wessex

20 St. Cuthbert

21 St. Benedict, father of monks

April 3 St. Richard

4 St. Ambrose

19 St. Alphege

23 St. George, patron of England

25 St. Mark, patron of Venice

May 1 SS. Philip and James, Apostles

3 Invention of the Holy Cross

6 St. John before the Latin Gate

19 St. Dunstan

25 St. Aldhelm

26 St. Augustine (or Austin) of Canterbury

27 St. Bede the Venerable

June 1 St. Nicomedes

5 St. Boniface

11 St. Barnabas

15 St. Eadburga

18 Translation of St. Edward King of Wessex

22 St. Alban

24 Nativity of St. John Baptist

30 Commemoration of St. Paul

July 2 Visitation BVM

3 Translation of St. Thomas the Apostle

4 Translation of St. Martin

7 Translation of St. Thomas of Canterbury

11 Translation of St. Benedict

15 St. Swithun

20 St. Margaret

22 St. Mary Magdalene

25 St. James the Greater; also St. Christopher

26 St. Anne, mother of the BVM

August 1 St. Peter ad Vincula ("Lammas Day", "Gule of August")

4 St. Dominic (at first August 5)

10 St. Laurence

24 St. Bartholomew

28 St. Augustine (or Austin) of Hippo

29 Beheading of St. John Baptist

September 1 St. Egidius (aka St. Giles); also St. Priscus

4 Translation of St. Cuthbert

14 Exaltation of the Holy Cross

16 St. Edith; also St. Euphemia

21 St. Matthew

22 St. Maurice

26 St. Cyprian

29 St. Michael the Archangel

30 St. Jerome (or Hieronymus)

October 1 St. Melorius

4 St. Francis

6 St. Faith

8 St. Oswald

9 St. Denys (or Dionysius), patron of Paris

12 St. Wilfrid

13 Translation of St. Edward the Confessor

17 St. Etheldreda

18 St. Luke

25 SS. Crispin and Crispinian (or Crispian); Henry V day!

28 SS. Simon and Jude, Apostles

November 2 St. Eustace

6 St. Leonard

11 St. Martin

16 St. Edmund Bishop

17 St. Hugh

20 St. Edmund King

22 St. Cecilia

23 St. Felicity; also St. Clement

25 St. Catherine

30 St. Andrew the Apostle

December 3 St. Birinus

6 St. Nicholas (Santa Claus)

13 St. Lucy

21 St. Thomas the Apostle

29 St. Thomas of Canterbury

31 St. Silvester

Cancelled?

 

[D'Ann]

All Sundays exclude the perpetual assignment of any Feast whatever, except the Sunday between the Circumcision and Epiphany.

D'Ann

 

[Paul S]

I think Ann got this one.

Both the Invention and the Exaltation (which fell on a Sunday in 2003) are celebrated on lesser Sundays after Easter or Pentecost, because they are Feasts of our Lord. You might also remember the Feast of the Basilica of St. John Lateran (November 9) being celebrated on Sunday in 2003. Because it's the feast of the dedication of a church, it's also considered a Feast of our Lord.

All Sundays exclude the perpetual assignment of any Feast whatever, except the Sunday between the Circumcision and Epiphany.

You missed the rest of that Rubric. There's several other Feasts perpetually assigned to Sundays.

There's a difference between perpetual and accidental occurrence. Perpetual occurrence is when a feast always falls on that day, such as Trinity Sunday being assigned to the First Sunday after Pentecost.

Accidental occurrence happens when a feast falls on Sunday (or some other feast) this year, but won't next year. For example, this year, Pope. St. Pius V was not celebrated because his feast fell on Ascension Thursday. Next year, the Ascension will be on a different date, so his feast can be celebrated.

 

[Ann M]

Good try D'Ann. One day we will conquer him

 

[Paul S]

Good try D'Ann. One day we will conquer him

But not today!

(the feast of St. Stanislaus, or, as it's already past Vespers, the Sunday in the Octave of the Ascension, Commemoration of St. Michael)

 

[Paul S]

Hmm... here's another question.

On the traditional calendar, when is the Fourth Saturday in Advent celebrated?

 

[Ann M]

But not today!

(the feast of St. Stanislaus, or, as it's already past Vespers, the Sunday in the Octave of the Ascension, Commemoration of St. Michael)

12.42pm on Ascension Sunday

 

[Paul S]

12.42pm on Ascension Sunday

Still Saturday here.

And you mean Ascension Thursday.

 

[Ann M]

Hmm... here's another question.

On the traditional calendar, when is the Fourth Saturday in Advent celebrated?

Logic tells me that it is Ember Saturday of Advent?

The "Four Times," or Ember Days

What Are They?

* The Ember Days are four series of Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays which correspond to the natural seasons of the year. Autumn brings the September, or Michaelmas, Embertide; winter, the Advent Embertide; Spring, the Lenten Embertide; and in summer, the Whit Embertide (named after Whitsunday, the Feast of Pentecost).
* The English title for these days, "Ember," is derived from their Latin name: Quatuor Temporum, meaning the "Four Times" or "Four Seasons."
* The Embertides are periods of prayer and fasting, with each day having its own special Mass.


What Is Their Significance?

The Ember Days Are...

Universally Christian,

* The Old Law prescribes a "fast of the fourth month, and a fast of the fifth, and a fast of the seventh, and a fast of tenth" (Zechariah 8:19). There was also a Jewish custom at the time of Jesus to fast every Tuesday and Thursday of the week.
* The first Christians amended both of these customs, fasting instead on every Wednesday and Friday: Wednesday because it is the day that Christ was betrayed, and Friday because it is the day that He was slain. (And we now know that this biweekly fast is actually older than some books of the New Testament). Later, Christians from both East and West added their own commemorations of the seasons.
* The Ember Days thus perfectly express and reflect the essence of Christianity. Christianity does not abolish the Law but fulfills it (Mt. 5:17) by following the spirit of the Law rather than its letter. Thus, not one iota of the Law is to be neglected (Mt. 5:18), but every part is to be embraced and continued, albeit on a spiritual, or figurative, level. And living in this spirit is nothing less than living out the New Covenant.

Uniquely Roman,

* The Apostles preached one and the same faith wherever they went, but sometimes instituted different customs and practices. Thus, Christians came to love not only the universal faith but the particular apostolic traditions which had initiated them into that faith.
* The Roman appropriation of the Ember Days involved adding one day: Saturday. This was seen as the culmination of the Ember Week. A special Mass and procession to St. Peter’s in Rome was held, and the congregation was invited to "keep vigil with Peter."
* Observing the Ember Days, therefore, not only celebrates our continuity with sacred history, but with our own ecclesiastical tradition.

Usefully Natural,

* But continuity is not important because of a blind loyalty to one’s own or a feeling of nostalgia. On the contrary, the Christian fulfillment of the Law is important because of its pedagogical value. Everything in the Law (not to mention the rest of the Bible) is meant to teach us something fundamental about God, His redemptive plan for us, or the nature of the universe, often on levels that are not initially apparent to us. In the case of both the Hebrew seasonal fasts and the Christian Ember Days, we are invited to consider the wonder of the natural seasons and their relation to God. The seasons, for example, can be said to intimate individually the bliss of Heaven, where there is "the beauty of spring, the brightness of summer, the plenty of autumn, the rest of winter" (St. Thomas Aquinas).
* Second, because the liturgical seasons of the Church are meant to initiate us annually into the mysteries of our redemption, they should also include some commemoration of nature for the simple reason that nature is the very thing which grace perfects.

Communally Clerical,

* Another Roman variation of Embertides, instituted by Pope Gelasius I in 494, is to use Ember Saturdays as the day to confer Holy Orders.* Apostolic tradition prescribed that ordinations be preceded by fast and prayer (see Acts 13:3), and so it seemed quite reasonable to place ordinations at the end of this fast period. Moreover, this allows the entire community to join the men in fasting and praying for God’s blessing upon their calling and to share their joy in being called.

And Personally Prayerful

* In addition to commemorating the seasons of nature, each of the four Embertides takes on the character of the liturgical season in which it is located. In fact, the Ember Days add to our living out the times of the Church’s calendar. For example, Ember Wednesday of Advent (a.k.a the "Golden Mass"), commemorates the Annunciation while the Ember Friday two days later commemorates the Visitation, the only time in Advent when this is explicitly done.
* Embertides thus afford us the opportunity to ruminate on a number of important things: the wondrous cycle of nature and the more wondrous story of our redemption, the splendid differentiation of God’s ordained servants -- and lastly, the condition of our own souls. Traditionally, these were times of spiritual exercises and personal self-examination, the ancient equivalent of our modern retreats and missions. Little wonder, then, that a host of customs and folklore grew up around them affirming the special character of these days.

But we all know that logic doesn't always answer your questions

 

[Ann M]

Daily Catholic



Ember Days are days of fast and abstinence on Wednesday (partial abstinence), Friday (full abstinence) and Saturday (partial abstinence) four times a year. The Church has always had this mirroring of the liturgical calendar with the four seasons: the Third Week of Advent - Winter after December 13, the First Week of Lent - Spring, Pentecost Week - Summer, and the Seventeenth Week after Pentecost - Autumn between September 14 and September 22.

These occur at the beginning of the four seasons, which begin with the liturgical periods known as Ember weeks. This has been the practice of the Church since the fifth century. They are celebrated to implore God's blessings on the fruit of the earth, those days are likewise intended as special occasions for praying for the clergy. Never has the clergy - the hierarchy of the Church - needed more prayer than this present time of grave crisis.

Ember weeks prepare those who are to be ordained to major orders or elevated in minor orders. The minor orders of Tonsure, Porter, Lector, Exorcist and Acolyte have been all but lost on the culture of the modern Church, but it was the practice for nearly 2000 years so why should it be shelved in favor of the heretical notion of lay sacerdotal commissions? It should not. We will delve, after the first of the year into this when we cover the Sacrament of Holy Orders.

The practice of Ember Days was set for the universal Church by the holy Pope Saint Gregory VII in the twlfth century with the specific purpose, as mentioned above, of consecrating the various seasons of nature to God.

During Advent, the Wednesday of Ember Week the Mystery of the Annunciation is commemorated. It is called the Rorate Mass, taken from the first word of the Introit, Isais 45: 8. Many churches observed this date on December 18 rather than March 25 because this joyful feast occurred most often in Lent. Another reason is that the first Joyful Mystery keeps with the chronological events of Christ's life and Advent is the time of the waiting after the Annunciation. The anticipation grows daily until the Nativity of Our Lord in Bethlehem. Ember Friday in Advent was traditionally the Mass at the Church of the Twelve Apostles in Rome, with the emphasis on the "Expectation of Christ" as St. Andrew's Missal points out. On Ember Saturday of Advent, Mass was traditionally held at St. Peter's Basilica by the Pope. Saturdays are the most solemn of the Ember week because traditionally on this day the Holy Father ordains new men to the priesthood. In fact, as the St. Andrew's Missal relates,

"Everything in the Mass, moreover, bears the character of a very ancient liturgy. It calls to mind, with its numerous lessons, intermingled with responses and prayers, the earliest form of the introductory part of the Mass.

The soul that is penetrated with it finds itself filled with a holy impatience, and with the Church it aspires to the new birth of the only begotten Son of God, Who comes to deliver us fsromthe yoke of sin (Second Collect) 'While with confidence she awaits the Lord Jesus Who shall deliver us from our enemies, destroying Antichrist with the brightness of His Coming' (Epistle).

The Gospel brings before us the image of St. John the Baptist the precursor, who prepares our souls each year for the coming of the Savior. The same Gospel is again found in the Mass of the following day - [The Fourth Sunday of Advent] - because formerly the ordination, taking place in the evening, lasted well into the night, thus encroaching on the Sunday, provided it with its liturgy."

We can see how this has all been blurred by the New Mass of Paul VI which has so abandoned these beautiful traditions and safeguards. One safeguard, discipline that has been practicaly discarded is fasting, penance, self sacrifice. Fasting and abstinence are not something to be shunned, diminished or be ridiculed. Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself fasted often. He fasted forty days and forty nights before He began His public life. By Church law, all baptized persons between that ages of 21 and 59 years are bound to observe the law of fast, and all baptized persons over 7 years of age are bound to observe the law of abstinence.

A fast day is a day on which only one full meal is allowed; but in the morning and evening some food may be taken, the quantity and quality of which are determined by approved local custom. The one full meal may be taken either at noontime or in the evening. Only at this meal may meat be taken. "Meat" is the flesh of warm-blooded land animals, including birds and fowl. At the principal meal meat may be taken on a day of fast except on days of complete abstinence. For centuries up until the relaxation of the penitential spirit at Vatican II, meatless days were every Friday and the vigils of the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception and Christmas. Today, in the post-conciliar Church only on Ash Wednesday and Fridays in Lent are Catholics required to fast.

Sad that 54 days of fast and abstinence, and eight days of fasting and partial abstinence have been reduced to a mere two days out of the entire year. No wonder satan has had the run of things. No wonder the modern Church is in such turmoil today by letting down her defenses. Ember Days also have been discarded.

Fasting on a day of abstinence has always meant that two other meals, both meatless, may be taken according to each one's needs; but together they should not equal another full meal. Eating between meals is forbidden; but liquids, including milk and fruit juices, are allowed. Wine, coffee, tea, cocoa, lemonade, beer, sherbets, and like preparations are also permitted.

All baptized persons between the ages of 21 and 59 are obliged to observe the fast days of the Church, unless they are excused or dispensed. Persons dispensed from fast must, however, observe abstinence unless they have also been dispensed from abstinence.

When health or the ability to work would be seriously affected, the law does not oblige. For this reason those of weak health, the sick, the convalescent, nursing mothers, the very poor and those engaged in hard labor are excused from the fast; also nurses and teachers. One in doubt as to his or her duties in this matter should consult a parish priest or their confessor.

A day of abstinence is a day on which we are not allowed the use of meat. Again, this has been greatly relaxed with only Ash Wednesday and Fridays in Lent, including Good Friday, as days of abstinence; although many Catholics, especially Traditional Catholics, still faithfully observe Fridays as meatless days out of obedience to the Truths and Traditions of Holy Mother Church. Besides being a deterrent from gluttony and serving self first, it is also a great reminder of our Catholic roots and purpose, a reminder of Christ's Own preparation for Calvary.

Food-wise, fish, snails, frogs, oysters, shrimps, and crabs may be taken on abstinence days, as well as milk, butter, cheese, eggs, and similar foods. Lard and the fat of any animals may be used in cooking and seasoning. On an abstinence day which is not also a fast day, only the quality, not the quantity, of food is regulated. On days of complete abstinence meat, and soup or gravy made from meat, may not be used at all. On days of partial abstinence meat, and soup or gravy made from meat, may be taken only once a day at the principal meal. However, since we no longer have partial abstinence days, this is seldom observed.

All baptized persons over 7 years of age are bound to observe the abstinence days of the Church unless excused or dispensed. The sick and convalescent, those who do extremely hard work, and those too poor to obtain other foods are excused.

The law of abstinence binds even those not obliged to fast. One who believes he has sufficient reason to be excused should consult a priest.

When there is a great concourse of people, or if public health is concerned, the bishop can grant a dispensation for a particular locality, or even for the entire diocese, from the law of fast or of abstinence, or both. In recent years many bishops have granted dispensations very liberally to the degree that the intention of fasting has been greatly lessened.

The Church, in her Second Commandment of the Church "To fast and abstain on days appointed" has always commanded us to fast and to abstain in order that we may control the desires of the flesh, raise our minds more freely to God, and make satisfaction for sin. "I chastise my body and bring it into subjection, lest perhaps after preaching to others I myself should be rejected" (1 Corinthians 9:27).

It is not because meat and other foods are in themselves evil that the Church prescribes fast and abstinence. She merely commands us to deny ourselves for the glory of God and the good of our souls.

A good Christian will be careful to observe the laws of fast and abstinence. One who cannot fast should do some other penance.

The forty days' fast observed in Lent is in imitation of Our Lord, Who fasted forty days in the desert. It is a preparation for Easter. Friday as a day of abstinence commemorates Our Lord's Good Friday.

By fast and meditation on the sufferings of Christ, we can best induce in ourselves a proper contrition for our sins. Fast and abstinence are pleasing to God only when we also refrain from sin and engage in good works. We should honor Our Lord's passion during Lent by abstaining from worldly pleasures and amusements. We should accept trials patiently, uniting them to Our Lord's.

Even from merely natural motives, fast and abstinence, far from ruining the health as some people claim, on the contrary are a preservation of health. Reputable physicians will bear out this fact. To stay a step ahead of the devil we must condition ourselves spiritually. Today spiritual exercise is more needed than ever.

We will repeat this thought in the First Week of Lent when we treat the Ember Days of Lent - Spring. This will be repeated for Pentecost and next September when we will cover the final Ember Days of the liturgical year.

 

[Paul S]

Excellent information about the Ember Days.

However, the Ember Days are always in the Third Week of Advent, not the Fourth.

 

[Ann M]

This is one of them trick questions isn't it?

Cause you would only have a fourth Sunday of Advent if Christmas fell on a Sunday? Otherwise there are only 4 Sundays during Advent, and therefore only 3 Saturdays during Advent. So the fourth Sunday would therefore occur during Christmastide......

You're playing with my head.... where is that Panadol...

 

[Paul S]

This is one of them trick questions isn't it?

*whistles innocently*

Cause you would only have a fourth Sunday of Advent if Christmas fell on a Sunday? Otherwise there are only 4 Sundays during Advent, and therefore only 3 Saturdays during Advent. So the fourth Sunday would therefore occur during Christmastide......

If Christmas is on a Sunday, as it is this year, the Fourth Sunday is a week before (December 18).

 

[Ann M]

This is one of them trick questions isn't it?

Cause you would only have a fourth Saturday of Advent if Christmas fell on a Sunday? Otherwise there are only 4 Sundays during Advent, and therefore only 3 Saturdays during Advent. So the fourth Sunday would therefore occur during Christmastide......

You're playing with my head.... where is that Panadol...

Note the correction

 

[Paul S]

So what happens on Saturday?

 

[Ann M]

Hmm... here's another question.

On the traditional calendar, when is the Fourth Saturday in Advent celebrated?

Christmas Eve?

 

[Paul S]

Christmas Eve?

Yep!

There is never a "Fourth Saturday of Advent", since Christmas either falls on Monday through Saturday, cutting off the Fourth Week, or on Sunday, in which case the Vigil of the Nativity falls on Saturday.

When it really gets odd is when Christmas is on Monday, since then the Vigil and the Fourth Sunday have to share.

 

[Paul S]

Here's an easy one.

Today's saint is St. Stanislaus, Bishop Martyr. Where was he bishop?

And name a recent bishop of this city.