Modern Day
Reporting from Croke Park on the 17 June 2012, Fr Thomas Rosia commented that ‘This temple
of football and rugby was transformed into an outdoor cathedral.’ Over 75,000 people from
over 120 countries gathered in Croke Park to celebrate the
Statio Orbis, or the final Mass of
the International Eucharistic Congress 2012. In his homily, Cardinal Ouellet said that ‘Faith is
the most precious gift we have received with baptism. Let’s not keep it private and fearful!
Let it grow as a splendid tree through sharing everywhere.’ And so from the 10 – 17 June 2012,
Dublin celebrated liturgies that allowed our faith to grow in a public and unfearful way. It
began with the opening ceremony and celebration of the Eucharist on day 1, with a theme
of ‘gathering’. Throughout the week there were daily celebrations of morning prayer, an
Ecumenical Liturgy of Word and Water, a Liturgy of Reconciliation, Anointing of the Sick, and
on day 4 there was an Evening Eucharistic Procession. The idea of a Eucharistic Procession still
exists around the country on the Feast of
Corpus Christi. This is when the Blessed Sacrament
is placed in a monstrance and processed through a village, town or city. Over a PA system,
prayers and music are led.
There were also many talks over the course of the week. One such talk on liturgy, given by
Julie Kavanagh, outlined the foundational principles of ritual and liturgy. She stated that
liturgy is ‘embodied ritual’. This means that we are bodily people and these bodies ‘do’ liturgy.
She quoted the late Aidan Kavanagh to point out that ‘liturgy is the Church caught in the act
of being itself’. Liturgy is action as well as being words and symbols. Liturgy is where we meet
Christ. We meet Christ through scripture, the Eucharist and the priest, but also through the
people who gather. What was the overall affect of the 50
th International Eucharistic Congress?
Archbishop Diarmuid Martin stated that the IEC ‘awakened in our hearts something which
went way beyond our plans and expectations’.
Create your own Liturgical
Calendar
First you are going to calculate the dates of the different special days in the liturgical year and
then you are going to create your very own liturgical calendar.
Step 1:
Find Christmas day and count back 4 Sundays to find the date of the first Sunday of
Advent
Date:
Step 2:
In order to work out the date of Easter Sunday, you must find out the date for the first
full moon after the Spring Equinox. Easter Sunday is the following Sunday. So, if the first full
moon after the Spring Equinox is 31 March, find the date of Easter Sunday (if this date falls on a
Sunday then that is the date of Easter)
Date:
Step 3:
Now, take the date for Easter Sunday, and subtract 46 to get the date for Ash
Wednesday
Date:
Step 4:
Take the date of Easter Sunday, and find the date of the Sunday before. This is the date
for Palm Sunday
Date:
Step 5:
Next, take the date for Palm Sunday and go to the following Thursday. This is the date
for Holy Thursday
Date:
Step 6:
The day following Holy Thursday is Good Friday
Date:
Step 7:
Now take the date of Easter Sunday and add 40 days. This is the Feast of the Ascension
of the Lord into Heaven
Date:
Step 8:
Take the date of Easter Sunday and add 50 days. This is the Feast of Pentecost
Date:
Step 9:
Lastly, look at Christmas Day 2014. From here, count back 4 Sundays and find the date
for the first Sunday of Advent for the next liturgical year
