rhyddid_rose
16th March 2005, 03:00 PM
To Life Immortal
The following is from "The Year of Grace of the Lord"
Forgiveness Sunday
This Sunday is the fourth of the Sundays which prepare us for Lent. It ends, and is the last day of this period of preparation. From the following day, Monday, we shall be in Lent itself. This Sunday itself is called "cheese-fare Sunday" because, beginning with the next day, the tradition of the Church is that we should abstain from eggs, milk, butter and cheese. The Saturday preceding this Sunday is dedicated to the memory of those saints, men and women, who have given themselves to the ascetic life. At the threshold of Lent, we honour them as inspirers and intercessors in this difficult way of penitence.
Romans 13:11-14:4, read at the Sunday liturgy, exhorts us to cast off the works of darkness and to put on the armour of light, to walk honestly as in the day, fleeing drunkenness, debauchery and the lusts of the flesh. Paul links this theme of the flesh to the theme of fasting. One person believes that he may eat all things; another eats only herbs. Let not him that eats despise him who does not, and let not him who does not eat judge him who does. Who are you to judge another? Both you and he are dependent on the same Master.
The gospel for the liturgy, taken from Matthew 6:14-21, opens with the precept of forgiveness: 'If ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses'. The fact that the Church has chosen this saying to introduce the gospel for the day shows that she intends to make forgiveness the dominant theme for the Sunday. It is true that the rest of the gospel for this day speaks of fasting; but the Greek particle which joins the verses about fasting to the verses about forgiveness seem to assign to the former a postion of dependence on the latter. The Lord Jeuss advises those who fast not to look gloomy or to be of a sad countenance like those hypocrites who want to be noticed when they fast: "Thou when thou fastest, anoint thy head, and wash thy face." The Father, who sees in secret, shall reward thee openly. Let thy treasure and thy heart be not on earth, but in heaven.
The chants for vespers and matins contrast the blessedness of paradise with the wretched state of man after the fall. But Moses, through fasting, so purified his eyes that they were able to see the divine vision. In the same way, may our fasting, which will last fort days as did that of Moses, help us to repress the passions of the flesh and free us so that we may 'with light step ...set out upon the path to heaven'. Let us pay attention to the words 'with light stop'. Our penitence must not be somehting heavy and burdensome. 'We must go through Lent lightly and airily, in a way which somehow makes us kin to the angels.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ba dhúthchas riamh d'ár gcine cháidh
Gan iompáil riar ó imirt áir,
'Siubhal mar iad i gcoinnibh rámhaid
Seo libh, canaidh amhrán na bhFiann.
~~***~~~***~~
We're children of a fighting race
That never yet has known disgrace,
And as we march the foe to face,.......
We'll chant a soldier's song.
The following is from "The Year of Grace of the Lord"
Forgiveness Sunday
This Sunday is the fourth of the Sundays which prepare us for Lent. It ends, and is the last day of this period of preparation. From the following day, Monday, we shall be in Lent itself. This Sunday itself is called "cheese-fare Sunday" because, beginning with the next day, the tradition of the Church is that we should abstain from eggs, milk, butter and cheese. The Saturday preceding this Sunday is dedicated to the memory of those saints, men and women, who have given themselves to the ascetic life. At the threshold of Lent, we honour them as inspirers and intercessors in this difficult way of penitence.
Romans 13:11-14:4, read at the Sunday liturgy, exhorts us to cast off the works of darkness and to put on the armour of light, to walk honestly as in the day, fleeing drunkenness, debauchery and the lusts of the flesh. Paul links this theme of the flesh to the theme of fasting. One person believes that he may eat all things; another eats only herbs. Let not him that eats despise him who does not, and let not him who does not eat judge him who does. Who are you to judge another? Both you and he are dependent on the same Master.
The gospel for the liturgy, taken from Matthew 6:14-21, opens with the precept of forgiveness: 'If ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses'. The fact that the Church has chosen this saying to introduce the gospel for the day shows that she intends to make forgiveness the dominant theme for the Sunday. It is true that the rest of the gospel for this day speaks of fasting; but the Greek particle which joins the verses about fasting to the verses about forgiveness seem to assign to the former a postion of dependence on the latter. The Lord Jeuss advises those who fast not to look gloomy or to be of a sad countenance like those hypocrites who want to be noticed when they fast: "Thou when thou fastest, anoint thy head, and wash thy face." The Father, who sees in secret, shall reward thee openly. Let thy treasure and thy heart be not on earth, but in heaven.
The chants for vespers and matins contrast the blessedness of paradise with the wretched state of man after the fall. But Moses, through fasting, so purified his eyes that they were able to see the divine vision. In the same way, may our fasting, which will last fort days as did that of Moses, help us to repress the passions of the flesh and free us so that we may 'with light step ...set out upon the path to heaven'. Let us pay attention to the words 'with light stop'. Our penitence must not be somehting heavy and burdensome. 'We must go through Lent lightly and airily, in a way which somehow makes us kin to the angels.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ba dhúthchas riamh d'ár gcine cháidh
Gan iompáil riar ó imirt áir,
'Siubhal mar iad i gcoinnibh rámhaid
Seo libh, canaidh amhrán na bhFiann.
~~***~~~***~~
We're children of a fighting race
That never yet has known disgrace,
And as we march the foe to face,.......
We'll chant a soldier's song.