In this edition:

1. Liturgy Committee Mission
2. Liturgical News
3. The Liturgy of Lent
4. Lenten Table Prayers
5. Information and Event Schedule for Lent 2008 at St. Thomas Aquinas

Liturgy Committee Mission

The mission of the liturgy team is to provide education, understanding and enrichment of liturgical prayer for the assembly, including members and guests of St. Toms through the liturgical year. The team seeks to promote full and active participation in the liturgy.

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Liturgical News

Lent

"Lent is really early this year!" I have said that myself and others have said it to me. "Why is that?" and "Why can't Easter have the same date every year, like Christmas?" some have asked. Well, it does, sort of. Easter is always the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Vernal Equinox. Yes, it's all about the moon. Once Easter is determined, the rest of the liturgical calendar is set.

For me, it's alright that Easter is a "movable Feast day." I look at it this way; the season of Lent should catch us a little off guard. Who is not a little uneasy about looking inward and remembering all of the times we "missed the mark" this past year? Who isn't a little nervous about traveling the path that will lead us as a people from songs of Hosanna and praise to shouts of "crucify Him!" Who doesn't wonder, "if I were there, would I have joined in with the mob, run like the disciples or stayed at the foot of the cross?" Thank God we have the joy of viewing our Lenten journey through the lens of the resurrection. We can joyfully say, Oh Lord, be merciful to me for I have sinned and know that our loving God will embrace us even though we are far from perfect. We can, with certainty, sing Hosanna to our King yet feel the pain of Christ laboring to give birth to a new Church on the cross at Calvary. And without doubt we can, with full voice, sing out an Alleluia on Easter Vigil to raise the dead. Lent is at hand. Easter is near. Are we ready? Will we ever be? I say, bring it on! Lent is my favorite time of year! I embrace it like a road to travel with choices to make, zig zagging my way, uncertain if I will succeed in becoming a better disciple of Christ but bound by faith to give it my best shot.

Walk to Calvary

This year, join the Health Cabinet as we walk from Ash Wednesday to Good Friday keeping track of our mileage from Lafayette to Calvary (see section 5 for details). Together, step by step, let us make healthier choices for our bodies, minds and souls. I believe, that with one another's help, we can make it through the cross of Calvary and jump into the font of new life along side those who will rise out of the water a new creation. Ready or not, here we are, once again being signed with those ashes, yet again, reminding us that we need to turn away from sin and be faithful to the gospel.

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The Liturgy of Lent

Lent is a season of soul-searching and repentance. It is a season for reflection and taking stock. Lent originated in the very earliest days of the Church as a preparatory time for Easter, when the faithful rededicated themselves and when converts were instructed in the faith and prepared for baptism. By observing the forty days of Lent, the individual Christian imitates Jesus’ withdrawal into the wilderness for forty days.

Austere is the watchword for the liturgical celebrations of the Season of Lent. The Church has proclaimed a time of fasting and self-denial and she teaches by example. The priest is vested in violet, "the gloomy color of affliction and mortification", except on the Fourth Sunday of Lent (Laetare Sunday) when he might choose the festive option of rose vestments. The sanctuary is bereft of flowers, and less ornate linens and candlesticks adorn the altar. The Gloria will not be prayed on Sunday, while the Alleluia will be entirely absent throughout Lent.

The use of musical instruments is usually limited to the accompaniment of singing. Weddings are discouraged during Lent and in fact, all celebrations should be characterized by restraint. Even the feast days of Saints are observed in a reduced manner, with the priest wearing the violet of the season rather than the red or white of the saint. By this penitential ‘fast of the senses’, Holy Mother Church prepares our hearts for a jubilant Easter renewal.

Ash Wednesday inaugurates the Lenten Season, and its readings set the guidelines for our 40-day journey. The Gospel gives us our Lenten "marching orders": pray, fast, and give alms, not for outward show but with hearts that are converted. We receive the sacramental ashes as testimony to our desire to do penance and bear our cross after Jesus.

Subsequent Scripture readings of the Lenten Liturgies give us daily lessons based on three major themes:

As we journey through this season of Lent together let us continuously reflect on the readings so that we might carry the message of the liturgy into the practice of our lives, to die to self and rise in Christ each day, and that we will this evident by being drawn to works of mercy offered for those we love and those we should love.

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Lenten Table Prayers

Week One:

  Gathered around this table are your humble servants, O God. Bless the food you have placed before us. Bless us too as we use this nourishment to feed our hunger for justice so that all people have something nutritious to eat each day. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Week Two:

  Our Lenten journey continues as we work to transform our lives into one that is more pleasing to you, O merciful God. Be with us this week in our breaking bread together and help us to use this time to share our experiences of the day with each other. Nourish and strengthen us to do your will. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Week Three:

  Living Water, Bread of Life, these are the names we give your Son, O Loving God. Bless the food and drink that we share around this table to give us strength to become the vessels that carry sustenance to those who are hungry and thirsty. Fill us with your abundant love so that others may come to know you through our words and deeds. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Week Four:

  You place so much before us, O God of abundance. Bless this meal that you have set before us but do not let us become blind to the hunger and thirst of others. Help us to envision a world where poverty is no more. A planet where all children have enough to eat and the elderly and disabled are well cared for and respected. Strengthen us for Thy will to be done. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Week Five:

  You bless us with the love of family and friends, O God. We pray for peace in our homes and in the world. Strengthen us through this meal to rise to a new life of caring for those who need our love the most. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Holy Week:

  As we share in our meal together, let us remember the sacrifices made to provide this food placed before us. Let us remember the produce farmers and their laborers who provide the fruit and vegetables. Let us remember the animal that was raised just for the purpose of our nourishment. Let us remember those who worked to provide the meal that paid for the groceries. Let us also remember, in a special way this week, Christ who sacrificed his life for us so that we might enjoy the eternal banquet in heaven. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

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Information and Event Schedule for Lent 2008 at St. Thomas Aquinas

Fasting and Abstinence

• Those 14 years and older are to abstain (not eat meat) on Ash Wednesday and each Friday of Lent.
• Those between the ages of 18 and 59 should fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. To fast is to eat only one meal and two smaller meals (two smaller meals not to equal one large meal) throughout the day.

Operation Rice Bowl

Please pick up a Rice Bowl bank and return it any time throughout the Lenten season.

Walk to Calvary

Using the Lenten Season to renew your body, mind and spirit to journey to Calvary by Good Friday. See details on the bulletin board in the gather space.

Stations of the Cross

Noon on Friday in the worship space

Daily Eucharist

11:30am Monday through Friday

Weekend Eucharist

5:30pm Saturday Evening
9:00am, 11:00am, 7:00pm and 9:00pm on Sunday when Purdue is in session

Centering Prayer

5:30pm on Monday in Room 3

Pro-life Prayer Vigil Against Death Penalty

4:30pm Thursday on the corner of State and Marstellar

Sacred Triduum

The season of Lent ends quietly in the afternoon of Holy Thursday. Our Easter Triduum begins with the Mass of the Lord's Supper. These three sacred days are counted in the Jewish tradition of evening to evening. The evening of Holy Thursday through the evening of Good Friday is the 1st day. The evening of Good Friday through the evening of Holy Saturday is the 2nd day. The evening of Holy Saturday through the evening of Easter Day is the 3rd day. This celebration is what the whole liturgical year revolves around.

Holy Thursday – March 20th Mass of the Lord's Supper 7:00pm
Good Friday – March 21st Service of the Lord's Passion 3:00pm
Holy Saturday – March 22nd Easter Vigil 8:00pm
Easter Day – March 23rd 9:00am, 11:00am and 7:00pm NO 9PM Mass

Don't miss "A Walk to Calvary"

"A Walk to Calvary" is a program to increase the health of body, mind and spirit during the Lenten Season. Won't you join the St. Toms Health Cabinet in the journey to Calvary?

Sign up and get started! Keep track of your miles and the accumulated miles of all parishioners will bring us to the cross by Good Friday. Our journey is approximately 6,680 miles.

At sign up you will receive a walking packet that will contain a card that will help you to keep track of your miles each week and the tabulation sheet so that you can calculate your non-walking mileage. You will also receive a devotional page with stories and questions for reflection.

Pedometers may be purchased at any sporting goods store. Wearing a pedometer and keeping track of your daily footsteps will help us reach our goal.

A Walk to Calvary Tabulating Instructions

Physical Exercise
Walking, running, biking (treadmill or stationary bike okay) = 1 mile for each mile traveled
Aerobic activity (swimming, tennis, basketball, golf, exercise program, etc) = 1 mile for every 20 minutes of exercise
Gardening/yard work = 1 mile for every 20 minutes of work

Spiritual Exercise
Reading the Bible = 1 mile for every 20 minutes
Meditation/prayer = 1 mile for every 20 minutes
Memorizing a Bible verse (children) = 1 mile for every verse

Mental Exercise
Reading = 1 mile for every 20 minutes Sudoku, Crossword puzzle = 1 mile for every 20 minutes Knitting, crocheting, sewing = 1 mile for every 20 minutes Board games = 1 mile for each game

Healthy Behaviors (children)
Going to bed without a fuss = 1 mile for every time
Taking food items to church for the food pantry = 1 mile for each time
Picking up toys = 1 mile for every day
Not fighting with siblings = 1 mile for every day
Brushing teeth 2X/day = 1 mile for every day
Eating 5 fruits/vegetables each day = 1 mile for every day

Healthy Behaviors (Purdue Students)
Not skipping class = 1 mile a day
Attending daily Mass = 1mile a day
Donating time, talent or treasure to the church = 1 mile each time
Participating in the Busy Student Retreat = 4 miles for the retreat
Eating 5 fruits/vegetables each day = 1 mile for every day

Healthy Behaviors (Resident Parishioners)
Drinking 6 glasses of water a day = 1 mile for every day
Eating 5 fruits/vegetables each day = 1 mile for every day
Wearing seatbelts in your car = 1 mile for every day
Not using a cell phone while driving = 1 mile for every day
Getting a flu shot this season = 3 miles

* any physical, spiritual or mental exercise done as a family or with room mates = 5 miles

A group low impact aerobic walk will take place on Thursday evenings (Feb 7,14, 21, 28, March 6 & 13) at 6pm in Room 3. Bring two cans of soup to use as weights during the walk and donate them after the walk for the food pantry.

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