Beginning Our Preparations On Septuagesima Sunday

And just like that Septuagesima Sunday is upon us. For those who follow the newfangled calendar of Holy Mother Church "Septuagesima Sunday" may not ring a bell. But those who adhere to the traditional calendar know quite well what's up here.

This Sunday - Septuagesima - will be followed by Sexagesima and Quinquagesima Sunday. These three were - for centuries - provided as reminders to prepare ourselves for Lent. There are no such reminders in the newfangled (Novus Ordo) calendar.

One "signal" to prepare is the priest's vestments: they're purple. (Green remains de rigeur in the Novus Ordo: "nothing going on here.") The liturgy itself reflects the coming of the great penitential Season of Lent. 

But rather than spend our Sunday diving deep into the history and theology of these three venerable Sundays, let's instead prepare. It doesn't matter that you might attend the Novus Ordo Mass today. Preparation won't hurt you. 

Indeed, any serious Catholic likely has some awareness of the coming of Lent. And with that, the next logical step would be to make a plan: what will I do this Lent that incorporates the Three Pillars of Lent: Prayer, Fasting, Almsgiving.

Rather than wait for Ash Wednesday and hurriedly make something up, give it some consideration now. Maybe make a list of items that would qualify in each category.

Now, we all know what prayer means, and what fasting means. But a a quick word about almsgiving: It's not restricted to giving money. Think of "charity" - and a charity that extends what one hopes is some baseline practice of charity that applies all year. For example, maybe there's a resolution to be patient always with one's spouse; maybe there's a resolution to extend an extra helping hand to a fellow worker who might be struggling on some task or project. You get the point.

On this end, we'll use some of St. Benedict's Rule to help us prepare. We haven't referred to the Rule much in recent posts, but if you've followed this Blog for any length of time, you know the role of the Rule in the life of monks. And you've seen how we non-monks can benefit from a regular reading and meditation on the Rule throughout the year.

The Rule of St. Benedict is traditionally read through daily 3 times per year, beginning on January 1st. So we're in that first third part of the year, the first read-through. But for our purposes we'll look back at the Prologue of the Rule - the first entries in early January. They give us a good shot of advice on how we can grow closer to God.

In the end, that's really the whole purpose of our Lenten discipline: grow closer to God. The Three Pillars aren't some test of our ability to add to our prayers or  "give things up." If the adding on or giving up doesn't lead us to grow closer to God, there's really no point to them. Lent isn't some sort of contest.

In any case, we find in Prologue to the Rule, some clear suggestions from dear St. Benedict for those of us who understand the critical importance of growing closer to God (a/k/a becoming a saint). And so we begin our preparation with St. Benedict appealing to those who would consider becoming monks. Oh, and the reference to "workman" does dovetail nicely with Catholic Men At Work, doesn't it?"

And the Lord, seeking his workman among the multitudes to whom he thus crieth, saith again:  "What man is he that desireth life and would fain see good days?" And if hearing him thou answer, "I am he," God saith to thee: "If thou wilt have true and everlasting life, keep thy tongue from eveil and they lips tha they speak no guile. Turn away from eveil and do good: seek after peace and pursue it."

There. Those few suggestions can give a nudge to our preparation. Start there and fashion our own individual Plan. Keep it simple but specific. It will be our special spiritual discipline for Lent.

More next Sunday...

Happy Septuagesima Sunday!