A Septuagesima Thought About Burying the Alleluia

It's here - Septuagesima Sunday; and so it's time to bury the Alleulia. Well, maybe not for those who attend the Novus Ordo Mass and/or follow the newfangled calendar. There it's "just" another Sunday in that "Ordinary" time concocted after Vatican II. 

We'll get to this burial of the Alleluia shortly, but let's not forget to pray for those who, either out of ignorance or choice, go through life bereft of our traditional calendar. Pray for them. They don't know what they're missing.

As we do pray, a confession: Our family once attended only the traditional Mass - A/K/A TLM, Tridentine Mass, Vetus Ordo, or whatever you may call it. Now we mostly don't. Why? Perhaps a story for another time. One thing we can relate: We are blessed to attend a Novus Ordo Mass in a parish that offers sincere priests who do their best to celebrate Mass reverently, and in accord with the official Novus Ordo rubrics, sans any "innovations" or improvisations. They know Mass isn't jazz.

But even if you don't attend the traditional Mass, you can follow the traditional calendar. 

It's a simple choice. And a worthwhile one. For one thing, it's simply "richer." Just check a traditional calendar for the Liturgical Year and compare to the current newfangled one. You can easily search and find one or more of each. If you do, the richness of the old vs. the more shall we say "pared down" newfangled will emerge. For one thing, many martyrs commemorations were eliminated from the new. Why? Again, perhaps a story for another time. 

Those edited/deleted commemorations and feast days left a more "sanitized" or cold calendar for the Novus Ordo folks. This isn't based on any special expertise or analysis. It's simply what this ordinary everyday Catholic has concluded in following both day to day.

Yes, both. It's a habit developed over the years. Just wanting to keep an eye on each every day. And with those years of watching, the conclusion simply emerged. The traditional is richer in so many ways, the first being its abundance of martyrs when the new offers...well, you have to see for yourself.

But rather than put all on you to compare the one with the other, here's one striking example. It's not quite one that we might directly experience, but it's a child of the traditional calendar, specifically of Septuagesima Sunday. It's that burial of the Alleluia we referenced as we began today's Sunday thoughts.

It's a tradition in monasteries that adhere to the traditional ways. They take some sort of banner imprinted with "Alleluia," dig a hole and bury it, accompanied by special prayers. Indeed, "Alleluia" drops out of the liturgy from Septuagesima throughout Lent.

This may be monastic practice, but it does represent the long-standing, deep, and beautiful tradition that continues to be suppressed by those "in charge" of the administration of the rites of our Holy Catholic Church.

Oh, and those of us not living in monasteries who attend the our dear traditional Latin Mass will find the priest wearing purple vestments in anticipation of Lent, not the green of the Novus Ordo. 

Why these traditional and beautiful liturgical practices are subject to question, ridicule, and attack has been addressed in these posts over the years. 

For now, the rest of our Day of Rest must prevail. Whether we observe and follow the traditional calendar or the new, whether we attend the Mass of the Ages or the Novus Ordo, the fact is Lent approaches. And it behooves us to prepare. Don't let Lent sneak up on you and suddenly - poof! - appear out of thin air on Ash Wednesday. 

A Blessed Septuagesima Sunday!