By Brea Cannon
Liturgical Rhythm of Life
Here we are in June! The Church’s liturgical calendar is now in Ordinary Time; our Church calendar seems to take a breath. The gift of the ordinary during this time is an opportunity to dive deeper into the events and life of Jesus that we just experienced. From Jesus’ birth, life, passion, death, resurrection, ascension and God sending the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, we walked through the entire life of Jesus in roughly five months. Ordinary Time is another opportunity to pray with scripture, read good literature or spiritual books, explore the vast treasures of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, study the lives of saints and live the liturgy.
In her book, “Around the Year with the von Trapp Family,” Maria von Trapp wrote, “If the time from the first Sunday of Advent until Pentecost seems like one long uninterrupted celebration of the greatest mystery of our faith, the time from Pentecost to the end of the church year appears much more sober.”
She continued, “This second half of the church year is referred to in Austria as ‘the Green Meadow’ because of the green color of the vestments on Sundays after Pentecost ... If the festive character of the first part of the year is comparable to the mountain chains of the Alps or the Andes, the single feasts in the months after Pentecost are like isolated peaks towering above the Green Meadow.”
As we venture through our “green meadow,” I encourage you to create your own liturgical calendar. Write down major feast days (The Assumption (Aug. 15), Exaltation of the Cross (Sept. 14), ember days, Feast of Archangels (Sept. 29), specific saint feasts and other liturgical times of feasts and fasts. Do a little bit of research: recall family members’ birthdays and baptisms and celebrate each. Add the dates loved ones died, pray or have a Mass intention for them on or around those days.
July is dedicated to the Most Precious Blood of Jesus. There are also many men and women of faith the Church celebrates in July; be sure to write these down! On July 1, the Franciscan friar and missionary St. Juniper Serra is celebrated. Serra was a Spanish missionary in the 18th century who came to what is now California to minister to the Native Americas. Serra was convicted and ministered with radical love; he taught, baptized and learned the native language to translate the catechism. In honor of this saint, we can pray for our country and make a small missionary act to invite a neighbor to Mass or write a letter to someone in need of encouragement.
Two of my favorite saints are also celebrated in July; Sts. James and Anne.
St. James was a fisherman, apostle of Jesus and brother to the beloved disciple John. For many Catholics, his feast day on July 25 is associated with the Camino de Santiago or the Way of St. James. The Camino is a trek that leads to a cathedral in Santiago de Compostela, Spain; legend claims the cathedral holds the remains of St. James. To honor the life of the apostle James, take a personal pilgrimage to a holy site like the oldest Catholic church in Indiana, St. Francis Xavier Cathedral in Vincennes or to a local cemetery to pray for the faithful departed.
July 26 is the feast day for St. Anne. St. Anne was a devout woman, mother and teacher of the Blessed Virgin Mary. As the grandmother of Jesus, on St. Anne’s feast day, the Church celebrates Grandparent’s Day. Whether you are young or old, this day is an opportunity to pray specifically for your grandparents both living and deceased. If your grandparents are still living, send a card or give them a phone call — they will love hearing from you. If you are a grandparent, pray for your grandchildren and their parents. The prayers of grandparents are a gift to society.
Other July Feast Days: St. Maria Goretti (July 9), St. Benedict (July 11), St. Katieri Tekakwitha (July 14), Our Lady of Mt. Carmel (July 16), St. Mary Magdalene (July 22) and St. Martha (July 29).
We are walking through the “green meadow” of our liturgical year. It’s a beautiful place to be. Together, let’s take some time to rest, pilgrimage and grow closer to our Lord in the feasts and fasts of the ordinary.
Brea Cannon is an Evansville diocese native and member of St. Peter Parish in Montgomery with her husband, three children and extended family.