By Brea Cannon
Liturgical Rhythm of Life
“Jesus and Mary themselves obey and offer their homage to Joseph, for the reverence what the hand of God has established in him, namely, the authority of spouse and the authority of father.” — Pope Pius XI
March is dedicated to St. Joseph, the spouse of Mary and father of our Lord Jesus. His feast day is on March 19, but the entire month is dedicated to him. He was a man with no recorded dialogue to speak of but that does not diminish his indispensable role in the life of the Holy Family and ultimately salvation history. A special novena to St. Joseph is traditionally prayed from March 10-18.
St. Joseph opened his life and home to Mary and Jesus; he loved and protected them from all that came their way. He was an honest man who understood his humble role in the life of our Savior. St. Joseph guarded those he loved and protected the dwelling for the holy family. This month of March is a great time to pray and reflect on the content and “noise” brought into your home. Start that spring cleaning and invite people into your home for fellowship and hospitality as St. Joseph opened his life to the Holy Family. Your home is a sanctuary for yourself and those who enter or dwell there with you. As St. Joseph sheltered our Lord, we too can create a shelter in our homes that are filled with love and truth.
March is also a time when we shift in our liturgical seasons; we shift from Ordinary Time to Lent.
Lent begins this year on March 5, Ash Wednesday. In the next few weeks, you will be seeing all kinds of Lenten resources and people around you may even be sharing what they will “do” or give up for Lent. These are great things and any step we take in growing closer to our Lord is never wasted.
Lenten preparation is a large part of how we enter into the solemn season. One tradition observed is the medieval tradition, instituted by Pope Alexander II, of burying the Alleluia.
Written by Francis Weiser in the “Handbook of Christian Feasts & Customs”we are given some insight into the practice:
“The depositio (discontinuance) of the Alleluia on the eve of Septuagesima assumed in medieval times a solemn and emotional note of saying farewell to the beloved song. Despite the fact that Pope Alexander II had ordered a very simple and somber way of ‘deposing’ the Alleluia, a variety of farewell customs prevailed in many countries up to the sixteenth century.”
In our home, we keep it simple. Our Alleluia is a gold-painted plaque (from a craft store) with Alleluia burned in the wood. In the days before Ash Wednesday, we sing a song of Alleluia and slide our plaque into a cloth bag to be placed with tenderness by a statue of our Blessed Mother. Our Alleluia plaque remains with Mary until that joyous day of the Resurrection. I know of others who literally bury their Alleluia in a garden or landscaping outside. However the Alleluia is buried, it is a reminder of the anticipation of the hope and joy yet to come on that Easter day.
Lent is filled with many observances, fasts and feasts. Many great saints, St. Katharine Drexel (March 3), St. Thomas Aquinas (March 7, the day he died in 1274, and his original feast day until 1969), St. Patrick (March 17), St. Joseph (March 19), and the Annunciation of the Lord (March 25) are nestled into March and the Lenten season. Lent should be about intention, as is living the liturgy. Extra prayers and fasting during Lent are meant to lead us closer to a relationship with our Lord that is then fostered after Lent. It is not so much about how much we do, but what and how we do it. If the feast days and observances distract you from your prayer, fasting and the hope of the resurrection, then keep it simple. No matter what you do, or don’t do in Lent, be sure to pray and live with intention. And, be sure to ask St. Joseph to walk with you for he is there to guide and protect you as he did the Holy Family.
Brea Cannon is a Diocese of Evansville native and member of St. Peter Parish in Montgomery with her husband, three children and extended family.