For centuries Christians handed on the faith through the feasts and fasts of the church year. The Second Vatican Council taught, “Within the cycle of a year… [holy Mother Church] unfolds the whole mystery of Christ, from the incarnation and birth until the ascension, the day of Pentecost, and the expectation of blessed hope and of the coming of the Lord. Recalling thus the mysteries of redemption, the Church opens to the faithful the riches of her Lord’s powers and merits, so that these are in some way made present for all time, and the faithful are enabled to lay hold upon them and become filled with saving grace” (Sacrosanctum Concilium 102). This of course takes place as we ponder the various prayers, antiphons, canticles, and blessings used in the liturgy; however, it is certainly not limited to what happens in the church!
Frances Berger, one of the founders of Catholic Rural Life, wrote in her 1949 Cooking for Christ that living liturgically includes actively participating in Mass using her Missal at church, praying from her Breviary (Liturgy of the Hours), and cooking the traditional recipes of her agrarian Catholic ancestors–thus connecting altar and dining table. Although I was raised Catholic, my family didn’t have or hand on the habit of special foods for special liturgical feasts. As I was not raised in an agrarian setting, I’ve also had to learn over the past two decades how to source and prepare local, in season food. As I’ve tried to reclaim what our agrarian ancestors once all knew, I’ve come also to savor the richness of dining in harmony with the rhythms of the liturgical year. Along the way I have collected stories, especially the stories of saints, holy men and women of heroic virtue, stories we tell as we prepare and enjoy foods. It is my hope that this little column in the bulletin will invite you and your family together with my family to savor these liturgical lessons and so help us grow in communion and conviviality with one another.
There is perhaps no better place to start this liturgical table than Michaelmas, the feast of the Archangels, Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael (on September 29). Michaelmas has long been considered one of the “signposts” of the seasons for those tied to the land and the church. Along with Christmas (on December 25 near the winter solstice), Ladymas (Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord on March 25 near the spring equinox), and St. John’s [the Baptizer’s Birth] Day (on June 24 near the summer solstice), Michaelmas (near the fall equinox) marks a turning of the seasons as summer gives way to autumn. These liturgical feasts were indicators and Michaelmas often served as a kind of Catholic harvest festival or Thanksgiving Day. Traditionally Michaelmas was the day for the slaughtering of the summer pig or dining on the stubble goose, fattened on the field after it was mowed. This feasting lasting until Martinmas (Memorial of St. Martin of Tours on November 11) after which our agrarian ancestors began a period of fasting in preparation for Christmastide. On this coming Michaelmas I encourage you to serve something large, invite family and friends to dine together as you give thanks for the bountiful harvest, and pray for the Archangels to protect you as we head into darker days.
Additional celebrations your family may want to mark during September include:
- The Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary on September 8, exactly nine months after we marked the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This is one of only three birthdays on the liturgical calendar. All other memorials of saints are on their date of death (or some other event in their life). This would be a good time to make a blue cake decorated with the Ave Maria and enjoy that after praying a Rosary and maybe even singing “Happy Birthday” to Mary. Perhaps consider some charitable work, a corporal work of mercy, to support young women who are not offered the opportunities most here have. https://www.crs.org/our-work-overseas/program-areas/microfinance
- The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross on September 14 (also known as the Triumph of the Holy Cross) commemorates the miraculous discovery of the True Cross by St. Helen(a), mother of Emperor Constantine. The date has been celebrated by Christians for more than seventeen centuries on the anniversary of the dedication of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on the site of Golgotha. Known as Meskel in Ethiopia the day is marked with giant bonfires evoking the holy smoke by which St. Helen(a) was guided to the site of the True Cross. Traditionally the feast of the Holy Cross is a day of fasting from both the labor and fruits of the fall harvesting. The following day is appropriately the memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows and thus either day would be an appropriate time to walk our Stations of the Cross at St. John Vianney, singing a verse of the Stabat Mater between each Station. You might consider supporting the work of Christians in the Holy Land, offering your fast as a spiritual work of mercy on their behalf. https://www.custodia.org/en
- Various other memorials of saints marked in September include St. Matthew the Evangelist (a feast since he’s also an Apostle), St. John Chrysostom, St. Jerome, St. Greogry the Great, St. Vincent de Paul, St. Peter Claver, and St. Andrew Kim which all invite us to emulate these holy men by studying sacred scripture and serving the least among us—the destitute, the enslaved, and the persecuted—and thus witness God’s love in their midst. Check out the work done by our local Vincentians and consider a family service project together: https://svdpvashon.org/ All you holy men and women, pray for us!
I hope that these suggestions help you and your family to receive and hand on our Catholic Christian faith through the feasts and fasts of the church year. And I look forward to sharing stories together on Sundays of how our respective families are embracing #LiturgicalLiving throughout the week.
Resources:
Catholic Household Blessings and Prayers (Revised Edition, USCCB Publishing):
https://www.usccb.org/resources/catholic-household-blessings-and-prayers
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