Saints, Feast, Family
- Traditions passed down with Cooking, Crafting, & Caring -
March/April
Holy Saturday (Sabbatum Sanctum)
The blessing of the baskets in the morning...
At night, The church is Somber and Dark in mourning but it finds illumination
Alleluia vs Hallelujah?
The Holy Grail
On Holy Saturday the Church waits at the Lord's tomb, meditating on his suffering and death. The altar is left bare, and the sacrifice of the Mass is not celebrated. Only after the solemn vigil during the night, held in anticipation of the resurrection, does the Easter celebration begin, with a spirit of joy that overflows into the following period of fifty days.
Prayer:
Holy Day of Obligation:
(Easter night & morning mass)
This is the holiest day of the year!
This is a High Mass.
Have you ever wonder why Easter is so special with a mass or a service? Why do people dress their best? Why is the mass sung? Or the music so amazing. This shows that the mass is being celebrated as a high mass.
In a Low Mass, the mass is spoken and not as formal. It is an everyday mass.
In the extraordinary form of a High Mass, it is essentially a sung Mass, by a priest, bishop or the Holy Father.
Naturally, there are ceremonially differences in degrees of solemnity, too, but that is a basic distinction.
So on this most special day, filled with blessings, dress your best, sing and be joyous, and spread the word that Christ has risen! Alleluia!
Alleluia or Halleluja, either is a blessing to be heard!
In the morning the blessing of the baskets is celebrated
In the morning most churches do a blessing of the baskets.
Father Touis at our church did an amazing job last year!
The blessing of Easter food takes place on Holy Saturday. Among the Slovaks a basket containing lamb meat (which of course signifies Jesus, the Lamb of God), boiled eggs, dyed and plain, Pascha (a special Easter bread), and other foods, is taken to the church in the afternoon where the priest blesses it, using the prayer
Bless, O Lord,
this creation that it may be a means of salvation to the human race,
And grant that, by the invocation of Thy Holy Name,
it may promote health of body, and salvation of soul in those
who partake of it, through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Then sprinkle with holy water.
The food is then taken home and eaten on Easter Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday.
Among the Polish people the same custom is practiced, but the main foods blessed are an egg which is broken and shared by all on Easter Sunday morning, and a lamb moulded of butter or pastry. This butter-lamb and blessed Easter egg have a place of honor on the festive Easter table.
In Rome on Holy Saturday there is an old custom which is still in practice.
A fresh table cloth is spread on the table in the dining room and on it are laid out the Easter meal, including the uncooked Easter Lamb which is decorated with flowers, eggs, wine, fruit, and a large traditional cake called "pizza". These are sprinkled with holy water, and are given a special blessing by the priest.
Black Saturday
All is dark and quiet, this is a time for prayer, the darkness represents a world without God.
There are no masses from Good Friday until Saturday night Easter Vigil.
This is a time for fasting and abstinence (from meat).
One of the most beautiful Celebrations in the church is on Holy Saturday Night when the Paschal Candle is lit.
This candle is very tall (4 feet or taller) and stays lit for 365 days. A new Candle is presented every year during this Vigil.
The term "Paschal" comes from the Latin word "Pascha", which came from the Hebrew word Pesach, which in Hebrew means Passover, and relates to the Paschal mystery of salvation. It is also referred to as the "Easter candle" or the "Christ candle."
For churches that celebrate the Easter Vigil on the night of Holy Saturday, the ceremonial lighting of the Paschal candle is one of the most solemn moments of the service.
On Maundy Thursday of the same week the entire church is darkened by extinguishing all candles and lamps. This represents the darkness of a world without God.
At the opening of the Easter Vigil a "new fire" is lit and blessed. The minister will trace the symbols (mentioned above) on the Paschal candle, saying words similar to: "Christ, yesterday and today, the beginning and the ending. To Christ belongs all time and all the ages; to Christ belongs glory and dominion now and forever. Amen."
The Paschal candle is the first candle to be lit with a flame from this sacred fire, representing the light of Christ coming into the world. This represents the risen Christ, as a symbol of light (life) dispelling darkness (death). As it is lit, the minister may say words similar to: "The light of Christ, rising in Glory, dispel the darkness of our hearts and minds."
Typically, the worshiping assembly then processes into the church led by the Paschal candle. The candle is raised three times during the procession, accompanied by the chant
"The light of Christ" to which the assembly responds "Thanks be to God".
Following the procession the Exultet is chanted, traditionally by a deacon, but it may be chanted by the priest or a cantor. The Exultet concludes with a blessing of the candle:
The Start of a new Paschal candle
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The light of God
is brought into the church from the back and slowly lights the entire church
No Light....not completely
Pinned & Blessed (the 5 grains of incense)
Candle is mounted in the church
The grains represent the five wounds of Jesus:
the three nails that pierced his hands and feet, the spear thrust into his side, and the thorns that crowned his head.
Holy Trinity's Candle for 2018, Lamb of God & Church Symbol
Easter Liturgy (His Wounds)
The Paschal Candle
The Paschal Candle is the star of the show tonight, this amazing candle will burn all year until it is replaced with a new candle for the next year. There is so much significance in the meaning of everything that represents this candle.
The Flame: symbolizing: Jesus is the light of the world
The Wick: is a symbol of the soul of Christ
The Candle: represents Christ
The Bees Wax: is produced by virgin bees, the body of Christ is pure without sin
The Cross: represents Salvation
The Grains of Incense: 5 nails filled with incense which are nailed into the pure beeswax (flesh), representing that the body of Christ was nailed to the cross and had a crown of thorns, also that Jesus was given a proper burial preparation with the incense of myrrh.
The Alpha and Omega Greek Letters: meaning he is the beginning & the End; also that Christ is yesterday, today, and forever.
The Current Year: is located on the candle at the four quadrants of the cross and this means that God is the god of today in the present time, meaning we should never take the present time for granted.
Christ illuminates our path so that every day we can be a little better, that we can be a little kinder, and that we can be a little more just so that we can change the world.
Catholic Easter vs. Baptist Easter
The Candle: Shine baby shine!
Easter is an amazing time of change in the Catholic church. I always found this time of year to be a little confusing because Catholics take such important and deliberate steps to honor everything in the church, their homes, and their hearts. The way Catholic churches celebrate Easter is in such contrast to how Baptist churches celebrate Easter but they are both very beautiful. This is my favorite church service and mass ranking higher than Christmas. The Easter Mass starts off, very somber, but with the light of Christ spreading throughout the church by candle light, from baptized person to baptized person, joy quickly enters the church. This is a joyful time because the illumination of Christ, is represented by the Paschal candle, and with this light Catholics then become sharers of the light (or sharers of Christ). Shine baby shine! The darkness of the church is dispelled by the light removing the darkness which represents sin, suffering, sickness, and death. Alleluia!
The Music: King of King and Lord of Lord!
Easter in the Baptist Church is all about the music and it has the most glorious Easter Cantata, the climax being the Hallelujah Chorus (Handel's 'Messiah), just magnificent. One can’t help but stand and sing this amazing song...King of Kings, forever and ever, Hallelujah Hallelujah, and Lord of Lords …and he shall reign forever and ever! Hallelujah! * Interesting note: The words from Handel's 'Messiah come from the bible, Revelation 19:1-16.
Prayer:
No Light
Light!
Accept this Easter candle,
a flame divided but undimmed,
a pillar of fire that glows to the honor of God.
(For it is fed by the holy melting wax, which
the mother bee brought forth
to make this precious candle.)
Let it mingle with the lights of heaven
and continue bravely burning
to dispel the darkness of this night!
May the Morning Star which never sets
find this flame still burning:
Christ, that Morning Star,
who came back from the dead,
and shed his peaceful light on all humanity,
your Son, who lives and reigns for ever and ever.
Amen.
Illumination
The Light Has Returned!
Sacraments are being blessed
On this day we go to the only mass of the day. This mass is at night. When we are walking into the church one will notice that there is a big fire in the front, outside area. The altar boys pass out little white candles which will be used to light the entire church. Once in the church the congregation stands facing the back (backwards). The congregation waits for the light of Christ to reach them from the Paschal Candle. By candle to candle, parishioner to parishioner, the church is brought to life with Christ's light. Alleluia!
Alleluia vs Hallelujah
Catholic vs Protestant
The word "Alleluia" or "Hallelujah" (from Hebrew הללו יה), which literally means "Praise ye Yah", a short form of "Praise Yahweh" and often rendered as "praise the Lord".
The form "Alleluia" is also used to refer to a liturgical chant in which that word is combined with verses of Scripture, usually from the Psalms. This chant is commonly used before the proclamation of the Gospel.
Hallelujah is an Anglicization of Hebrew for "praise the Lord," "Hallelujah" is considered a joyful word of praise to God, rather than an injunction to praise him. "The Alleluia" refers to a traditional chant, combining the word with verses from the Psalms or other scripture.
So on Easter after mass priests will great parishioners with Alleluia! Where as a minster / pastor will great people with Hallelujah!
Songs of Praise and Worship
Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone) by Kendra and Krista (Tigirlily)
''Hallelujah'' chorus, from Händel's Messiah. This version is a little fast but they just have so much Joy in their Hearts, enjoy!
Visit:
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre also called the Church of the Resurrection or Church of the Anastasis by Orthodox Christians is a church in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. The church contains, according to traditions dating back to at least the fourth century, the two holiest sites in Christianity: the site where Jesus of Nazareth was crucified, at a place known as "Calvary" or "Golgotha", and Jesus's empty tomb, where he is said to have been buried and resurrected. The tomb is enclosed by the 19th-century shrine, called the Aedicule (Edicule). The Status Quo, a 150-year old understanding between religious communities, applies to the site.
Within the church proper are the last four (or, by some definitions, five) Stations of the Via Dolorosa, representing the final episodes of Jesus' Passion. The church has been a major Christian pilgrimage destination since its creation in the fourth century, as the traditional site of the Resurrection of Christ, thus its original Greek name, Church of the Anastasis.
Golgotha is referred to in early writings as a hill resembling a skullcap located very near to a gate intoJerusalem: "A spot there is called Golgotha, – of old the fathers' earlier tongue thus called its name, 'The skull-pan of a head'."
https://churchoftheholysepulchre.net/
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Holy Chalice
The Holy Grail
The Holy Chalice, also known as the Holy Grail, is the vessel which in Christian tradition Jesus used at the Last Supper to serve the wine. The vessel is referred to in the synoptic gospels as ποτήριον ("cup, drinking vessel"). The celebration of the Eucharist in Christian churches and communities retains the original elements of the Last Supper, the bread and the cup or chalice, with the celebrant using the words of Jesus, as recorded in the Gospels. The Holy Chalice in the form of the Holy Grail became a topos in Arthurian romance in the high medieval period. In Roman Catholic relic veneration of the later medieval period, two artifacts, one kept in Genoa and the other in Valencia, were identified as the Holy Chalice.
One surviving Holy Chalice vessel is the Sant Calze, an agate cup in the Cathedral of Valencia. It is preserved in a chapel consecrated to it, where it still attracts the faithful on pilgrimage. The artifact has seemingly never been accredited with any supernatural powers.
The cup is made of dark red agate which is mounted by means of a knobbed stem and two curved handles onto a base made from an inverted cup of chalcedony. The agate cup is about 9 centimeters (3.5 inches) in diameter and the total height, including base, is about 17 centimetres (7 inches) high. The lower part has Arabic inscriptions. It was most likely produced in a Palestinian or Egyptian workshop between the 4th century BC and the 1st century AD.
It is kept together with an inventory list on vellum, said to date from AD 262, that accompanied a lost letter which detailed state-sponsored Roman persecution of Christians that forced the church to split up its treasury and hide it with members, specifically the deacon Saint Lawrence. The physical properties of the Holy Chalice are described and it is stated the vessel had been used to celebrate Mass by the early Popes succeeding Saint Peter.
The first explicit inventory reference to the present Chalice of Valencia is found in an inventory of the treasury of the monastery of San Juan de la Peña drawn up by Don Carreras Ramírez, Canon of Zaragoza, on the 14th of December 1134. The Chalice is described as the vessel in which "Christ Our Lord consecrated his blood" (En un arca de marfil está el Cáliz en que Cristo N. Señor consagró su sangre, el cual envió S. Lorenzo a su patria, Huesca).
Reference to the chalice is made in 1399, when it was given by the monastery of San Juan de la Peña to king Martin I of Aragon in exchange for a gold cup.
Pope John Paul II himself celebrated mass with the Holy Chalice in Valencia in November 1982. In July 2006, at the closing Mass of the 5th World Meeting of Families in Valencia, Pope Benedict XVI also celebrated with the Holy Chalice, on this occasion saying "this most famous chalice" (hunc praeclarum Calicem), words in the Roman Canon said to have been used for the first popes until the 4th century in Rome.
Bennett (2004) argues for the chalice's authenticity, tracing its history via Saint Peter's journey to Rome, Pope Sixtus II, Saint Lawrence, and finally to the Monastery of San Juan de la Peña whence it was acquired by King Martin I of Aragon in 1399. Bennett presents as historical evidence a 17th-century Spanish text entitled Life and Martyrdom of the Glorious Spaniard St. Laurencefrom a monastery in Valencia, which is supposed to be a translation of a 6th-century Latin Vita of Saint Laurence, written by Donato, an Augustinian monk who founded a monastery in the area of Valencia, which contains circumstantial details of the life and details surrounding the transfer of the Chalice to Spain
The Holy Chalice, also known as the Holy Grail, is the vessel which in Christian tradition Jesus used at the Last Supper to serve the wine.
Also it is said that Mary Magdalene gathered Christ blood after his crucifixion in this Chalice.
Holy Lance, also known as the Lance of Longinus (named after Saint Longinus), the Spear of Destiny, or the Holy Spear
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Lance
Recipe:
Paska
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2 TBSP active dry yeast
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12 cups plus 1 tablespoon sifted all-purpose flour
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2/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
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2 to 3 tablespoons warm water, 100 degrees to 110 degrees
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2 cups warm milk, 100 degrees to 110 degrees
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6 large eggs, 3 whole, 3 separated, room temperature
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8 large egg yolks, room temperature
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1/4 teaspoon salt
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1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
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Zest of 1 lemon
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Zest of 1 orange
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3 tablespoons rum or brandy
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8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, plus more for pans
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1/2 cup vegetable oil
Directions:
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In a medium bowl, combine yeast, 1 tablespoon flour, 1 tablespoon sugar, and warm water. Mix until smooth. Set bowl aside until mixture is bubbly, 10 minutes.
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Add 4 cups flour and milk to yeast mixture. With a wooden spoon, mix until well combined. Cover with plastic wrap, and let rise at room temperature until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
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In the bowl of a heavy-duty electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat 3 whole eggs, 8 egg yolks, and sugar until light and pale yellow, about 5 minutes. Add the yeast mixture. Add salt, vanilla extract, lemon and orange zests, rum or brandy, melted butter, and vegetable oil. Whisk on medium speed until combined.
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Remove whisk attachment from machine, and fit with the dough-hook attachment. With mixer on medium-low speed, gradually add enough of the remaining 8 cups flour until dough comes away from side of bowl. Transfer dough to a clean work surface. Knead dough, adding any remaining flour if necessary, until smooth and elastic, 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer dough to a large bowl, and cover with a cloth or plastic wrap. Place in a warm spot away from drafts, and let it rise until doubled in size, 1 to 2 hours.
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Place rack in lower two-thirds of oven, and heat to 350 degrees. Butter two 9-inch ovenproof saucepans. Cut a piece of wax paper about 2 inches longer than the circumference of the saucepan. Fold this in half crosswise to make a double thickness. Place inside the saucepan, patting it to adhere to the butter. The collar should extend 3 to 4 inches above the rim of the saucepan. Seal the 2-inch flap with more butter.
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When dough has doubled in bulk, punch down, and set aside one-third of dough in a medium bowl covered with plastic wrap for decorations. Divide remaining two-thirds dough evenly between saucepans. Place bowl and saucepans of dough in a warm place to rise for about 30 minutes.
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On a clean work surface, shape reserved dough into desired motifs: suns, crosses, rosettes, birds, braids, scrolls, etc. Keep any dough that is not being used covered with plastic to prevent it from drying out. Brush surface of risen dough in saucepans with 3 lightly beaten egg whites. Attach decorative dough ornaments, using a toothpick if necessary to secure to loaves. Place in a warm place to rise until it reaches almost the top of pans, 20 to 30 minutes. In a small bowl, whisk together remaining 3 egg yolks with 1 tablespoon water. Brush egg wash on surface of loaves. Bake for 10 minutes; lower the oven temperature to 325 degrees, and bake for an additional 50 minutes. Cool paska in pans for 30 minutes. When bread has cooled but is still warm, gently remove from pans, and transfer to a rack to cool.
Special Note:
Before you even taste the slightly sweet, faintly citrus flavor of a loaf of paska, you're captivated with the visual appeal of this classic Ukrainian Easter bread. During baking, paska, often capped with elaborate twists and curls, rises high out of its pan in a deep golden puff. It's almost hard to imagine cutting into these beautifully intricate loaves, which have been staples of the Ukrainian Easter celebration for centuries.
Of course, paska is not just bread: The sculpted-dough designs adorning the top carry symbolic meanings. Many patterns originated during the spread of Christianity in A.D. 988; others can be traced back to native Ukrainian indigenous religions. Ukrainian peasants felt strong connections to the land and the grains that grew there, and rituals, charms, songs, gestures, and movements grew around the act of baking paska. In fact, baking it was one of the most serious undertakings of the year. According to legend, you could predict the future from the outcome of the bread -- a full, nicely shaped loaf indicated a good year to come. Paska can be enjoyed on its own or put to use in a uniquely flavorful sandwich. Try it plain or toasted with butter, or spread it thickly with homemade mayonnaise, and layer it with ham.
Symbols Used on Traditional Paska
Triangle: the Trinity
Fish: Christ, the fisherman
Sun: life, growth, and good fortune
Flowers: love, charity, and goodwill
Wheat: good health and wishes for a good harvest
Evergreens: health and eternal youth
Cross: the death and the resurrection of Christ
12-pointed star: Christ and his 11 faithful apostles
Birds: fertility and wish-fulfillment
Dots: stars in the heavens
Deer, horses, and rams: prosperity
Waves and ribbons circling an egg: eternity
Pussy willows: Palm Sunday
Pine branches and trees: youth and health
Acorns: fertility
