Farewell, Joyous & Holy Holidays

Tomorrow begins our traditional pre-Lenten Church season of three weeks. Septuagesima commemorates the 70 years of exile spent by the Jews in Babylon. Just as God's chosen people did not consider it appropriate to sing their joyous songs from Sion during the Babylonian exile (Psalm 136) - neither do we Traditional Catholics during ours. That's why we bid our sad farewell, or depositio, to the word "Alleluia" after today's Divine Office of None in the last ceremonial act of the Time after Epiphany. The Gloria is also omitted until Holy Pascha.

These joyous hymns of praise will be suppressed for 70 days in our Traditional Roman Rite from tomorrow's Septuagesima (meaning "seventy") Sunday until the Easter Vigil Mass of Holy Saturday night. Then will follow Sexagesima (Sixtieth) and Quinquagesima (Fiftieth) Sundays (which are an approximation. The First Sunday of Lent. a.k.a. Quadragesima Sunday, actually commences the 40 days before Easter.) Here is our progressive scheme leading towards and into the austerities of Lent.

But no sooner did I pray the last Alleluia; pack the indoor Christmas decorations away and remove the holiday salutations off the above blog masthead -- then the Blizzard of 2005 wallops our Northeast coast! They would have lent the right mood to all this "thunder snow" we're finally getting tonight and tomorrow - perhaps two feet plus of it as in 1948.

Oh, well, this year the external accoutrements of Advent, Christmas (Old English for Cristes maesse meaning "Mass of Christ" since 336 A.D.) and Epiphany/Theophany had already become trite. However, I will keep the outdoor Nativity crèche displayed until Feb. 2nd as is our traditional custom ("Purification of the BVM" a.k.a. "Presentation of Christ in the Temple" or "Candlemas Day" which is also our American "Groundhog Day".) More about that later when these days draw nearer...

Farewell, Christmas fair and free;

Farewell, New Years day with thee;

Farewell the Holy Epiphany.