Generation Christ - Ann Arbor at 530 Elizabeth Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48104 US
| 02-12-2010 |
~ The Weekly Update ~
Friday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time (OF) / Feast of the Seven Founders of the Servite Order (EF)
Greetings GenChrist,
Our weekly holy hour will resume this Sunday evening. Fr. Bill Ashbaugh will be leading our meditation.
The Young Professional Happy Hour is this evening. Please see below for events in the week ahead.
In Christ,
Paul Schultz
News in Brief
Today: Friday Adoration - beginning after 7:00 a.m. Mass
Today: GenChrist Young Professionals Happy Hour
February 16: Mardi Gras / Shrove Tuesday
February 17: Ash Wednesday
February 18: Vatican Astronomer visits Ann Arbor
February 19: Fish Fry for Life - Sacred Heart Major Seminary
February 20: A Journey Through Church History - Holy Redeemer Church, Burton
GenChrist notes: Last week's notes; ASB Deadline Today; 7:30 a.m. Mass schola opportunity; OF/EF note; Mission to the Homeless
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
News
Young Professional Happy Hour
February 12th
6pm-8pm
Bar Louie
Questions please contact Katie Muer: kt8402 at gmail dot com
Facebook RSVP
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mardi Gras / Shrove Tuesday
Some notes on the party before Lent.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent, the forty day period before Easter when Catholics practice particular penances and mortifications so as to follow the example of Jesus Christ and his forty day fast, in preparation for the triumph of the Resurrection, when he conquered death. (Sundays of Lent are not counted toward the forty days.)
Ash Wednesday is a particular day of the year for being reminded of and contemplating our mortality. At Masses celebrated according to the Missal of Pope Paul VI (1970), the dispenser of ashes will say either 'Remember that you are dust and to dust you will return' and 'Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel.' At Masses according to the Missal of Pope John XXIII (1962), the priest or deacon will say 'Meménto, homo, quia pulvis es, et in púlverem revertéris' ('Remember, man, that thou art dust, and unto dust thou shalt return.'). Each of these blessings recalls the third chapter of Genesis and the curse of death that man chose by sinning.
Recalling the truth of our mortality is one of the principles behind the use of ashes on the forehead this day: to remind us that we are mortal, subject to rot and decay (though many try to euphemize death away), and that we are radically dependent on -- solely dependent on -- Jesus Christ to overcome this fate.
Ash Wednesday is a day of universal fast and abstinence for members of the Catholic Church and certain other Christian denominations. 'Fasting' means that a person must reduce the amount of food eaten from normal and has been defined as one regular meal and two smaller meals (with no snacking in between). 'Abstinence' means that a person does not eat meat from land animals. The Church encourages Catholics to take on the hardest penances that they can bear - fast and abstinence, may be easy for some, and should be seen as a minimum. Fasting is not binding on the old (over 60) or young (under 18), nor on the ill or frail, or on pregnant or nursing women.
For all the reasons above, all of the Catholic Churches in Ann Arbor will be hosting Masses this day at which blessed ashes will be distributed. Click the link below to see the Masses scheduled in our area.
Ash Wednesday Ann Arbor
Fish Eaters has some other good thoughts on Ash Wednesday and Lent, as well.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Vatican Astronomer in Ann Arbor
On Thursday, February 18th, Fr. Guy Consolmagno, S.J., a Research Astronomer and Planetary Scientist at the Vatican Observatory (which is principally located at the Pope's summer residence at Castel Gandolfo, Italy) will be in town to give two lectures.
Meteorites, Asteroids and the Structure of the Social Nebula
4:00 p.m.
807 Dennison Building, University of Michigan
500 Church St., Ann Arbor
Co-Sponsored by the Department of Astronomy at the University of Michigan
God’s Mechanics: Religious Life of Techies
7:30 p.m.
St. Mary Student Parish
331 Thompson St., Ann Arbor
You may be able to get a good sense of his second talk from this YouTube video.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
* Fish Fry for Life *
Please Join the Seminarians at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in support of the Unborn!
Date: Friday, February 19, 2010
Doors Open: 5:15 PM
Mass: 6:00 PM
Celebrant: The Most Rev. Allen H. Vigneron, Archbishop of Detroit
Dinner: 7:00 PM
Emcee: Dr. Janet Smith, Sacred Heart faculty member and pro-life advocate
Cost: $15
R.S.V.P. by: Monday, February 15: fishfryforlife@gmail.com or 517-402-4280
Send $15 check (place in memo line ‘Fish Fry for Life’) to:
Sacred Heart Major Seminary
Attn: Fish Fry for Life
2701 Chicago Blvd.
Detroit, MI 48206
Dinner proceeds will be forwarded to Guadalupe Partners, Detroit.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Journey Through Church History
Holy Redeemer Catholic Church, Burton, an upcoming EPIC seminar, an all-day event that takes participants on a journey through 2,000 years of Church history.
Our speaker is Mr. Steve Weidenkopf of Ascension Press, a lecturer in Church history at the Notre Dame Graduate School of Christendom College in Front Royal, Virginia.
Registration begins at 7:30am and the presentation starts promptly at 8:15am. Lunch will be provided and the day will conclude at 4:30pm, giving participants the chance to attend the 5:00pm Saturday evening Mass.
Early registration is taking place until February 12th for a cost of $20. After that, the cost is $25.00. This fee covers the workbook materials each participant will receive as well as a hot lunch.
Childcare is provided free of charge. You can register by e-mailing Holy Redeemer - hradultfaithform@yahoo.com - or calling 810-743-3050.
Mr. Weidenkopf will present a free lecture at 7:00pm, February 19 at Holy Redeemer. His talk that evening is on "September 11th: The Most Famous Day in History."
A group from GenChrist will be going. Please Facebook RSVP if you would like a ride.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GenChrist Notes
Last Week's Notes
All of last week's notes are still relevant and may be reviewed on our website:
SCH / FMH Housing for next year; Catholic Urban Project ("1CUP"); Retreats; Pope Benedict's February Prayer Intentions; Scythian; Blessed Palms; Alternative Spring Break (rsvp by February 12th!); Palestrina Mass at our Cathedral.
The invitation to the state young adult conference (March 19-20) is still open. If we have eight attendees, the registration cost is $40 (rather than $50). See Nick Danne.
Schola Gregoriana
St. Thomas' Latin and English chant schola wishes to welcome new voices to our number throughout the year ahead. We sing the 12:30 Mass throughout the academic year, till at least Pentecost 2010, and are including some other concerts and performances.
In the near term, our weekly practice may shift to Wednesday nights at 7:00 p.m. - so please contact us if you're interested and this new schedule would allow you to participate: director Timothy Tikker - ttikker at sta2 dot org
In addition, if you've been interested in Schola but have found the 12:30 p.m. Mass to be too late in the day ... please consider this brief opportunity at the morning's other extreme:
This Lent, the Sunday 7:30 a.m. Masses at St. Thomas will be sung a capella (as a development upon the rubric that instruments may only play to support singing during this season - see GIRM, paragraph 313, pdf). (Laetare Sunday, March 14th, is an exception: when the organ will be played and the Harvard Glee Club may assist the music at 7:30 a.m. Mass.)
While the regular cantors will still lead the Responsorial Psalm, the Gospel Acclamation and any hymns, I am looking to put together a small group to maybe lead the Kyrie, Sanctus and Agnus and to sing chants during the preparation of the gifts and Communion. Please email me if you would be interested - paulcschultz at gmail dot com
No chant experience is necessary, just a willingness praise God by singing His psalms.
"OF/EF"
Since the majority of GenChrist members are Latin Rite Catholics, each edition of the Weekly Update identifies the particular saint or saints commemorated on that day according to each calendar of the Roman Rite - both the calendar of the Ordinary Form ("OF") (i.e., the calendar pertaining to the Missal of Pope Paul VI (1970) - the English translation of which is the most commonly celebrated liturgy in our country) and the calendar of the Extraordinary Form ("EF") (i.e., the calendar pertaining to the Missal of Pope John XXIII (1962)).
Sometimes the calendars overlap and commemorate the same saint or event on the same day. For example, yesterday was the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes in both calendars. Conversely, as can be seen above, today is a ferial day (a day without a feast) on the OF calendar but is the feast of the Servite founders on the EF calendar.
A more obvious example of this is February 14th.
In the EF calendar, February 14th is the Feast of St. Valentine, the legendary 3rd century priest said to have been executed for the sake of Rome's homeland security (his crime: joining couples together in marriage, rather than following the emperor's lead in encouraging young men to live the unchaste single life of the Roman military).
In the OF calendar, February 14th is the Feast of Sts. Cyril and Methodius, the 9th century missionaries to Eastern Europe who first converted Russia to the Faith in Jesus Christ.
(Note: because February 14th falls on a Sunday this year, it is actually 'the last Sunday before Lent' in each calendar, rather than the feast of a saint).
(Sts. Cyril & Methodius are commemorated on July 7th on the EF calendar. St. Valentine, it could be said, is commemorated with All the Saints on November 1st.)
Mission to the Homeless
St. Thomas the Apostle Parish has agreed to host twenty-five men from the night of March 10 through the night of March 17th. In addition to providing a space for the men to sleep - we will use the main hallway of the Parish Office Building just outside the main Church office - we are still in need of 3 more male volunteers for each weeknight to spend the night each night our guests are present.
This is not an on-going commitment. Nor is this optional. "How can we love God whom we cannot see, if we do not love our neighbors whom we can see." (1 John 4:20) You may sign up to spend a night or two. Six volunteers per night should be possible for a parish of this size. Fr. Bill, Fr. Selvam, the deacons, the members of the St. Vincent de Paul Society and the men of the Knights of Columbus look forward to your enthusiastic participation in this ministry to provide welcome, refuge and warmth to our city's most vulnerable population - single men who might otherwise risk their lives sleeping outside or in camps.
Jesus said, "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself." (Mt 22:37-39) He also said "My ... brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it." (Luke 8:21)
This is a great opportunity for individual parishioners, and our parish as a whole, to demonstrate that we are "doers of the word and not hearers only." (Jas 1 :22)
In His peace, Deacon Warren
