One of the happy responsibilities that clergy and religious have is the praying of the Liturgy of the Hours, not only for their own sanctification, but for that of the people they serve, as well. The idea is the make the entire day holy, so we stop at various points throughout the day to pray specific “hours.” The final hour of the day is called compline, or night prayer. Night prayer is by far the shortest of the hours, and that’s for a practical reason – it’s done more or less right before going to bed for the evening, and you’re pretty tired when you do it, so there’s no need to prolong it. It consists of a short examination of conscience, an optional hymn, a psalm, a verse from Scripture, and a prayer. The very last piece of night prayer is the singing or recitation of a Marian antiphon.
There are four Marian antiphons used in the liturgy, and they cycle through based on the Church’s liturgical year. From the First Sunday of Advent until the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord (February 2), the hymn Alma Redemptoris Mater is sung. From the Presentation until Easter Sunday, the hymn Ave Regina Caelorum is sung. From Easter until Pentecost, the hymn is Regina caeli. And from the resumption of Ordinary Time after Pentecost Sunday all the way until the beginning of Advent, we sing the Salve Regina.
Just because these hymns are sung at the end of night prayer doesn’t mean that they can only be sung at the end of night prayer. It is a growing custom that many parishes sing them at the end of Mass, before the recessional hymn, so that as an entire parish family they can honor the Blessed Mother and ask for her powerful intercession. Moreover, it connects them more deeply to the rich tradition of the Church. Throughout the Easter season, we’ve been working at blending the singing of the Regina caeli into the end of Mass. Chances are that by now, you’ve been at a Mass where we’ve sung it. We are going to continue this practice throughout the year, so that we remain close to our Blessed Mother.
Regina Caeli, laetare, alleluia; quia quem meruisti portare, alleluia; resurrexit sicut dixit, alleluia; ora pro nobis Deum, alleluia.
Queen of Heaven, rejoice, alleluia; for He whom you were chosen to bear, alleluia; has risen as He said, alleluia; pray for us to God, alleluia.
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Ascension Thursday – This Thursday, May 26, is the Feast of the Ascension, and is a holy day of obligation. There will be Mass Wednesday evening at 6 PM in Monroeville, Mass at 9:30 AM on Thursday at both churches, at 12:15 PM in Monroeville, and at 6 PM on Thursday in Penn Hills.
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Ushers Meeting – Ushers (and prospective ushers) are reminded of a meeting in Saint Bernadette Church at 7 PM this Tuesday, May 24.
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Flea Market – The CDS Flea Market will return this summer, July 15-17. If you’re looking to simplify your house, or to acquire some new treasures, or do both, this is a perfect opportunity. A planning meeting will be held on Thursday, May 26, at 7 PM in the Lourdes Center on the Monroeville campus.
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Parish Picnic – Save the date for the CDS parish picnic, to be held Sunday, September 11, at Penn Hills Community Park. For those interested in helping, a planning meeting will be held on Tuesday, June 7, at 7 PM in the Spirit Room on the Penn Hills Campus.
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Update – Please see page 4 of the bulletin for a brief update on the status of our closed buildings. I will be writing about this in more detail in future bulletins.
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Oremus pro invicem!
