I pray that your Lenten observances are going well; that God is coming more into the center of your life.
On two days within the season of Lent we are encouraged by the Church to leave our Lenten observances behind and have some festivity. There is the Solemnity of St. Joseph, which falls on Tuesday, March 19
th. And, there is the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord on Monday, March 25
th. You may have already noticed that Christmas falls nine months after the Annunciation, meaning this is the day that Mary conceived Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit.
These are such big feast days in the Church's calendar that the Code of Canon Law (the laws by which the Latin Church is governed) says that if they fall on a Friday during Lent we are able to put aside abstinence and eat meat (Can. 1251). On these two days we bring in the
Gloria at Mass unlike the Sundays of Lent, and we treat these two days like Easter, with one exception, the exclusion of the
Alleluia. In some parts of the world the feast of St. Joseph is considered a Holy Day of Obligation meaning that the Christian faithful are obligated to attend Mass that day as they are on Sundays.
In celebrating these days, do be careful that you do not indulge to the point that God is put to the wayside. If you are building good habits by refraining from certain sins, I encourage you to keep those fasts.
In speaking of St. Joseph, he is considered the patron saint of the Universal Church, and the terror of demons. Moreover he is the patron saint of St. Joseph’s parishes in Killdeer and Twin Buttes. This Tuesday after 5 p.m. Central Mass in Twin Buttes and 7 p.m. Mass in Killdeer we will celebrate by staying for some good food and fellowship. Please join us!