CHRIST REIGNS!!!
+ST. JOSEPH CHURCH in SIOUX CITY during this time of loss of their worship space. May God continue to bless your community and your faith. May God's peace be with you.
+ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST CHURCH in QUIMBY who closed their parish July 11. We open our hearts and arms in support and welcome!
+ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI CHURCH in MAPLE RIVER who closed their parish October 4.
Immaculate Conception Catholic Church at 419 Jones Street, Moville, IA 51039-0802 US - ORDINARY TIME
| ORDINARY TIME |
ORDINARY TIME lacks the seasonal focus that other periods (Lent, Easter, Advent, and Christmas) of the Church year have and gains its name from keeping of the Sundays/weeks via ordinal numerals. Each year there are two periods of unequal length based entirely on the seasonal cycles of Christmas and Easter. The first period of Ordinary Time begins as Christmas closes (Baptism of the Lord) and ends as Lent begins. We resume Ordinary Time after the Easter season (Pentecost) and continue until the hour Advent begins. SECOND SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME introduces us to some simpler church decorations and green vesture. We hear from the Gospel of St. John the occasion when John the Baptist pointed out Jesus. THE PRESENTATION OF THE LORD/CANDLEMAS is an annual feast day that always fall on February 2. Each year on this day we bless the candles that will be used in our liturgical celebrations for the rest of the year (except for the Paschal Candle that is blessed at the Easter Vigil). It has been forty days since Christmas Day! Jesus is presented by Joseph and Mary at the temple to fulfill the law of Moses—to do what is right. They are greeted by the old man Simeon who sees the “light of the gentiles come,” and the aged widow Anna who speaks of the “deliverance of Jerusalem.” Again, even in God’s temple Jesus is presented and accepted as God saving both Jews and gentiles. We come in procession on this Candlemas Day with specially blessed candles and lights to meet Jesus, the light of glory, on whom we are nourished in the Eucharist. Are you transparent enough for God’s glory to shine through you? Our celebration begins at 7:30 a.m. in the dark in the hall as some of the candles we will use are blessed before the Mass continues as usual. You are invited to bring candles you would like blessed. Blessed Candles for the home will be available afterwards in the hall. $3 donation per box. CHRIST THE KING SUNDAY—Jesus Christ is king of all creation. At the end of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus tells his disciples that all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to him (28:18). The Revelation of John calls him King of kings and Lord of lords (19:16). People wanted to make Jesus a king after he worked the miracle of the loaves, but he went away by himself instead (Jn 6:15). They wanted a secular king to govern their land. Jesus wanted to rule their hearts. The Catholic Church celebrates the kingship of Christ on the last Sunday of the church year. The liturgical year reaches its climax in a celebration that honors the supreme command of Christ. He has dominion over all creation, and he rules every person who believes in him. The feast of Christ the King entered the Catholic calendar in 1925, which Pope Pius XI had set aside as a holy year. Pius thought the feast would bring the year to a solemn close, help combat the forces of secularism, and remind the world that Christ is its ultimate ruler. The pope chose the last Sunday of October because of its proximity to the end of the liturgical year and to serve as a prelude to All Saints Day on Nov. 1. The same day was already being observed as Reformation Sunday in the Protestant traditions. Pope Paul VI moved the observance from the end of October to the very last Sunday of the church year in order to exalt its theme even more. Now we end the year with an idea that sums up all that we have celebrated and that prepares us to start anew: this Jesus, whose birth we will soon celebrate, is the king of all creation.