It feels like just yesterday I was writing a post about Easter and here it is Pentecost Sunday, the birthday of the Church!  I am writing this as I plan my Pentecost for this Sunday and our family prayer table for June.  The chant music playing in the background is an inspiration and partially drowns out the sounds of the television in the living room.  Here are some suggestions for upcoming feasts.
Pentecost Sunday:  On this day we commemorate the Holy Spirit descending upon the Apostles and Our Blessed Mother and the birthday of the Church.  The liturgical color for Pentecost is red.  Symbols are the dove, flames and wind.  We celebrate the gifts of the Holy Spirit, remembering our own Confirmation.  I will be attempting to make an origami dove and flames with the names of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  We recite the Pentecost sequence at Mass and at home we will use this simple prayer  (“Creativities” by Patricia Mathson).
Pentecost Prayer
               Response:  Come, Holy Spirit.  Renew the face of the earth.
               Reader:  Come, Holy Spirit.  Give us the gift of wisdom.  (Response)
               Reader: Come, Holy Spirit.  Give us the gift of courage.  (Response)
               Reader:  Come, Holy Spirit.  Give us the gift of understanding.
              (Response)
               Reader:  Come, Holy Spirit.  Give us the gift of counsel.  (Response)
               Reader:  Come, Holy Spirit.  Give us the gift of true knowledge.
             (Response)
               Reader:  Come, Holy Spirit.  Give us the gift of reverence. (Response)
               Reader:  Come, Holy Spirit.  Give us the gift of piety.  (Response)
Closing Prayer:  Come, Holy Spirit.   Fill our hearts with Your gifts and
come upon us as You came upon the disciples at Pentecost.  Amen.
 
Ordinary Time:  Ordinary Time resumes after Pentecost.  This time does not mean mundane.  Ordinary is a reference to “ordinal” numbers; the way of counting Sundays of the year outside of the seasons of Advent, Christmas, Lent and Easter.  There are many feast days to celebrate during Ordinary Time. 
2020 June Celebrations and Feast Days:  Month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
1             St. Justin, martyr, Memorial
2             Sts. Marcellinus and Peter, martyrs
3             St. Charles Lwanga and companions, martyrs, Memorial
5             St. Boniface, bishop and martyr, Memorial
6             St. Norbert, bishop
7             Feast of the Most Holy Trinity
9             St. Ephrem, deacon and doctor of the Church
11           St. Barnabas, Apostle, Memorial
13           St. Anthony of Padua, priest and doctor of the Church, Memorial
14           Feast of Corpus Christi (Body and Blood of Christ)
19           The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus; St. Romuald, abbot
20           The Immaculate Heart of Mary
21           St. Aloysius Gonzaga, religious, Memorial
22          St. Paulinus of Nola, bishop; Sts. John Fisher and Thomas More,
              martyrs
24           The Nativity of John the Baptist, Solemnity
27           St.Cyril of Alexander, bishop and doctor of the Church
28           St. Irenaeus, bishop and martyr, Memorial
29           Sts. Peter and Paul, Apostles, Solemnity
30           The First Holy Martyrs of the Holy Roman Church
 Resources:
Catholic Household Blessings and Prayers (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops)
Sacred Heart and Immaculate Heart free printable-Catholic Inspired
Prepping the June Feast Table-Elizabeth Clare Blog
Recipes for June-Catholic Cuisine

​I am going to bare my feelings here and be totally honest with you, my CDA Sisters.  Yesterday was not a good day for me.  I was very depressed and extremely tearful because it hit me hard that this will not be the Holy Week that I am used to; one fills me for the Easter Season.  I agree with someone on Facebook who stated, “This has been the Lentiest Lent ever.”  It has been.  And I’m in mourning that we cannot experience Holy Week in the same way as usual; that we cannot partake of Our Lord’s Holy Eucharist in person and experience our church’s deeply spiritual ritual and traditions in the way that we are accustomed to.  I am extremely grateful to Father Mark and Father Nelson for their spiritual guidance during this time, for communicating with us and livestreaming the masses. 
Last night I had had to reevaluate what kind of Holy Week and Easter I CAN have and what I can do to make it meaningful in spite of these difficult times.  For me, it all begins with atmosphere and attitude.  I can’t fully participate in a liturgy if I am in my pajamas.  I don’t need to dress for church, but I do need to get dressed and get in the mindset of attending mass.  We have been putting a crucifix and lit candle on the shelf above our tv while we are watching mass.  And of course, our prayer table reflects the current season.
These are some ways we are going to celebrate Holy Week in Our Home.
Palm Sunday:  We will pick up blessed palms from our church.  I following the suggestion of many people and will be putting fresh cut greenery tied with a red bow on our door.  I have a small plant similar to a palm that will be with our crucifix and candle during mass.  We will also be playing liturgical music at the beginning and end of our livestream of the mass and will be pausing the mass at communion to say the spiritual communion prayer.  Our prayer table will be dressed in red with a picture of Jesus entering Jerusalem.  The saying on it is “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord.”  I will be covering our crucifixes with purple cloth on this day.
Holy Thursday:  Again, we will have appropriate liturgical music for beginning of mass, washing of feet and probably a version of Pange Lingua at end of mass.  I have a picture of the Last Supper that will be on our prayer table, along with our pyx, blessing cup (similar to a chalice), bowl, towel and pitcher.  We will be participating in washing each other’s feet at home.  After mass, the prayer table will be cleared, except for a red doily and lit candle to signify Christ.
Good Friday:  We will watch the Stations of the Cross from the Diocese of Singapore on YouTube.  The hours of noon to three will be set aside for meditation and prayer.  We will live stream the liturgy and participate at home in adoration of the cross using a large crucifix we have.  The candle on our prayer place will be blown out at 3 pm, but left there, surrounded by a crown of thorns.
Holy Saturday: We are preparing a resurrection garden and a Paschal candle for our home.  Before mass, the purple veils will be taken off and a white cloth put on the prayer table.  There will be a white drape on our crucifix and flowers on the crown of thorns.  Appropriate liturgical music will be played for the liturgy and our home will be in darkness, with the exception of candles.  We will fill our holy water font, bless ourselves and celebrate the Light of Christ, Our Risen Lord.
I wish you the most blessed Holy Week and Easter, my dear sisters, and look forward to celebrating with you again soon.  Until then, God bless you and keep you safe!
Resources:
Pashal candle and resurrection garden-Pinterest
Holy Week at Home-Liturgical Press
www.youtube.com/user/CatholicsSg-Diocese of Singapore YouTube channel

We are in the midst of Lent, and right around the corner from the Feast of St. Joseph on March 19.  The entire month of March is dedicated to St. Joseph, the foster father of Jesus, husband of Our Blessed Mother and role model for us as Catholic parents.  One of the ways we can honor his feast day is by praying a daily novena to him.  EWTN has a very good article with links to prayers for the Novena to St. Joseph.  Click here for access to the article.