How to pregame your Lent Understanding the liturgical (and non-liturgical) celebrations of the Lenten season

By Mary Farrow Catholic News Agency

Sunday, Feb. 5, was Septuagesima Sunday, followed by Sexagesima Sunday on Feb. 12, and Quinquagesima Sunday on Feb. 19, which is the last Sunday before Shrovetide, which culminates in Shrove Tuesday — more popularly known as Mardi Gras.

If all but the last of those holidays sounds foreign to you, you are likely not alone — they haven’t been officially a part of the Roman Rite’s liturgical calendar since the 1960s, after the reforms of the Second Vatican Council.

These strange-sounding days once marked a period of preLenten preparation and feasting that is still observed by some rites within the Catholic Church and other Christian traditions.

“Septuagesima is kept in the personal ordinariates established

Sr. Regina

by Pope Benedict XVI for former Anglicans, now within the full communion of the Catholic Church,” said Father James Bradley, a priest from the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsing- ham in the United Kingdom.

“Septuagesima is still marked in the older Anglican prayer books and is part of the Anglican patrimony preserved by Divine Worship: The Missal , used by the ordinariates,” Father Bradley said.

Pre-Lent Sundays

Septuagesima is the ninth Sunday before Easter, or the third Sunday before Lent. The name comes from the Latin word for 70th, since the Sunday falls roughly within 70 days of Easter Sunday. The succeeding Sundays are also named for their distance from Easter: Sexagesima (60) and Quinquagesima (50). Quadragesima Sunday (40) is the first official Sunday of Lent.

Septuagesima Sunday is also symbolic of the 70 years of Babylonian captivity.

“Whilst Lent mirrors the 40year exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, to freedom in the Promised Land, Septuagesima mirrors the 70 years of the Babylonian captivity. Both lead from captivity to freedom and so also point to salvation won for us by Christ: freedom from slavery

How to sign up and qualify for Diocese of Knoxville’s safe-environment program

The Diocese of Knoxville has implemented the CMG Connect platform to administer the Safe Environment Program, which replaces the former Safe Environment Program (VIRTUS “Protecting God’s Children”).

element of the Safe Environment Program

The Handmaids of the Precious Blood in 2022 celebrated their Diamond Jubilee: 75 years since their founding in 1947; 75 years of prayer and sacrifice for priests. Did you know you can receive weekly cartoons and short reflections and news from the Handmaids of the Precious Blood? Visit their website, nunsforpriests.org, and sign up for the FIAT newsletter.

March Prayer Intentions

“We pray for those who have suffered harm from members of the Church; may they find within the Church herself a concrete response to their pain and suffering.”

“Dear God, we profess our love for you. We pray that our hearts and minds are open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit— so that, through us, others will come to understand and believe in the gift of eternal life given to us through the passion and resurrection of your son, Jesus. Amen.”

Bishop Stika

Diocese Of Knoxville

PROCEDURE FOR REPORTING SEXUAL ABUSE

Anyone who has actual knowledge of or who has reasonable cause to suspect an incident of sexual abuse should report such information to the appropriate civil authorities rst, then to the McNabb Center victim's assistance coordinator, 865.321.9080.

CMG Connect is a web-based platform that will assist in ensuring that all employees and volunteers who are in a position of trust with children and vulnerable adults within Diocese of Knoxville schools and parishes are trained to recognize behavior patterns of potential abusers and provide pro-active measures for preventing abuse in any context.

“Safe Haven-It’s Up to You” is a three-part video that provides vignettes of real-life situations to educate the viewer about methods of grooming, desensitization, bullying, and neglect, all of which can lead to abuse.

Each part of the video is immediately followed by a brief questionnaire to further develop understanding.

Education is a key

All clergy, employees, contracted school personnel, volunteers, members of groups and organizations over the age of 18 who work, volunteer, or participate in any capacity are required to complete the diocesan Safe Environment training and a criminal-background check before they can begin employment, volunteer, or participate with ministries, groups, and organizations affiliated with the Diocese of Knoxville.

In addition, the mandatory renewal training must be completed every five years and a new background check submitted before the five-year expiration of prior training.

The Diocese of Knoxville Safe Environment compliance training and renewal training is a condition of employment and for volunteer ministry in the Diocese of Knoxville.

The CMG Connect platform contains all three elements of the Diocese of Knoxville’s Safe Environment Program: n Annual review of the Diocese of Knoxville’s Policy and Procedures Relating to Sexual Misconduct; n CMG Connect Safe Haven training program to be completed every five years; n Criminal background check to be completed every five years.

In compliance with the Diocese of Knoxville’s Safe Environment Program, all affiliates require that volunteers and employees complete the requirements prior to working and/or volunteering in a parish, school, The Paraclete, or through Catholic Charities and/or St. Mary’s Legacy Clinic

Go to https:// dioknox.org/safeenvironment on the Diocese of Knoxville website for more information ■

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NEWS FROM THE DIOCESE OF KNOXVILLE

PUBLISHER Bishop Richard F. Stika

COMMUNICATIONS

DIRECTOR Jim Wogan jwogan@dioknox.org

DIGITAL MEDIA PRODUCER Emily Booker ebooker@dioknox.org

EDITOR Bill Brewer bbrewer@dioknox.org

ASSISTANT EDITOR Dan McWilliams dan@dioknox.org

MULTIMEDIA REPORTER Gabrielle Nolan gnolan@dioknox.org

CONTACT US 865.584.3307

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