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TREASURES FROM OUR TRADITION
Today we are at the fiftieth day of the Easter celebration: seven
weeks of seven days, a week of weeks, now culminating in a
festival fiftieth day. While the liturgical color of the Easter
season is gold, on this last day we have red. For the first
thousand years of the church, there were no firm rules for using
colors. Only wealthy churches could afford a full array of
colors, and most places used the best vestments, no matter the
color, for the greatest feasts. The Church spelled out an exact
plan for color, including red for Pentecost, only in 1570, but
local differences held on until the 1800s.
Color experts tell us
that red is a hot color, best used for fast-paced, upbeat,
active experiences. It is hard to be neutral before red, as any
matador will tell you. It invites commitment, draws you in. It
is a stimulating color, engaging the eye, stirring hunger. It is
the most fitting color for this day when we celebrate the
descent of the Holy Spirit into our lives, a dynamic presence
overturning neutrality in favor of passion and commitment.
—James Field, Copyright © J.
S. Paluch Co. |
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Sunday May 19 2013 -
Today’s Readings
- United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
First
Reading — Filled with the Holy Spirit, the apostles begin to speak in
tongues (Acts 2:1-11)
Psalm — Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the faceof the
earth (Psalm 104)
Second Reading
— In one Spirit we are baptized into one body (1 Corinthians 12:3b-7,
12-13) or Romans 8:8-17
Gospel — Jesus Christ appears to the disciples and sends them on
their mission (John 20:19-23) or John 14:15-16, 23b-26
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