We desist from saying Alleluia, the song chanted by angels, because we have been excluded from the company of the angels on account of Adam’s sin. In the Babylon of our earthly life we sit by the streams, weeping as we remember Sion. For as the children of Israel in an alien land hung their harps upon the willows, so we too must forget the Alleluia song in the season of sadness, of penance, and bitterness of heart. (Bishop William Duranti, 1296).This medieval understanding of Lent and its traditions can help us voice our faith in the heavenly world to come and strengthen our awareness of our role in this earthly world now.
Before the reform of the liturgical calendar by Vatican II, the three weeks before Ash Wednesday were an additional time of preparation for Easter. The third Sunday before Lent was called Septuagesima Sunday (Latin for “seventy”). This was probably not to number the days before Easter but to remind the church of the seventy years of exile spent by the Jews in Babylon. Psalm 137 recalls how they prayed their tongues would be silenced if they forgot Jerusalem in ruins. From this psalm came the practice of fasting from singing the “Alleluia” during the Gospel acclamation throughout Lent and replacing it with a different acclamation of praise for Christ.
During the Middle Ages, the practice of “burying the Alleluia” on the eve of Septuagesima Sunday became popular. This lay-led ritual included a solemn procession to the church cemetery with a plaque, scroll, banner or even a coffin inscribed with the word “Alleluia.” Those in mock funeral procession wept while some sang the hymn, Alleluia, dulce carmen (known today as the hymn, “Alleluia, Song of Gladness”). The “Alleluia” was then laid to rest with the hope of its resurrection on Easter Sunday.
This burial was also called depositio, a Latin legal term meaning “the giving on deposit.” (Gravestones in Catholic cemeteries may have the inscription Depositus, or simply D, which comes from depositio.) When the burial of the Alleluia or of the faithful departed is understood by this term, the Christian belief in resurrection is clear. As we bury our dead, or as we enter into the fasting of Lent, we do not silence our tongues because of despair or permanent loss. Rather, we do so with confidence that what has been deposited into the earth—our dead, our Alleluia—will rise again. Yet in this period of preparation, we remain keenly aware of the mystery of sin and of our exile from the place where “Alleluia” abounds. So until we return to the New Jerusalem, let us not forget the sin that continues to devastate our world and our mission to heal what has been broken.
Christopher Citti of 
This article by Diana Macalintal first appeared in 
This article by Diana Macalintal first appeared in 
In his letter inaugurating the Year of the Eucharist, Pope John Paul II reminds us to begin at the end:
My father lived most of his life on a beach. Once I visited his hometown in the Philippines and climbed up a ladder into a small beach hut on stilts made of bamboo shoots and banana leaves where a cousin I just met taught me to play chess. Every day my father and my brother would wade out into the ocean, and I would watch from the hut, never once venturing out into the water even though the days were mild and the ocean calm.
This Sunday, we end our Christmas season in water. California is right now being blasted with the second major storm of the winter, and the liturgical calendar places Jesus in the middle of the Jordan river. The silent night of Christmas has become a tempest and the child in a manger is now a man on mission. Perhaps nature and the liturgical calendar are conspiring to teach us a deeper meaning of Christmas. As comforting as the nativity scene is, as safe as the beach feels, as warm as our beds are on blustery winter mornings, we can’t stay there. The Christ cannot remain a baby in our religious imaginations, we can no longer take for granted the force of water to change our world, and we cannot simply retreat back into our “usual” pre-Christmas routine as though the Incarnation had been just a “time out” from our normal lives.
Break in your brand new calendar with these upcoming events and workshops.
Many times, we need to prepare prayer for small groups or classes, and we don't always have the church building or chapel available. How do you make a classroom, living room, or parish hall a place where prayer can happen well?
Easter and Christmas are like two sides of a coin. The sights and sounds of one remind us of the smells and bells of the other. Theologically, one can say that the saving work of Christ’s resurrection and ascension began with his incarnation and, if we recall John’s Gospel on Christmas day, with creation itself.
Let’s face it. Some of our Christmas songs are clichéd, trite and a bit too “sweet.” Yet our musical tradition is full of carols and hymns that, in the words of Environment and Art in Catholic Worship 21, are “capable of bearing the weight of mystery, awe, reverence and wonder which the liturgical action expresses.” Here are some of those songs.
Don't be chicken! You can become a better cantor! Learn the basics that will improve your singing technique and your leadership skills, and practice the habits that will make you a better leader of musical prayer. Some participants will have the opportunity to cantor and receive immediate feedback. 
Married couples celebrating 25th or 50th (or more) wedding anniversaries are invited to celebrate with Bishop Patrick McGrath at the Diocesan Silver and Golden Wedding Anniversary Mass on Saturday, February 5, 2005, 10:00 a.m., at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph (80 South Market Street, San Jose). Reservations are requred. For information and to register, call: Sylvia Blanch, 408-983-0128 or 
Come have one last pre-Lenten bash the way only liturgists can--by talking about liturgy! If you coordinate the liturgy, you are invited to gather with others who know your joys and hopes, your fears and tribulations, your long hours for the sheer love of it all.
Sue Schuttinger, a catechetical and liturgical leader in our Diocese, was on her way to visit her son who is in the Peace Corps in Thailand when the tsunami hit. Neither of them were directly affected by the wave, but both have witnessed first hand the sacrificing love of the Thai people for those who have suffered. Below is Sue's email about her experience.
Though we are sad to say goodbye to Rebeca Aldaz who served as secretary for the liturgy office for so many years, we are happy to welcome Sandra Pacheco who has accepted the job in the Office of Pastoral Ministry (OPM). She will bring some great skills and energy to this position. She also comes highly recommended by two pastors and one of our associates in OPM. She has volunteered at St. Maria Goretti and Second Harvest Food Bank. She has her BS in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance and is completely bilingual in English and Spanish. So when you call the liturgy office, you'll hear a new voice on the line and you'll be in good hands. You can reach Sandra at 408-983-0126 or 
The Diocese of San José will once again honor liturgical ministers of our parishes who qualify for the annual Pope Paul VI Award (learn more about Pope Paul VI 
Every year throughout the world since 1988, December 1st is set aside as a time to remember those who have died from AIDS, to keep in mind those who live with HIV, and to re-commit our efforts to finding a cure. According to the 
Bishop Patrick McGrath invites all people of faith to gather together for a diocesan Evening Prayer for Peace. In this bilingual evening prayer, we will give thanks for Christ’s gift of peace and pray that there will be peace in our day especially in places of war. We will also offer prayers for those who have died, especially those who served as military, aid, and service workers in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other places of conflict. For more information, contact Diana Macalintal at .jpg)
2004 marks the 150th Anniversary of the Proclamation of the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady. This teaching professes that from the moment of Mary’s conception, she was free from original sin, preparing her to become the Mother of God, the “God-Bearer” or Theotokos. (Don't forget that the Immaculate Conception is about Mary being conceived from the union of her parents, Anna and Joachim.)
Every year, the diocese celebrates the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe with processions and evening prayer in Spanish. This year's celebration takes place on Friday, December 10, 2004 at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church (
The Season of Advent has a twofold character, a double meaning. Advent prepares us for Christmas, the celebration of Christ’s first coming to us, and it also reminds us to direct our minds and hearts to be prepared for Christ’s second coming at the end of time. In Christian usage the word “advent” (adventus) has a special liturgical significance, but the origin of the word is pagan.
De-Clutter your church to let its primary purpose shine through
The primary purpose of the sanctuary area is for the presidency of the assembly’s worship, the proclamation of God’s Word, and the celebration of the Eucharist. Therefore, the primary objects that should be prominent in this area are the altar, the ambo, and the presider’s chair. Everything else is secondary. Remove extraneous tables and chairs. Put only the altar cloth, corporal, bread and wine, and Sacramentary on the altar. Do not put water glasses for the presider, papers with Mass announcements or intentions, candles or flowers, or envelopes with Mass stipends or prayers on the altar. If the presider needs water, use a side table. Mass announcements or intentions should be in the bulletin or in the presider’s or commentator’s binder. Candles and flowers should be freestanding, placed away from the altar so that the celebrant, deacon, and other ministers can easily prepare the cups and plates for Communion without twisting around candle and flower stands. Also, be careful that the placement of decorations does not act as an altar rail, dividing the “holy space” from the “not holy space.” Envelopes with Mass intentions are seen most visibly during November when the dead are remembered. It is good to remember the dead, but do not place these envelopes, no matter how nicely decorated with ribbon, on top of the altar. This looks too much like our medieval practice of purchasing indulgences. If you want to display these envelopes, put them with the Book of the Dead, or at the baptismal font, on in the shrine of your parish patron saint.
After 14 years as the administrative assistant for the liturgy office of the diocese (and many other offices in the chancery), Rebeca Aldaz is giving up her 80 mile daily commute between Gilroy and Santa Clara to serve her parish of St. Mary in Gilroy.