Epiphany Proclamation 2011

Since today is the feast of Epiphany, I thought it would be fun to share an old-fashioned tradition from earlier days of the Church.  In the Liturgical Year, many important feast dates are based on the date of Easter, which varies from year to year.  Before there were widely-disseminated calendars and computer programs that could calculate significant dates years in advance, an Epiphany Proclamation was read after the Gospel on today's feast.  In the spirit of tradition, it is still posted annually (although not usually read during Mass.)  It's a beautiful proclamation, so I'm sharing the Epiphany Proclamation for 2011:

Dear brothers and sisters,
the glory of the Lord has shone upon us,
and shall ever be manifest among us,
until the day of his return.
Through the rhythms of times and seasons
let us celebrate the mysteries of salvation.
Let us recall the year's culmination,
the Easter Triduum of the Lord:
his last supper, his crucifixion, his burial,
and his rising celebrated
between the evening of the twenty-first day of April
and the evening of the twenty-third day of April,
Easter Sunday being on the twenty-fourth day of April.


Each Easter -- as on each Sunday --
the Holy Church makes present the great and saving deed
by which Christ has for ever conquered sin and death.
From Easter are reckoned all the days we keep holy.
Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent,
will occur on the ninth day of March.
The Ascension of the Lord will be commemorated on the second day of June.
Pentecost, joyful conclusion of the season of Easter,
will be celebrated on the twelfth day of June.
And, this year the First Sunday of Advent will be
on the twenty-seventh day of November.
Likewise the pilgrim Church proclaims the passover of Christ
in the feasts of the holy Mother of God,
in the feasts of the Apostles and Saints,
and in the commemoration of the faithful departed.
To Jesus Christ, who was, who is, and who is to come,
Lord of time and history,
be endless praise, for ever and ever.
Amen.

Another fun way to celebrate Epiphany is to watch the fascinating documentary The Star of Bethlehem on DVD.  (I bought it last year and our whole family enjoyed it.)