Cathedral to hold evening prayer Advent Sundays - Advent Lessons in Carols slated for Dec. 3

By RENEE WEBB, Globe editor
November 18, 2004

Advent is the time when faith-filled people wait in joyful anticipation and prepare for the coming of Christ. With this in mind, Cathedral of the Epiphany in Sioux City will once again hold evening prayer at 7 p.m. on Sundays during Advent. The first Sunday of Advent is Nov. 28.

"With Christmas decorations out so early, we sometimes forget that the season of Advent mirrors the waiting of centuries and centuries for the coming of Christ. Advent is a beautiful Scriptural time and spiritual preparation time, which is hard to find in our culture," said Father Paul-Louis Arts, rector of the Cathedral. "Advent is often bypassed by Christmas."

He added that this whole concept of waiting and anticipation is one of the reasons why Catholic churches and many Protestant churches don't decorate during the Advent season. This practice of holding off decorating has become somewhat counter-cultural in the United States. Father Arts said services such as evening vespers during Advent offer people a way to spiritually prepare for Christmas. Cathedral not only extends an invitation to all Catholics to join in these services, but also welcomes people of all faiths to attend.

"On the second Sunday of Advent (Dec. 5) rather than doing traditional evening prayer, we will offer a service - Advent Lessons in Carols. It is a sung evening prayer," noted Matthew Geerlings, director of liturgy and music at the Cathedral. "There are six readings, called lessons, that tell the story of Advent."

Before and after each reading a hymn or anthem will be sung or led by the Cathedral Choir. In addition to parts by the choir exclusively, the liturgist mentioned that the special Dec. 5 service would feature a great deal of congregational singing.

"It should be a prayerful experience," said Father Arts.

Geerlings pointed out that music would be featured on all four Sundays. The traditional vespers, slated for the first, third and fourth Sundays of Advent are expected to run about 30 minutes. The Dec. 5 service will take about 45 minutes.

He mentioned that the Advent Lessons in Carols, featuring the six lessons, grew out of a service that was called Nine Lessons in Carols. It originally was celebrated in medieval times on Christmas Eve and was a celebration of Christmas.

"There is always so much celebration of Christmas that I thought it would be nice to do the Advent Lessons in Carols. There is a lot of good music for Advent and we don't get to hear a lot of it because there are only four weeks," said Geerlings, who added that since the readings and music flow so beautifully, he anticipates a very moving service.

Father Arts pointed out that for centuries, the church has offered opportunities for people to enter into the spirit of the time of the Advent/Christmas cycle. This is the third year that Cathedral has offered evening prayer during Advent.

"This is a way to help people take time out for the proper preparation of Christmas," he said.