Interfaith Days: February 8, Sexagesima

from: dailyoffice.org

Today is Sexagesima Sunday, the second Sunday before Ash Wednesday, or (approximately) the sixtieth day before Easter. The three named pre-Lent Sundays have been eliminated from the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar, although a few Anglican provinces still mark these days. Today is also known as Exsurge Sunday, after the beginning of the introit, "Exsurge, quare obdormis, Domine?" (Arise, why do you sleep, Lord?) from Psalm 43. The Gospel lesson is Jesus' parable from Luke 8, of seed scattered on both good and gad ground. If one adds the pre-Lenten season onto Lent, one has not quite 70 days---close enough to represent the traditionally numbered 70 years of the biblical exile. Last year, I listened to all of Bach's sacred cantatas and posted about them; Bach wrote several cantatas for these three pre-Lenten Sundays.