Catholic Dictionary

Find accurate definitions of over 5,000 Catholic terms and phrases (including abbreviations). Based on Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

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STRIPPING THE ALTAR

The liturgical action of stripping an altar and, if possible, removing all crosses from a church after the Mass on Holy Thursday. This is to symbolize the suspension of Mass until the Easter Vigil and the stripping of Christ's garments before the Crucifixion.

Mon13 January
Ordinary Time

Monday of the First Week in Ordinary Time; Opt Mem of St. Hilary of Poitiers, Bishop and Doctor

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Today the Church returns to Ordinary Time, the Monday of the First Week in Ordinary Time. The Church also celebrates the Optional Memorial of St. Hilary of Poitiers (310-367). Hilary was one of the great champions of the Catholic belief in the divinity of Christ. By his preaching, his treatise on the…

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