The Liturgical Year

THE LITURGICAL YEAR

A typical calendar that you would have on the wall of your house is one way of measuring the passage of time– it has four seasons, twelve months, fifty-two weeks, and 365 days that include holidays, weekends, commemorative days, and days that are just "ordinary days." Like your home calendar, the Liturgical Calendar of the Church has its own rhythm; it measures the passage of time and marks the changing of the seasons, the feasts and the commemorative days celebrated by our faith family.

The Liturgical Year is marked by special seasons— We begin our Liturgical Year with the season-cycle of Advent-Christmas. Then there is a brief period of Ordinary Time (“Ordinary” comes from “ordinal;” these are the numbered Sundays of the year outside of the seasons). We move on through the season of Lent, which flows into the Triduum (or Great Three Days) and the season of Easter, and then a long period of Ordinary Time. The Liturgical Year begins on the first Sunday of Advent, which usually occurs around the beginning of December or the end of November, and ends on the feast of Christ the King.

Unlike your calendar at home, however, the purpose of the Liturgical Calendar is not to mark the passage of time, but to allow the Christian community to celebrate, understand more fully and live more deeply the Paschal Mystery of Jesus Christ– His suffering, death, Resurrection, Ascension and gift of the Holy Spirit. During the course of a year, the paschal mystery is viewed from different angles, in different lights.

The Roman Catholic Lectionary is presented in such a way that, over three years, we hear the fullness of God’s intervention in history proclaimed in our midst. Because the story of Jesus is told in three gospels that follow the same shape (Matthew, Mark, Luke), each year in the cycle looks at the year through the eyes of these synoptic gospels. Year A: we hear Matthew’s Gospel proclaimed. In Year B, we hear Mark’s Gospel. In Year C, we hear Luke’s Gospel proclaimed. The Fourth Gospel (John’s Gospel) is used throughout the three-year cycle to highlight special moments. For example, we hear the Gospel of John through most of the Easter season in all three years of the liturgical cycle. Also, because Mark’s Gospel is so short, we hear more of John’s Gospel in Year B. Liturgical Colours

Liturgies celebrated during the different seasons of the liturgical year have distinctive music and specific readings, prayers, and rituals. All of these work together to reflect the spirit of the particular season. The colours of the vestments that the priest wears during the liturgy also help express the character of the mysteries being celebrated.

White, the colour of joy and victory, is used for the seasons of Easter and Christmas. It is also used for the feasts of Our Lord, for feasts of Mary, the angels, and for saints who are not martyrs. Gold may also be used on solemn occasions.

Red (the colour of blood) is used when we celebrate the passion of Jesus– Passion (Palm) Sunday and Good Friday. It is also used for the feasts of the apostles and evangelists and for the celebrations of martyrs. Red is also the colour of fire, and so recalls the Holy Spirit. Therefore, red is used on Pentecost and for the sacrament of Confirmation.

Green, the colour we see in plants and trees, symbolizes life and hope and is used during Ordinary Time.

The colour violet or purple in Advent help us to remember that we are preparing for the coming of Christ.

Lent, the season of penance and renewal, also uses the colours violet or purple.

Rose may be used on the Third Sunday of Advent (Gaudete Sunday), and on the Fourth Sunday of Lent (Laetare Sunday). It expresses the joy of anticipation for Christmas and Easter, even in the midst of a season of preparation or penance.

Archdiocesan Office of Adult Faith Formation Anne M. Walsh, Director Archdiocese of St. John’s Pastoral Centre P.O. Box 1363 St. John’s, NL A1C 5N5 Phone: (709) 726-3660 Fax: (709)726-8021 e-mail: [email protected]