The liturgical Seasons
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The liturgical year is made up of six seasons. It begins on the First Sunday of Advent and ends on The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
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AdventThe season of Advent is celebrated the four Sundays before Christmas. It is a time for pause, reflection, and preparation for the gift of God’s love coming to us through the baby Jesus.
The four weeks of Advent are popularly considered to symbolize the four thousand years of darkness before the coming of Christ. We set up Nativity scenes, light Advent candles, and decorate wreaths in our homes to signify Christ’s presence coming in the darkness of sin and suffering. Four candles adorn an Advent wreath, one for each week. A fifth candle is sometimes placed in the center for the beginning of the Christmas season.
Advent colors are worn by the priests and deacons and decorate the church. They are represented in the candles that surround the Advent wreath:
Violet: royalty, repentance, and fasting (First, Second, and Fourth Week of Advent)
Rose: abundant joy (Third Week of Advent, known as Gaudete Sunday, joy in Latin)
During Advent there are three prevalent themes we see as we wait patiently for the coming of Christ. We long for the Messiah, are urged to be alert for Jesus’ Second Coming, and meditate on Christ’s presence in our lives now. The Scripture readings for the four weeks of Advent revolve around the first two of these themes. They encourage proper preparation, point to the grace and humility of Mary, show us how to adore God in the Incarnation, and recognize the glory of Jesus and how he frees us from sin and ingratitude. We hear from the prophet Isaiah and are drawn to the compelling message of John the Baptist in the Gospels.
ADVENT LINKS TO EXPLORE: -
ChristmasThe Incarnation: Heart of Catholic Christmas
At the heart of Catholic Christmas lies the doctrine of the Incarnation – the belief that God became man in Jesus. This miraculous event, narrated in the Gospels of Matthew (Matthew 1:18-25) and Luke (Luke 2:1-20), isn't just a story of a birth; it's a pivotal moment that shaped the core of Catholic theology. The Incarnation signifies God's immense love and desire to be intimately connected with humanity.
The Incarnation, the central miracle of Christmas, is more than just a historical event; it's a profound testament to God's boundless love and a desire for an intimate connection with humanity. This divine act, where God became man in the form of Jesus Christ, isn't merely a display of omnipotence but a deliberate choice to bridge the infinite gap between the Divine and the human.
This extraordinary event signifies that God didn’t choose to remain a distant, unapproachable entity. Instead, He chose to experience humanity firsthand, embracing all its frailties and strengths. In Jesus, God experienced hunger, joy, pain, and hope, just like any of us. This shared experience is God's way of showing solidarity with human struggles and joys.
The Incarnation also symbolizes God's eagerness to engage with us in a deeply personal way. It’s not a remote deity issuing commands from the heavens, but a loving Father who walked the same ground we do, who understands our trials and tribulations from personal experience. Through Jesus, God communicated that our lives, with all their messiness and beauty, are profoundly understood and cherished.
Furthermore, the Incarnation is a call to action for all believers. It challenges us to view and treat each other with the compassion and empathy that Jesus demonstrated. Just as God chose to understand us through a human experience, we are invited to understand and connect with one another, seeing the reflection of Jesus in every person we meet. In this way, the Incarnation isn’t just a past event but a living, ongoing invitation to nurture a world built on love, empathy, and deep human connection, following in the footsteps of Jesus Christ.
LINK TO CHRISTMAS TRADITIONSChristmas | USCCB -
LentLent is a 40-day season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends at sundown on Holy Thursday. It is a period of preparation to celebrate the Lord's Resurrection at Easter.
During Lent, Catholics seek the Lord in prayer by reading Sacred Scripture, serve by giving alms, and practice self-control through fasting. The official liturgical color for the season of Lent is violet.
The season of Lent is a time in which we do penance and prepare ourselves for the wonder of Easter. We pray more. We make a greater effort to financially help those in need. (This is called almsgiving.) We make special efforts to make amends for our sinfulness (penance), and we curb our physical desires by restricting our intake of food.
Fasting means that we eat only one full meatless meal and two smaller meals with no snacking between meals. This obligation is applied on Ash Wednesday (the beginning of Lent) and Good Friday. This law applies to Catholics aged 18-59.
Abstinence means that we eat no meat (including poultry) or meat by-products. We observe abstinence from meat on Ash Wednesday and all Fridays of Lent. This regulation applies to all Catholics over the age of 14.
People who are ill or have particular medical conditions, and women who are pregnant, are not obligated to observe these regulations. Of course, people in these circumstances are urged to pray, do penance, and help the less fortunate as a sign of their repentance and sorrow.
LINK TO A REFLECTION ON THE SEVEN LAST WORDS OF JESUS
Seven Last Words -
EasterThe season of Easter is the most important of all liturgical times, which Catholics celebrate as the Lord's resurrection from the dead, culminating in his Ascension to the Father and sending of the Holy Spirit upon the Church.
The word "Easter" comes from Old English, meaning simply the "East." The sun which rises in the East, bringing light, warmth, and hope, is a symbol for the Christian of the rising Christ, who is the true Light of the world. The Paschal Candle used during the Easter Vigil is a central symbol of this divine light, which is Christ. It is kept near the ambo throughout Easter Time and lit for all liturgical celebrations.
LINK TO EASTER REFLECTIONS:
Jesus Is Alive
The Mission of the Resurrection -
PentecostPentecost is the liturgical season after Easter. It celebrates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Church. Pentecost begins the eighth Sunday, or 50 days, after Easter Sunday. The descent of the Holy Spirit ushered in a new era for the people of God.
“Pentecost” is from Greek meaning “fiftieth.” The name Pentecost was originally given to the Jewish Feast of Weeks which fell on the fiftieth day after Passover. On this day, the first fruits of the grain harvest were offered to the Lord (Leviticus 23:15-21 and Deuteronomy 16:9-11). The second chapter of Acts begins by noting that the Feast of Weeks had just passed.
In Acts 2:1-41 the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles. This occurred ten days after Jesus’ Ascension. Jesus had asked his Apostles to pray, and their nine days of prayer can be considered as the first novena.
Pentecost is the birthday of the Church because from that point on the apostles carried the message of Christ to the whole world. The authority that Christ gave his Apostles through the Holy Spirit extends through the bishops today. The Holy Spirit continues to guide the Church. In fact, St. Augustine said that the Holy Spirit was the soul of the Church. Just as the soul gives life to the body, so also the Spirit gives life to the Church.
Pentecost ushered in a new age of the Church through which Christ works in different means for our salvation. -
Ordinary TimeThe time set aside for celebrating our call to follow Jesus day by day as his disciples is Ordinary Time.
Ordinary Time calls us to reflect upon the Paschal Mystery and our call to discipleship throughout the year. The Sundays of the entire year are counted or set aside as sacred time. Ordinary Time (typically 33 weeks) is celebrated following the Christmas season and then again following Easter.
The official liturgical color for the season of Ordinary Time is green, a symbol of growth.