Lesson Eleven - The Liturgical Year

Text by Pat Austin, St. Patrick's Cathedral RCIA Instructor..

Calendars keep track of time, events, memories etc. We are now using the Gregorian calendar -- Pope Gregory XII - 1582. Today's calendar.

The Church that Jesus established exists in this time pattern. Therefore, the Church has a calendar; the Church needs a calendar. The Church calendar is built around Jesus' life. It gives order to the celebration of Jesus' life. It keeps unity in this celebration. It keeps our focus on Jesus.

The Church gives its calendar a name -- known as The Liturgical Calendar. An example of the calendar can be found here.

The liturgical New Year (that is, the first day of the Church calendar) begins on the first Sunday of Advent. In other words a new year begins for the church on this day and not on January 1. This First Sunday of Advent is celebrated on the Sunday closest to November 30th, the Feast of Saint Andrew. In the year 2003, November 30 is on a Sunday, so the First Sunday of Advent is on November 30. The date of this first day in the new Church year -- First Sunday of Advent -- changes every year. Sundown on December 24th ends Advent and begins the Christmas Liturgical celebrations.

Advent begins approximately four weeks before Christmas. Advent always has four Sundays but it may not have four full weeks - which is why we say approximately four weeks.

The Liturgical year calendar is built around the two most important events in Christianity -- The Birth of Jesus -- Christmas; Jesus' death and resurrection from the dead -- Easter. So the Liturgical calendar is divided into two parts -- the Christmas Season or Cycle and the Easter Season or Cycle. The Liturgical calendar begins the New Year with preparation for the birth of Jesus. It makes sense to begin our calendar at the beginning.

With any important event in your life, you do three things: prepare, celebrate and remember. The Church does the same thing through the Liturgical calendar. It prepares, celebrates and remembers the two central events in the life of Jesus.

Christmas -- His Birth

The Church prepares - through Advent - waiting for a special event. Readings at Mass during Advent talk of the Messiah; talk of John the Baptist who tells us He's (Jesus) coming! Get Ready! December Eighth - The Feast of the Immaculate Conception is celebrated during the preparation for Jesus' birth. This is a holy day of obligation.

The Church celebrates the birth of Jesus from December 25 - January 6 (12 days of Christmas). The Church continues to remember the birth of Jesus all throughout the Christmas Cycle, December 25 - January 6. The Church through the liturgy recalls events in Jesus' early years through the readings at Mass during the Christmas Cycle. Also special Feast Days relating to the birth of Jesus are celebrated during the Christmas Cycle.

• Sunday between Christmas and New Years Day is the Feast of the Holy Family
• December 28th is the Feast of the Holy Innocents
• January 6th is the Feast of the Epiphany (now the first Sunday after January 1st)
• February 2nd is the Feast of Presentation in the Temple

Easter -- His Death and Resurrection

The preparation for Easter is Lent, six weeks. Easter celebrates the death and resurrection of Jesus -- His teachings and miracles through the readings at Mass during the Easter Cycle.

The Church has very little knowledge about the child Jesus. The Church has more knowledge about the adult Jesus. Specifically, the Christmas and Easter Cycles do not use up all the Sundays in the year - 52. The Church has named the Sundays outside of the Christmas/Easter cycle as Sundays in Ordinary Time. Therefore on these Ordinary Sundays, the readings at Mass usually tell of the adult Jesus' miracles, teachings, warnings, etc. The word ordinary does not mean "run of the mill -- not important." The word means "the ordo" of the Church. Reference: The Catholic Dictionary, page 300.

The Church wants us to hear as much about Jesus' life on the 52 Sundays of the year as possible, both of His childhood years and adulthood years. Therefore the Church has divided the readings for Mass into three cycles, A, B and C. These cycles (A, B and C) rotate in a three year cycle.

Every Sunday at Mass there are four readings. These readings are taken from scripture -- the Word of God.

• First reading -- Old Testament (most of the time)
• Second reading -- a Psalm
• Third Reading -- New Testament
• Fourth Reading -- The Gospel: Cycle A - Matthew; Cycle B - Mark; Cycle C - Luke. John's Gospel is used wherever appropriate

The cycles change on the first Sunday of Advent:

• 2003-2004 is cycle C
• 2004-2005 is cycle A
• 2005-2006 is cycle B
• 2006-2007 is cycle C
• 2007-2008 is cycle A

Readings are assigned for the Whole Church by a committee in Rome for each Sunday.

• 52 Sundays a year:
      19 Sundays have a special name -- Easter, Pentecost, Baptism of the Lord, Christ the King, Palm, etc.
      33 Sundays have no special title and are called Sundays in Ordinary time.
• On each Sunday of Advent (there are four) the first reading is taken from a Prophet of the Old Testament who specifically refers in his writing to the coming of the Messiah (there are not too many of them).
• The Prophet Isaiah is used more than any of the prophets because his writings have the most references to the coming of the Messiah. In the three-year cycle, seven out of the twelve Sundays use Isaiah.

First Readings

• Cycle A -- Isaiah -- All four Sundays -- Is.2:1-5; Is.11:1-10; Is.35:1-6; Is.7:10-14
• Cycle B -- 3 Sundays -- Isaiah, 1 Sunday, Samuel -- Is.63:16-17, 19, 64:2-7; Is.40:1-5, 9-11; Is.61:1-2, 10-11; 2Sm.7:1-5, 8-11, 16.
• Cycle C -- All four Sundays are different -- Jeremiah -- 33:14-16; Baruch -- 5:1-9; Zephaniah -- 3:14-18; Micah -- 5:1-4.

Second Readings

The second reading is taken from the Letters/Paul and reminds us of what the Messiah has done/promised us. Paul wants us to keep in mind what we have.

Besides the Messiah, during Advent, the Church highlights Mary and John the Baptist because of their importance to the Messiah. Reference to them will be in the Gospel because they are New Testament.

The Church exists in a material world, so the Church uses material things to prepare, celebrate and remember. Not just through the readings at Mass. The Church uses material things to help us to help us prepare, celebrate and remember.

Some of these material things are:

Vestments and their color:

• Purple - royalty, kingship, penance
• Rose - Joy
• Green - Hope, new life
• White -- Purity
• Gold -- Solemn Feasts
• Red -- Holy Spirit, martyrs

Candles, incense, chalice, bread, wine, statues, sacred oils, etc.

To prepare for Christmas: Advent - the Church uses the color purple and rose, Advent wreath and Jesse Tree, does not recite the Gloria on Sundays.

To celebrate Christmas the Church uses the Creche, Christmas Tree, and Lights.

To remember Christmas the Church uses Special Feast Days until Lent.

The Church wishes us to think about the three comings of Christ during Advent.

• Historically -- Jesus "has come."
• Everyday -- Jesus "does come."
• End of the World (individual) -- Jesus "will come again."