Originally, the early Church did not think in terms of an entire year, but rather continued the Jewish practice of viewing each week as a self-contained unit. During this week, Sunday was set aside as the Lord’s Day, replacing the Jewish Sabbath on Saturday. Fridays were designated as days of penance and sacrifice in memory of Jesus’s sacrifice on Good Friday. Eventually, Wednesdays were also designated as a day of penance. By the 10th century, Saturday had been set aside as a day to honor the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Presently, the liturgical year begins with the First Sunday of Advent, celebrated on the Sunday closest to the Feast of St. Andrew on November 30th, and ends with the Solemnity of Christ the King (the 34th Sunday in Ordinary Time) in late November. The year in between is divided into six seasons:
- Advent, a period of preparation for Christmas which lasts for 3-4 weeks
- Christmas, a season to celebrate the birth of Jesus which begins on the evening of December 24th, Christmas Eve, and lasts until the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord
- Lent, a period of preparation for Easter, which lasts for approximately 6 weeks from Ash Wednesday to the evening of Holy Thursday
- Paschal Triduum, the holiest three days of the year remembering Christ’s death and resurrection beginning on the evening of Holy Thursday and continuing to the evening of Easter Sunday
- Easter, a season to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus beginning on the evening of Easter Sunday and ending fifty days later on Pentecost
- Ordinary Time, two periods of time which cover the rest of the year. The first period runs from the Baptism of the Lord to Ash Wednesday and the second from Pentecost to Advent.
The Liturgical Year is a truly beautiful part of our Catholic faith. As we travel through the seasons, we are able to take in the full experience of Jesus’s life, death and resurrection. Take some time this coming year to pray about the season we are in and why we celebrate it. You might be surprised by what God reveals to you!