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The Liturgical YearSpring, summer, autumn, winter...
As the year passes through a cycle of seasons, so too the Church's liturgical year moves through a cycles of seasons.
Each one helps us to enter more deelply into an aspct of the life of Christ. -
AdventAdvent begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas.It is a time of waiting, conversion and of hope.We remember the anticipation the people of Israel as they waited for the coming of the Messiah.We also wait for the coming of Christ in glory at the end of time.In Advent we hear again the prophets' call and the words of John the Baptist:"Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Mt 3:2). -
ChristmasDuring Christmastide, the Church celebrates the mystery of the Lord's manifestation:
his humble birth in Bethlehem which was made known to the shepherds,
the first of Israel to welcome the Saviour;
the Epiphany to the three wise men who had "come from the East" (Matthew 2:1),
the first of the Gentiles who recognised and adored Christ the Messiah in the child of Bethlehem;
the revelation at the river Jordan in which the Father declares that Jesus is His "well-beloved Son" (Matthew 3:17)
at the outset of his mission;
the miracle of Cana in which Jesus "manifested his glory and his disciples believed in him" (John 2:11). -
LentLent precedes and prepares for Easter.
It is a time to hear the Word of God, to convert, to prepare for and remember Baptism,
to be reconciled with God and one's neighbour,
and of more frequent recourse to the "arms of Christian penance":
prayer, fasting and good works. -
Holy WeekIn Holy Week, the Church celebrates the mysteries of salvation accomplished by Christ in the last days of the earthly life,
beginning with his entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.
On Maundy Thursday we commemorate the Last Supper.
On Good Friday we walk with him on the road to Calvary and stand at the foot of the Cross.
On Holy Saturday we wait silently at the tomb.
On Easter Night and Easter Day we joyfully celebrate the resurrection of Christ from the death. -
EasterThe season of Easter starts on Easter Sunday and continues until Pentecost Sunday, fifty days later.
During Eastertide we continue to bask in the glory of the Risen Lord.
Eastertide contains the feasts of Ascension and Pentecost. -
Ordinary TimeAfter Christmastide and before Lent, and from the end of Eastertide until the beginning of Advent runs Ordinary Time. Sunday-by-Sunday we gather for Mass and read through the Gospels, the letters of the New Teatament and the major parts of the Old Testament.Ordinary Time concludes with the feast of Christ the King, the last Sunday before the beginning of Advent.
