Roman Catholic

Liturgical
Seasons
An Introduction to the Churchs
Calendar

Why A Calendar?
We all use calendars to mark off
and celebrate in a special way
different times of the year such as:
o The seasons
o National and secular holidays such as
Independence Day and Thanksgiving
o Anniversaries
o Birthdays

These celebrations help us to bond

together and appreciate that which
we are celebrating in a deeper
way.

What does the

Catechism Teach?
The Catechism of the Catholic Church
in article 2698 tells us:
The Tradition of the Church
proposes to the faithful certain
rhythms of praying.
The cycle of the Liturgical year
and its great feasts are also the
basic rhythms of the Christian
life of prayer.

How Many Seasons are in

the Churchs Year?
There are 6 seasons in the Churchs Liturgical Year:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Advent
Christmas
Ordinary Time
Lent
The Easter Triduum
Easter

Similar to our natural seasons, each liturgical season

is designated by a special theme and color.

Happy New Year!

The first day of the New Year on the Churchs
Liturgical Calendar is different than January 1st.

Instead, the first Sunday of Advent is the

first day of the Churchs New Year.

Advent:
A Season of Waiting
The first four weeks of the Churchs Liturgical Calendar
make up the season of Advent.
During the season of Advent the Church prepares for
two main things:
1. The Celebration of our Lord Jesus birth on Christmas Day
2. The Second Coming of the Lord.

The four weeks of Advent signify Christs four

comings to us:
1.
2.
3.
4.

In the flesh
Into our hearts
At our deaths
At the Last Judgement

Advent:
Colors, Symbols, and Practices
Advent is a Penitential Season a season
of penance.
o Purple is the color the Church uses to
symbolize penance. It is the liturgical color
of Advent.
o During Advent we refrain from singing the
Gloria at Mass.
o We should set aside time for Confession,
fasting and other acts of penance and
charity during the season of Advent.
Pope Francis in Purple Vestm,ents.

Advent:
Colors, Symbols, and Practices
The Advent Wreath is the
most common symbol of
Advent.
o The wreath contains 3 purple and1
pink candle one for each of the
four Sundays of Advent.
o It is lit in the Church at Mass and in
the Domestic Church, the home, for
prayer and meditation.

Advent:
Whats With the Pink Candle?
The third Sunday of Advent is
known as Gaudete Sunday
o

The word Gaudete means Rejoice

We rejoice on this Sunday because

the end of our waiting is almost
here.
The color rose is worn by the
priest.
Rose vestments are only worn on
one other day of the Churchs
calendar : Laetare Sunday in
Lent.

Pope Francis in Rose Colored Vestments.

Christmas:
And the Word was made flesh
The Season of Christmas celebrates the Birth of
our Lord Jesus.
Christmas, along with Easter, are the two greatest
celebrations on the Churchs calendar.
o On Christmas I celebrate Easter, because Jesus was born to die for
me. - Lyrics to a song on Christmas for Little Children

The Season begins at the vigil Mass on Christmas

Eve.
Christmas concludes with the celebration of the
Feast of the Baptism of the Lord.

Christmas:
Colors, Symbols and Practices
Contrary to the red and green
theme that identify the secular
celebrations of Christmas,
white is the official liturgical
color of the Christmas season.
White symbolizes light,
innocence, purity, joy, glory
and triumph.
On special feasts, gold
vestments can be used to
accent or totally replace white
vestments.

Pope Francis incensing the Baby Jesus at

Midnight Mass.

Christmas:
Colors, Symbols and Practices
The Nativity Scene and the
Christmas Tree are the two
main symbols of Christmas.
At Midnight Mass the infant
Jesus is placed in the
Nativity Scene.
The Christmas tree points
us to heaven, and its
evergreen color is a symbol
of Gods eternal love.

Crche and Christmas Tree in

St. Peters Square, Rome

Christmas:
Octaves: Let the Celebrations Continue
An Octave is an eight day celebration of a Feast Day.
o During the celebration of an Octave, each day is celebrated as if it were the feast day.
o Daily Mass celebrated during the Octave includes the Gloria

Throughout the churchs history the number of Octaves

celebrated swelled to as many as 15. As of 1969, the
Church currently celebrates only two Octaves: Christmas
and Easter
The Octave of Christmas begins on Christmas Day and ends
on the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God.
The Octave of Easter begins on Easter Sunday and ends on
Divine Mercy Sunday.

Ordinary Time:
The Life and Teaching of Jesus
Ordinary Time is named
for the ordinal numbers
which count the weeks of
Ordinary Time.
Ordinary Time is
expressed by the Latin
term tempus per
annum meaning time
throughout the year.
During Ordinary Time the
Churchs liturgy focuses
on the Life and Teaching
of Jesus.

Ordinary Time:
Colors, Symbols and Practices

Ordinary Time at 33-34 weeks long is the longest

Liturgical Season of the Churchs Calendar.
Green, representing life and hope, is the color of Ordinary
Time.
The first part of Ordinary Time begins on the Monday after
the Baptism of the Lord and ends on the Tuesday before
Ash Wednesday.
The second part of Ordinary Time begins on the Monday
after Pentecost Sunday and ends with the Solemnity of
Jesus Christ, King of the Universe.

Lent:
A Season of Penance
Lent is a 40 day Penitential
Season, which prepares the
church to celebrate the
mystery of the Passion, Death
and Resurrection of the Lord
Jesus.
Lent begins with the
celebration of Ash
Wednesday and concludes on
the evening of Holy Thursday.
The three pillars of Lent are
prayer, fasting and
almsgiving.

Lent:
Colors, Symbols and Practices
The Liturgical color for Lent
is purple, which is a
penetential color.
o Priests wear a purple stole whenever
they hear confessions.

There are two exceptions to

the color purple:
o On Laetare Sunday, the priests
vestments are rose colored.
o On Palm Sunday, the color red is
used.

In Lent, the Alleluia and the

Gloria are not part of the
Liturgy.

Pope Francis hearing confessions at

World Youth Day.

Lent:
Colors, Symbols and Practices
The two most common
symbols of Lent are
ashes and palms.
The ashes distributed
on Ash Wednesday are
traditionally made from
the previous years
palm branches, which
are burnt.

Pope Francis on Palm Sunday.

Lent:
Colors, Symbols and Practices
Some common devotional practices performed
during Lent include:
o Abstinence from meat on Fridays (as directed
by the Church)
o Fasting or giving up something
o Confession
o Praying the Stations of the Cross
o Lenten retreats or missions

The Easter Triduum:

We Watch and Wait
The shortest season of the Churchs liturgical
year, the Sacred Triduum celebrate the Paschal
Mystery of the Lords Passion, Death and
Resurrection.
The Triduum begins with the celebration of the
Mass of the Lords Supper on Holy Thursday and
concludes with the celebration of the Easter
Vigil.

The Easter Triduum:

Colors, Symbols and Practices
The liturgical colors of
the Sacred Triduum
vary depending upon
the day:
o Holy Thursday Mass of the
Lords Supper White and Gold
o Good Friday Liturgy of the
Lords Passion Red
o Holy Saturday Easter Vigil
White and Gold

Pope Francis prostrate on Good Friday

Pope Francis at the Easter Vigil

The Easter Triduum:

Colors, Symbols and Practices
In addition to the
Churchs liturgies for the
Triduum, the following are
common practices to
celebrate the Triduum:
o Tour of 7 Eucharistic Repositories
for Adoration on Holy Thursday
night
o Fasting and Abstinence on Good
Friday
o Stations of the Cross
o Divine Mercy Novena begins on
Good Friday.

Divine Mercy Image

Easter:
Alleluia, He Is Risen
The Season of Easter celebrates the Resurrection of
Our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead.
The Season of Easter begins with the Easter Vigil
and concludes on Pentecost Sunday.
The Feasts of Divine Mercy Sunday and the
Ascension of the Lord fall during the Easter Season.

Easter:
Colors, Symbols and Practices
White is the official
liturgical color of the
Easter season.
White symbolizes light,
innocence, purity, joy,
glory and triumph.
Pentecost Sunday is
celebrated with the color
red for the Holy Spirit.

Pope Francis incensing the Baby Jesus at

Midnight Mass.

Easter:
Colors, Symbols and Practices
White is the official
liturgical color of the
Easter season.
White symbolizes light,
innocence, purity, joy,
glory and triumph.
Pentecost Sunday is
celebrated with the color
red for the Holy Spirit.

Pope Francis among the Easter Flowers

on Easter Sunday.

Easter:
Urbi et Orbi
The Urbi et Orbi (for
the city and for the
world) message is
delivered by the Holy
Father each Christmas
and Easter.
Pope Francis greeting the crowds after
delivering the Urbi et Orbi Message.

Sources
Signs of Life: 40 Catholic Customs and Their
Biblican Roots by Dr. Scott Hahn
Catechism of the Catholic Church
Prayers & Devotions 365 Daily Meditations: Pope
John Paul II
Advent & Christmas Wisdom from Pope John Paul
II
Pope Francis, Wednesday Audience April 1, 2015
Catholic Online Liturgical Colors