the church year explained
Although the Church operates on the Gregorian calendar like most of the world (from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31), she operates on a very different calendar for liturgical purposes. The liturgical calendar is a meditation on the story of Christ.
We begin on the First Sunday of Advent (Dec. 1 this year). The four Sundays of Advent (which means “to come”) put us in the time before the coming of Christ. This includes the Old Testament time, when God inspired the Jewish people to look forward to the coming of a Savior. It also includes those New Testament accounts the months before the coming of Jesus.
On Christmas Eve, we begin the Christmas season, which will run until the Feast of the Epiphany, when the Magi came to Bethlehem to offer gifts and adoration to the Christ child.
After the Advent and Christmas season, we move into Ordinary Time. Most of the Church year is made up of Ordinary Time. I think that calling this time ordinary is a most unfortunate choice, and I hope and pray that the Church will rethink it and change it someday. We hear “ordinary” and think “plain, drab, etc.” That is not the meaning. It actually refers to ordinal time, when we count 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc. Because Christ entered into time, all time is sacred, all time is holy. But during the 33 or 34 weeks of Ordinary Time, we read through the stories of the adult life and ministry of Jesus.
Next, we have the seasons of Lent and Easter. The 40 days of Lent are a time of preparation to celebrate the Paschal Mystery, the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Christ. And of course, the 50 days of the Easter season celebrate the Resurrection of Christ from the dead, leading up to His Ascension to the Father and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost.
As noted above, we are in the last two Sundays of the present Church year, when we rejoice in Christ’s triumphal return, and His victory over sin and death, and the establishment of His eternal Kingdom.
We begin on the First Sunday of Advent (Dec. 1 this year). The four Sundays of Advent (which means “to come”) put us in the time before the coming of Christ. This includes the Old Testament time, when God inspired the Jewish people to look forward to the coming of a Savior. It also includes those New Testament accounts the months before the coming of Jesus.
On Christmas Eve, we begin the Christmas season, which will run until the Feast of the Epiphany, when the Magi came to Bethlehem to offer gifts and adoration to the Christ child.
After the Advent and Christmas season, we move into Ordinary Time. Most of the Church year is made up of Ordinary Time. I think that calling this time ordinary is a most unfortunate choice, and I hope and pray that the Church will rethink it and change it someday. We hear “ordinary” and think “plain, drab, etc.” That is not the meaning. It actually refers to ordinal time, when we count 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc. Because Christ entered into time, all time is sacred, all time is holy. But during the 33 or 34 weeks of Ordinary Time, we read through the stories of the adult life and ministry of Jesus.
Next, we have the seasons of Lent and Easter. The 40 days of Lent are a time of preparation to celebrate the Paschal Mystery, the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Christ. And of course, the 50 days of the Easter season celebrate the Resurrection of Christ from the dead, leading up to His Ascension to the Father and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost.
As noted above, we are in the last two Sundays of the present Church year, when we rejoice in Christ’s triumphal return, and His victory over sin and death, and the establishment of His eternal Kingdom.