What is the Liturgical Year?
The Church, in continuing the mission of Christ, serves the People of God by reflecting and celebrating the life of Our Lord Jesus Christ in its liturgy throughout the Liturgical Year. The Liturgical Year is made up of Seasons and other celebrations.
The entire life of Jesus is reflected in the year.
The proclamation of Scripture follows:
A three-year Sunday cycle, and
A two-year weekday cycle,
allowing the faithful to encounter the life of Christ broadly and deeply over time.
Advent
The Church’s Year begins with this season. We are reminded that Jesus will come again and that we should be prepared. It is also a preparation for the birth of Jesus. This season recommends that we prepare by repenting of our sins and by acts of charity.
Christmas
A joyful season in which we celebrate the birth of Jesus. God so loved the world that He sent His son to be born as a Saviour (Jn 3: 16), as proclaimed by the angels to the shepherds on that glorious night
Lent
The Church invites us to contemplate deeply, the events that surround the passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ. We therefore immerse ourselves in the mysteries of our salvation and are strengthened by grace to face the challenges of life. We achieve this by prayer, fasting, repentance and acts of charity.
Easter
This is the glorious season celebrating the Resurrection, Ascension of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Descent of the Holy Spirit. Rooted in the Resurrection, the Church proclaims the meaning and purpose of its faith, celebrating that through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, all are reconciled to God and strengthened by the power of the Holy Spirit to live the Christian life.
Ordinary Time
These are the periods of time outside of the
other seasons. During these times, we contemplate on the other aspects of the life of Jesus. These times allow us to sync ourselves with the life of Christ, as we journey on our own paths, living the Christian life.
Other Celebrations:
These are celebrations of people and events that are inextricably bound to the life of Jesus.
The people we celebrate are the Saints and examples of events would be the Jubilee Year and World Youth Day.
All these celebrations take on a character of importance and are designated as solemnities, feasts and memorials accordingly.