Seasons of the Liturgical Year

The seasons of the liturgical year begin with Advent, a time of preparation for the Christmas season.




The Christmas season celebrates the birth of Jesus (on December 25) and continues until the Baptism of Our Lord.



This is followed by the first of two periods of Ordinary Time, which continues until Ash Wednesday.
The Symbol for Ordinary Time is Chi-Rho. Comprised of the first two letters of the Greek word for Messiah (Christos) the letter Chi looks like an X, and the letter Rho looks like a P. Chi-Rho became a symbol representing Jesus Christ

"Ordinary" Time does not mean average. Ordinary here means "Not Seasonal", the part of the Liturgical Year outside the seasons of Lent-Easter and Advent-Christmas. It is a time for the Church to celebrate the wonder of God in all things, a time to celebrate the Paschal Mystery

The readings during Ordinary Time help to instruct us on how to live our Christian faith in our daily lives. The Feast of Christ the King is the last Sunday of Ordinary Time and of the Liturgical Year.

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the season of Lent, a time of penitence leading to the Paschal Triduum after the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday. The Triduum is the three days before Easter.

Easter Sunday marks the start of the Easter season, which continues as a time of celebration until Pentecost Sunday. Pentecost Sunday marks the start of the second period of Ordinary Time, which continues until the Advent season begins again

Liturgical Years

There are three sets of readings assigned for Sundays and other special days throughout the church year. These readings are assigned to Liturgical Years A, B, and C. Years which are evenly divisible by 3 are assigned year C, such as 1995. Year A follows year C, Year B follows Year A, and Year C follows Year B. Bear in mind that Liturgical Years start on the first Sunday of Advent of the previous year, so December 1, 1996 started Liturgical Year B

Liturgical Cycles

There are two sets of readings for weekdays in ordinary time and other special days throughout the church year. These readings are assigned to Liturgical Cycles I and II. Odd years are assigned cycle I, and even years are assigned cycle II. Liturgical Cycles start on the first Sunday of Advent of the previous year, so December 1, 1996 began Liturgical Cycle I