The Seasons of the Liturgical Year

Advent

Advent begins the Sunday closest to the feast of St. Andrew, which is November 30th. Therefore Advent always falls sometime between November 28th and December 3rd, and lasts until the Nativity of the Lord. The season always has somewhere between 21 and 28 days.

The Advent season is the time of waiting and preparing for the coming of Jesus. This refers both to the anniversary celebration of the Incarnation, as well as the second and final coming for which we are waiting and preparing.

The liturgical colors of Advent are Purple and Rose, with Rose being used only on the third Sunday of Advent.

Christmas

The Christmas season begins with the celebration of the birth of Jesus, Christmas day, or as a vigil on Christmas Eve. The Feast of Christmas lasts 12 days, until Epiphany. However, the time from Epiphany until the Baptism of the Lord is also included in the Christmas season. Traditionally, Epiphany had been fixed to January 6th, and the Baptism celebrated on the octave of Epiphany, which was January 13th. In most countries, the Epiphany is now celebrated on the Sunday closest to January 6th, and the Baptism celebrated the following Sunday. The Christmas season is a time of rejoicing in the Incarnation.

The liturgical colour of Christmas is white.

Ordinary Time

After the celebration of the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, Ordinary Time begins.

Ordinary does not mean plain. The name comes from "ordinalis" meaning "showing order, denoting an order of succession." It is used in this sense to refer to the order of the counted weeks. That is to say, it is a season of counted weeks.

Ordinary Time after the Baptism focuses on the early life and childhood of Christ, and then on His public ministry.

The liturgical colour of Ordinary Time is green; however, as in all seasons, other appropriate colours are worn on particular feast days.

Lent

The season of Lent begins with Ash Wednesday and lasts until the final Saturday before Easter, Holy Saturday. Lent is a penitential season. It recalls the 40 days Jesus spent in the desert, and the 40 years the Israelites wandered in the desert. Lent focuses on the events leading up to Christ's passion, and finally on the Passion itself.

Lent is 40 days long. This does not include Sundays, as Sunday is always a day for rejoicing in the Resurrection. Altogether, it covers 46 calendar days, the 40 days plus the six Sundays. 

The liturgical colours of Lent are violet or purple, traditionally more of a red-violet colour than the deep purple of Advent. Rose may also be used, where it is the custom, on Laetare Sunday (Fourth Sunday during Lent). On Passion Sunday (Palm Sunday) and on Good Friday (which has no Mass but a service remembering Christ's passion) the colour is red. White or violet is worn on Holy Thursday and Holy Saturday (once again, there is no Mass but there are other services on Holy Saturday).

Easter Triduum

Begins with the Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday, reaches its high point in the Easter Vigil and concludes with Evening Prayer on Easter Sunday.

Easter

The Easter season begins with the Easter Vigil, which is celebrated after night falls on the evening before Easter Sunday.

The season of Easter is a joyous, celebratory season. It begins with celebrating Christ's resurrection and ends by celebrating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers of Jesus. Christ's ascension into Heaven is celebrated just prior to Pentecost. The Easter season last 50 days, from Easter Sunday through Pentecost.

The liturgical colours of Easter are white, for most days, and red for Pentecost.

Ordinary Time - after Pentecost

The second period of Ordinary Time is the longest liturgical season. Ordinary Time resumes after Pentecost and runs until the final Saturday before Advent. This period of Ordinary Time focuses on Christ's reign as King of kings, and on the age of the Church.

This is the age we live in now, which is the time between the age of the Apostles and the age of Christ's second and final coming for which we are ever preparing. The final Sunday in Ordinary Time is the Feast of Christ the King; the Saturday after this feast is the final day of Ordinary time.

Again, the liturgical colour of Ordinary Time is green; however, as in all seasons, other appropriate colours are worn on particular feast days.

Yearly Cycle of Gospel Readings

To provide a deeper and broader understanding of the Gospels, the Sunday Mass readings are arranged into a three-year cycle (Year A, Year B, and Year C). Each year focuses on a different Gospel (Matthew, Mark, or Luke) with some readings from John's Gospel included in their proper context.