The Church's Calendar
The Liturgical Year
The Church does not simply mark time — she sanctifies it. Every year, the liturgical calendar walks the whole Church through the entire mystery of Christ, from expectant waiting to the fullness of Easter joy.
Why a Church calendar?
The liturgical year exists so that, year after year, the whole Church relives the central mysteries of salvation together — not merely remembering them as past history, but entering into them anew through the liturgy. St. Leo the Great said that what was visible in Christ has now passed over into the sacraments and the rites of the Church; the calendar is the rhythm by which that happens. It also governs which readings are proclaimed at Mass, which vestment color is worn, and which feasts and fasts shape ordinary Catholic life.
Advent
The liturgical year begins not with Christmas, but with Advent — four weeks of expectant waiting for the coming of Christ, both His first coming in Bethlehem and His final coming in glory. Violet is worn (rose on the joyful third Sunday, Gaudete Sunday), and the Advent wreath, with its four candles lit one by one, has become a beloved way for families to mark the season at home.
Christmas
The Christmas season celebrates the Incarnation — God becoming man — beginning with the Nativity on December 25 and continuing through the Baptism of the Lord. Epiphany, celebrating the Magi's visit and Christ's manifestation to the Gentiles, falls within this season. White and gold are worn throughout, signaling joy and glory.
Lent
Forty days (not counting Sundays) of penance, fasting, and almsgiving, echoing Christ's forty days in the desert, in preparation for Easter. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, when ashes are marked on the forehead with the words "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return." Violet is worn throughout (rose again on the fourth Sunday, Laetare Sunday), and for those preparing to enter the Church, Lent is also the season of the Rite of Election and the Scrutinies.
The Sacred Triduum
The Church's most sacred three days: Holy Thursday evening (the Last Supper and the institution of the Eucharist and the priesthood, white vestments), Good Friday (Christ's Passion and death, red vestments, the one day of the year with no Mass celebrated), and the Easter Vigil after nightfall on Holy Saturday (the great Vigil of the Resurrection, white and gold) — one continuous liturgical act spanning three days, the heart of the entire Church year.
Easter
A fifty-day season of pure joy celebrating the Resurrection, from Easter Sunday to Pentecost, when the Church commemorates the Holy Spirit's descent on the apostles. White and gold mark Easter itself; red — the color of fire and blood — marks Pentecost. Those received into the Church at the Easter Vigil spend this season in Mystagogy, reflecting on the sacraments they've just received.
Ordinary Time
Two stretches of "Ordinary Time" (from the Latin ordinalis, "numbered," not "unremarkable") fill out the rest of the year — between Christmas and Lent, and between Easter and Advent — during which the Church simply walks through Christ's public life and teaching in a steady, numbered sequence of Sundays. Green, the color of growth and hope, is worn throughout.
Liturgical colors at a glance
| Color | When worn |
|---|---|
| Violet | Advent and Lent — penance and preparation |
| White / Gold | Christmas, Easter, feasts of Our Lord, Mary, and non-martyr saints |
| Green | Ordinary Time — growth in ordinary Christian life |
| Red | Pentecost, Palm Sunday, Good Friday, feasts of martyrs and Apostles |
| Rose | Gaudete Sunday (Advent 3) and Laetare Sunday (Lent 4) — a note of joy amid penance |
A word of Scripture
"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven." Ecclesiastes 3:1