Good Shepherd Family Faith Formation Group

November 18, 2019

�The notion of time helps us celebrate life by marking, counting and recalling the important dates and events in our lives.

Ex: Birthdays, anniversaries ,

graduations, etc.

The Church developed the liturgical cycle to

help us preserve our identity as the people

of God.

The Liturgical Year (or Church calendar) helps us recall and celebrate the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.

Let’s take a look at the Liturgical Calendar

� The Liturgical year is a cycleof seasons repeating itself at

the end of each cycle.

� The Church also celebrates

Solemnities, Feasts, and

Memorials which may be on

any day of the week. These

days commemorate special

events or persons highly

revered by the Catholic

Church.

�There are five (or six)

specific seasons in the

Church’s calendar:� Advent

� Christmas

� Ordinary Time

� Lent

� (the Triduum)

� Easter

� Each season of the

liturgical year focuses on

an important aspect of

Christ’s life.

�Each season in the Liturgical calendar has a particulartheme.

�Each season has a particular liturgical color.

�Each season concentrates on different parts of the Bible.

�Each season has

different religious

practices, and symbols.

� WHITE

� Symbolizes: Light,

innocence, purity, joy,

triump, glory

� Easter

� Feasts of saints (who

were not martyrs)

� All Saints

� Feasts of the Apostles

� Nuptial Masses

� RED

� Symbolizes: Charity

� Palm Sunday of the

Lord’s Passion

� Good Friday

� Pentecost Sunday

� Celebrations of martyred

Saints

� VIOLET

� Symbolizes: royalty,

suffering, expectation,

purification or penance

� Advent

� Lent

� ROSE

� Symbolizes: Joy

� Advent – 3rd Sunday

(Gaudete)

� Lent – 4th Sunday

(Laetare)

� GREEN

� Symbolizes: Hope,

Growth

� Ordinary Time

� Color Changes

� Priest Vestments

� Altar Server Cinctures

� Art & Environment Banners

Decorations fitting to the

liturgical season – i.e.

Advent wreath, no bright

flowers during Lent; etc.

� Mass parts No Alleluia or Gloria during

Lent or Advent.

� Scripture

� Each new Liturgical

Year signals a change

in the Gospel

readings

�Sunday Gospel Readings

divided into 3-year

cycles: Year A – features Gospel of Matthew

(the year we will enter on Dec 1)

Year B – features Gospel of Mark

Year C – features Gospel of Luke (our

current year, ends Nov 24)

The Gospel of John is proclaimed on

particular Sundays throughout the

year.

� Weekdays in Ordinary Time are

divided into 2-year cycles:

� Year 1 is read in odd number years

� Year 2 in even number years

Season of Spiritual Preparation for

Christmas; comes from the Latin word

“Adventus” meaning “coming”.

Begins on the Sunday closest to the Feast

of St. Andrew the Apostle (Nov 30)

There are 4 Sundays of Advent, and the

last weeks is usually shortened depending

on when Christmas falls

Ends on December 24 at

sundown

We share in the long preparation for the

Savior’s first coming, and

We renew our desire for his second

coming, keeping in mind that we must be

ready to meet Him.

The color of Advent is Violet – the color of

penitence and fasting as well as the color

of royalty to welcome the Advent of the

King.

The Nativity, the Incarnation, cannot be

separated from the crucifixion.

Christmas is a SEASON, not just a day.

Begins with the Vigil Mass on Christmas Eve and concludes with the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord (Jan 12)

We celebrate the Incarnation – “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”

Reflection on the Nativity: Imagine yourself in the stable, and take it all in…..

Ask Mary if you can hold her child………….

How does that feel?

Continuing the celebration:

Dec 29 - The Feast of the Holy Family –

the first Sunday after Christmas

Jan 1 – Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God

Jan 5 - Epiphany – where the Magi visit

the new King;

Jan 12 – Feast of the Baptism of the Lord

Jan 19 – 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

The 12 Days of Christmas start on Christmas Day and last until the evening

of the 5th January - also known as Twelfth Night.

The 12 Days each traditionally celebrate a feast day for a saint and/or have

different celebrations:

Day 1 (25th December): Christmas Day - celebrating the Birth of Jesus

Day 2 (26th December also known as Boxing Day): St Stephen’s Day. He

was the first Christian martyr; also the day when the Christmas Carol

'Good King Wenceslas' takes place.

Day 3 (27th December): St John the Apostle

Day 4 (28th December): The Feast of the Holy Innocents - when people

remember the baby boys which King Herod killed when he was trying to

find and kill the Baby Jesus.

Day 5 (29th December): St Thomas Becket. He was Archbishop of

Canterbury in the 12th century and was murdered on 29th December

1170 for challenging the King’s authority over the Church.

Day 6 (30th December): St Egwin of Worcester.

Day 7 (31st December): New Year's Eve (known as Hogmanay in Scotland).

Pope Sylvester I is traditionally celebrated on this day.

Day 8 (1st January) Holy Day of Obligation - Mary, Mother of God

Day 9 (2nd January): St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory Nazianzen, two

important 4th century Christians.

Day 10 (3rd January): Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus. This remembers

when Jesus was officially 'named' in the Jewish Temple.

Day 11 (4th January): St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, the first American saint,

who lived in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Day 12 (5th January also known as Epiphany Eve): St. John Neumann who

was the first Bishop in America.

There’s nothing ‘Ordinary’ about Ordinary Time;

Ordinary Time is the part of the year in which Christ, the

Lamb of God, walks among us and transforms our lives;

It is a time of spiritual growth as we learn from the life and

teachings of Christ;

Ordinary comes from the Latin word “Ordinalis” which

refers to numbers in a series

In Ordinary Time the Sundays/Weeks are ordered or counted

(unless there is a special feast day)

Nov 17th was the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

This Sunday, Nov 24, is the Feast of Christ the King

During Lent, our Catechumens (unbaptized) are preparing for their Baptism at Easter;

We, the Baptized, reflect on our Baptismal calling;

Two elements particularly characteristic of Lent:

Baptism (recalling of, or preparation for)

Penance

Three most important days of the

liturgical year-Mass of the Last Supper on Holy Thursday

Christ’s Passion on Good Friday

Easter Vigil during the night of Holy

Saturday; Easter Sunday Masses

�Holy Thursday

� Jesus instituted three pillars of our faith:

The Eucharist

The Priesthood – Jesus gives the apostles the power to

“do this in remembrance of me”;

Mass

� Adoration

Following the Holy Thursday Mass, Adoration of the

Blessed Sacrament continues until 5am, commemorating

the time Jesus spent in prayer in the Garden of

Gethsemane.

� Good Friday

We remember the Passion and death of Jesus;

The only day of the year when Mass is not celebrated –

we do have a Good Friday service;

We venerate the Cross honoring our Lord’s sacrifice;

The tabernacle is open and empty

� Holy Saturday

Jesus lies in the tomb – a day of quiet and reflection

We know the good news of Easter, but the people of

Jesus’ lifetime did not…………….

At the Easter Vigil we celebrate the Resurrection – our

catechumens and candidates enter the Church through

the Sacraments of Initiation: Baptism, Confirmation and

Holy Eucharist.

Also a SEASON, not a day

Begins with Easter Vigil/Sunday and ends on Pentecost Sunday (the 50 days from the

Resurrection through the sending of the Holy

Spirit)

� According to the Bible, Jesus Christ's death and

resurrection occurred around the time of the Jewish

Passover, which was celebrated on the first Full

Moon following the vernal equinox.

� At the end of the 2nd century, some churches celebrated

Easter on the day of the Passover, while others celebrated

it on the following Sunday.

� In 325 AD, the Council of Nicaea established that Easter

would be held on the first Sunday after the first Full Moon

occurring on or after the vernal equinox. (*the date for Ash

Wednesday is 40 days, excluding Sundays, prior to Easter.)

� In the Gregorian calendar, Easter falls on a Sunday

between March 22 and April 25

� USCCB Website – Catholic Current

� http://www.usccb.org/