The liturgical calendar is the cycle of seasons in the Catholic Church. The Church year begins each year with Advent, the season of awaiting Christ’s coming, and ends with the final Saturday of Ordinary time.
The Church year consists of different liturgical seasons: Season of Creation, Advent, Christmas, Ordinary Time after Epiphany, Lent, Easter, and Ordinary Time after Pentecost. Seasons begin or end based on a movable feast and so some seasons vary in length from year to year, and vary as to the calendar dates.
At St Joseph’s, we consider the seasonality of the Church when we plan our provision across the school year.
Season of Creation
| The Season of Creation is a global ecumenical celebration of prayer and action to protect our common home, starting each year on 1 September and finishing on the feast of St Francis, 4 October. |
The World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, celebrated on 1 September, kicks off the Season of Creation, a time of sustained prayer and action which lasts a month and four days. During this season we are encouraged to pray and engage in community events in order to deepen our relationship with God, our neighbour and the earth we share, being ever more attentive to the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.
Advent
The Advent season is the time of waiting and preparing for the coming of Jesus. This refers both to the anniversary of His birth, as well as the second and final coming for which we are waiting and preparing.
The colour for Advent is purple.
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.
The colour for Lent is purple.
During Lent, we take time to say sorry and think of ways that we can help others through Almsgiving.
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.
During Easter, you can feel the celebration in the air at St Joseph’s.
