When to Celebrate the Liturgy?

Liturgical Seasons1

By Josh Justine M. Allapitan

STEM 12 -St.Jude

In our day to day life, there are various important events and occasions that is
continuously happening in our environment or in our surroundings. And because of that,
we often make use of a calendar as a means of marking down the date today, or for
reminder of the events that will take place each months. Events like one’s birthday, a
wedding, a baptism of your brother or sister, parents anniversary, even in our day to day
activities like going to school, going out with friends to have fun and so on. The reason
as to why we often mark a calendar is so that we could not forget any of them. Same
thing goes with the Church.

The church also have a cycle of liturgical seasons. The calendar being used is called
the Liturgical Calendar, in which it begins every year during the month of November on
the first Sunday of Advent and then it runs through to the solemnity of Jesus Christ. It is
the temporal structure within which the Church celebrates the mysteries of Christ, from
his Incarnation and Nativity to the Ascension, to Pentecost until the wait of the Lord’s
coming. Similarly in our Roman calendar, the Liturgical Calendar make use of months to
portray the events of our Lord Jesus Christ. During each Liturgical year, the celebration
of the Paschal Mystery is the most privileged moment in the daily, weekly and annual
celebration of Christian worship.

The Liturgical Calendar isn’t just any normal time table calendar, for in fact, it is a
tool in which it kindles the hearts of the Catholics in order to remember about God’s
marvellous plan of salvation which was accomplished through the birth, life, death
and resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ. It is essential not only as a reminder of the
events that will happen in our Church, but also as a symbol of hope and salvation for the
next advent of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Liturgical Calendar follows a three year cycle which is being represented by
letter A,B and C. During the year A, the gospel of Matthew is the primary Gospel that is
used for readings, in year B, Mark is the primary gospel, and in the year C, it is Luke. So
within each year of A,B, and C, different gospels will be portrayed, gospels of Matthew ,
Mark and Luke respectively.
 Now moving on to the Liturgical seasons in the Liturgical Calendar. Apparently,
there are six seasons being celebrated yearly. It is the Advent, Christmas, Lent, Triduum,
Easter and then Ordinary Time. Not only that, but every year there is an addition in
Sunday worship or the commemoration of Solemnities, Feasts, and Memorials, these
occurs during the year in order to commemorate special events or persons.

Apart from the Liturgical season, there is also a celebration for the solemnities,
feasts and memorials. Solemnities which are the days of greatest importance begins with
the first evening prayers. Feasts which are celebrated within the limits of a natural day
and Memorials which are obligatory or optional. Aside from that, it is also observed
during the Liturgical year the Liturgical colors. It is in which the priest’s color of dress
during liturgy depends upon the Liturgical Seasons.

Red for Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion, Good Friday, on Pentecost Sunday, on
celebrations of the Lord’s Passion, on ‘birthday’ Feasts of the Apostles and Evangelists,
and on celebrations of martyred Saints. Green for Ordinary Time. Violet for Advent and
Lent. Rose for 3rd Sunday of Advent and 4th Sunday of Lent. And Black for funerals,
Masses of the Dead and All Soul’s day. This explains why the color codings of the dress
of the priests differs from time to time. It just depends on the event or occasion being
held at the time.

This Liturgical Calendar serves a great importance to each and every Roman
Catholic whose faith are bounded by their unending love and faith to God. It serves as a
way for each and everyone of us to remember in heart and in mind the things that Jesus
Christ sacrificed and has done for us. We must cherish this time and day that we are
living on. For this is the evidence of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice and love of God to each and
everyone of us. We must not ignore the activities and the events happening in our
Church. If possible, we must participate in each every occasion being held with open
hearts and minds. For it is a celebration that we must attend. Not only for a fact that we
are attending the Church, but we are also attending God and Jesus Christ themselves. We
must show that we are truly a faithful sons and daughters of God as well as disciples of
Christ.