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The
liturgical year could be simply said as well-lit organization of days
and months. It is commorative celebration over the course of the year of
the saving deeds which God has accomplished in Jesus Christ. The
Catechism of the Catholic Church defines liturgical year as “the
celebration throughout the year of the mysteries of the Lord’s birth,
life, death and Resurrection in such a way that the entire year becomes
a year of the Lord’s grace” (C.C.C. 1168). The General Norms for the
Liturgical Year and Calendar (Abbreviated as GNLYC. It was published on
21st March 1969)) defines it as “by the means of the yearly cycle the
Church celebrates the whole mystery of Christ from his incarnation the
day of Pentecost and his expectation of coming day. (GNLYC 7).
The Liturgical calendar has two divisions.
1. Special Time
2. Ordinary Time
Special Time: It is called special because the two great mysteries of
Christ’s life i.c., the birth and the resurrection are celebrated during
this time. The special time has two cycles, the Christmas Cycle and the
Easter Cycle.
1. Christmas Cycle:
Christmas cycle begins from the first Sunday of Advent and ends on the
Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. Christmas Cycle has two seasons.
a) Advent Season
The Word Advent means ‘Coming’. The Liturgical Year begins with the
Advent Season, which stats four Sundays before December 25 and ends at
the Christmas Vigil Mass. During the season of Advent we remember the
long years of waiting by the people of Israel for the Messiah, the
messages of hope in the prophets, and how Mary and Joseph were faithful
to God's plan. Advent is not a penitential season, as Lent is. Advent is
a time of joyful preparation and expectation. The Gloria is omitted on
Sundays in Advent not as a sign of repentance, but to create a longing
that will inspire people to sing it more joyfully on Christmas.
Themes of the Season
There are two themes in this season. The both themes reflect the term
‘advent.’
1. This season is a time to prepare for the celebration of the birth of
the Lord.
2. It is a period to reflect and prepare for Christ’s second coming at
the end of time (Parosia). (GNLYC 39).
Themes in the Scripture
The scripture selections and the prayers of the liturgy for the season
reflects the two themes described above.
i) So from the beginning of Advent until December the focus is on
preparation for the coming of God’s Kingdom. The gospel for the first
Sunday of Advent concerns Christ’s coming at he end of time. John the
Baptist is the subject of the Gospel for the second and Third Sundays.
ii) From December 17 to December 24 the theme shifts to the anticipation
of the birth of Jesus and his ministry. The gospel for the fourth Sunday
addresses the events that happened right before the birth of Jesus.
The first reading is from the Old Testament, especially from the book of
Isaiah, speak about the Messiah and the Messianic age. The New Testament
readings reflect the themes of Advent.
The Liturgical Color
Advent is a time of expectation and preparation. So violet or purple
colors are used in the vestments and decoration. Purple is a color that
was reserved for use by royalty, and so it is used in Advent to
symbolize the coming of Christ our king, as celebrated at Christmas and
as we prepare for the coming of God’s Kingdom.
Symbol for Advent
The symbol for advent is ‘The Advent Wreath’. It has a circle that
recalls all the years the people waited for the Messiah. The four
candles (Three of the candles are purple- liturgical color for Advent,
and the fourth one is rose colored, to signify the hope for the coming
of Jesus) on the wreath remind us that there are four weeks in Advent.
Each week one additional candle is lighted, so by the end of Advent all
four are lit. Candles also remind us that Jesus is the Light of the
world.
b) The Christmas Season
The Christmas Season begins at the vigil mass on Christmas Eve and ends
on the feast of the Baptism of the Lord. The Christmas season celebrates
the early manifestation of Jesus, from his birth to the beginning of his
public ministry.
Christmas Octave: The word octave comes from the Latin octavus, which
means ‘eighth.’ Christmas is an important feast. So the church extends
the celebration of this solemnity to cover a period of eight days. This
period of eight days celebration is called Christmas Octave.
Christmas day and the seven days that follow are part of the Octave of
Christmas. During this octave the Church celebrates several feasts. They
are: The feast of St. Stephen, (the first Martyr, December-26), The
feast of St. John, the apostles and evangelist (December-27) The feast
of Holy Innocents (December-28). January 1st is the eighth day after
Christmas, is the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God.
Epiphany: The word comes from Greek, “Epiphaneia” means appearance or
manifestation of God. When the western church celebrated Christmas on
25th of December, the eastern church celebrated it on 6th January.
Latter the western church adopted this feast as Epiphany of the Lord. In
the Gospel of Mathew we read about the wise men from the east, who went
to worship the Lord who was born as man. Tradition holds that they were
three pagan kings called Casper, Melchior and Belthasar. This feast is
now celebrated on the Sunday that falls between January 2nd and January
8th. If January 6th falls on Sunday or Saturday, the Baptism of the Lord
is celebrated on Monday.
The Liturgical color for Christmas Season: White, silver or gold to Show
our joy.
Symbol of Christmas:
The manger and stares. The manger served as the first crib for the baby
Jesus. The star proclaimed the coming of the king to the wise men who
followed it so they could pay homage to Jesus.
2. Ordinary Time.
In the context of the liturgical year the term “ordinary” does not mean
“usual or average.” Ordinary here means “not seasonal.” In other words
ordinary time is that part of the Liturgical Year that lies outside the
seasons of lent-Easter and Advent-Christmas. In ordinary time the church
celebrates the mystery of Christ not in one specific aspect but in all
its aspects. The readings during the liturgies of Ordinary Time help to
instruct us on how to live out Christian faith in our daily lives.
Ordinary time occurs in two sections. The first part begins on the
Monday following the Christmas season, which ends with the Feast of the
Baptism of the Lord on the Sunday following January 6. It lasts through
the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Lenten season.
Ordinary Time resumes after the Easter Season, on the Monday after
Pentecost, and continues until evening prayer on the Saturday before the
first Sunday of Advent. The Sunday that follows the feast of the Baptism
of the Lord is the Second Sunday in Ordinary time.
Themes in Scripture.
a) Sundays in Ordinary time: The Sundays in ordinary time are divided
into three cycle and are named as A, B, C. If This year Cycle A is used
the next year Cycle B and the following year Cycle C is used. A simple
mathematical formula could be used to find out the Cycle. When the year
is divisible by 3, that year readings from Cycle C are taken. If it is
not divisible and answer comes 1 or 2, Cycle A or Cycle B is used
consequently. Example 2007 is divisible by 3 so the readings are taken
from year C.
During Sundays in ordinary time the Old Testament readings are chosen
with the theme of the gospel in mind. The focal aim of this is to bring
out the unity of the Old Testament and the New Testament. It also helps
to prevent introduction of too many themes and helps people to
familiarize the Old Testament texts.
The second readings are from the letters of Paul and James are taken.
(The letters of Peter and John are read in Easter and Christmas season.)
The gospel pericopes are taken from Mathew in Year A, Mark in Year B,
and Luke in Year C. But on the 2nd Sunday of Ordinary time, three
pericopes from John are chosen that echo the feast of Epiphany and
Sundays 17-21 in year B the gospel on the discourse of “bred of life”
from John chapter 6 is used.
b) Weekdays of Ordinary Time: There are two annual cycles for the
non-gospel reading with series I for the odd numbered years and series
II for the even numbered years. (For example in the year 2007 (odd year)
series I is used, for the year 2008 (even year) series II is used.) The
readings are taken continuously. The first reading alternates every few
weeks between the Old Testament and New Testament depending on the
length of the book being ready.
The Liturgical color:
The liturgical color for Ordinary time is green, a sign of hope.
Symbol for Ordinary time.
Two Greek alphabets “ c ” (pronounced “Chi”) and “ r ” (Pronounced “Rho”)
are used for the symbol of ordinary time. It is comprised of the first
two letters of the Greek word for Messiah, (Greek- Chirstos Cristos).
This abbreviation became a symbol representing Jesus Christ.
The feast of Christ the King is the last Sunday of ordinary time and of
the liturgical year.
3. Easter Cycle
Easter Cycle begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Pentecost Sunday.
Easter Cycle has two seasons.
a) Lenten Season.
The whole liturgical calendar is centered on the Pascal Mystery. Lent is
the time of preparation for Easter. It begins on Ash Wednesday and ends
on Thursday of Holy Week up to the beginning of the Mass of the Lord’s
Supper. During Lent Alleluia and Gloria is not sung.
The term “Lent” comes from a Middle English word that means
“springtime.” Like the season of spring, Lent is a time of renewal.
During Lent the church asks us to focus our attention on true conversion
through prayer, penance and love. In doing these, we try to become more
like Christ in his love for God and others by his dying and rising to
new life. From the beginning it is also a time when the catechumens,
with the prayerful support of the parish community, complete their final
preparation for the sacraments of initiation. So the Lent has twofold
character, that is, its baptismal character and its penitential
character.
Themes in Scripture
On the Sundays during Lent, the scripture readings present the prophet’s
call to repentance. In order to recall the mystery of Christian
initiation, gospel texts that were once read to the catechumens to
prepare them for baptism are part of the Liturgy of the Word so that all
members of the Church, as well as those who will be baptized, will be
enriched.
The gospel readings for the First and Second Sundays of Lent recount the
Temptation and the Transfiguration of the Lord, with the accounts from
Matthew, Mark, and Luke. On the next three Sundays, the gospels about
the Samaritan woman, the man born blind, and the raising of Lazarus are
found in Cycle A. Because of the importance in process of Christian
initiation, these selections may also be proclaimed in Year B and Year
C, especially where there are candidates for baptism. Otherwise, in year
B the gospels come from John's text about Christ's future glorification
through his cross and resurrection. Year C offers Luke's texts on
conversion.
The Old Testament readings during Lent concern the history of salvation.
The selections from the New Testament complement the gospel and Old
Testament readings and provide a connection between them.
Holy Week: From the Passion Sunday (Palm Sunday) to Holy Saturday is
called Holy Week. The week begins with a procession that recalls the
triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. The gospels during this week
recount what Jesus said and did during the week before his death.
The Easter Triduum
The Triduum begins on Holy Thursday with the evening Mass of the Lord’s
Supper. On this morning, the bishop of each diocese, celebrates chrism
mass. During the Mass he blesses the oil and consecrates the Chrism that
will be used for the celebration of the sacraments during the coming
year. (For the pastoral reason in some diocese the Chrism Mass is
celebrated previous Thursday of Holy Thursday).
Liturgical Color
The color used during Lent is violet or purple which symbolizes the
efforts for penance and reflection.
The symbol of Lent:
Cross is the symbol of Lent. It symbolizes Jesus’ victory over death and
the hope of our salvation. We are called by Jesus to love God, our
neighbors and ourselves, and that we should improve those things that
help us do this and change those things that get in the way.
b) Easter Season.
It is a joyous season which begins on the Easter Vigil and concludes
fifty days later on Pentecost Sunday. Every Sunday of the year reminds
us about the resurrection of Jesus. The Church Fathers regarded the
fifty days of the Easter seasons “the Great Sunday. So the Sundays of
the Easter season are not called Sundays after Easter, but Sunday s of
Easter.
Themes in Scripture
On Easter Sunday the gospel of John, the account of finding the empty
tomb is taken. (The gospel from the Easter Vigil may also be read.) The
Gospel selections until the third Sunday of Easter recount the
appearances of the risen Christ. On the Fourth Sunday of Easter the
gospel reading speaks of the Good Shepherd. The Gospel for the fifth,
sixth, seventh Sundays of Easter present the teaching and prayer of
Christ at the last supper.
The First reading is taken from the Acts of the Apostles. The life,
growth, and witness of the early Church are presented every year of the
three year cycle. On Easter, the second reading from Paul speaks of
living out the paschal mystery in the Church. For the following Sunday s
of Easter, for the years of cycle A, the writings are read from the
first Letter of Peter. For the years of Cycle b, they are from the first
letter of John. For the years of Cycle C, they come from the Book of
revelation. These texts reflect the joyful faith and confident hope of
the Easter season.
The solemnity of the Ascension is celebrated on the fortieth day after
Easter. In those dioceses where this is not a holy day of obligation,
the solemnity is transferred to the Seventh Sunday of Easter. Pentecost
Sunday, the last day of the Easter season, celebrates the coming of the
Holy Sprit and the beginning of the Church.
The Liturgical Color
The color used during the Easter season is white, signifying the joy of
Christ’s resurrection. The last day of Easter, the color red is used to
represents the fire of the Holy Spirit.
Symbol of Easter.
The Paschal Candle and water are the symbols of Easter Light. Light is
the symbol of the New Life in Christ’s resurrection and the water
reminds us of our baptism and rebirth.
Br. Arwin Tauro
St. John the Baptist Church
Vijayanagar- Bangalore
Phone (080) 23209848
Email: ateverjoy@yahoo.co.uk
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