SACRED TIMES AND SEASONS

Liturgical year consists of 6 periods namely:

I. Advent
II. Christmas Time
III. Lent
IV. Sacred Paschal Triduum
V. Easter Time
VI. Ordinary Time

The new liturgical year begins on the First Sunday of Advent (Nov. 27, 2022) which also marks the transition
from one cycle to the next.

Three Lectionary Cycles:

I. year A cycle – Gospel according to Matthew is the primary Gospel that is used for the readings.
II. year B cycle – Gospel according to Mark is read
III. year C cycle – Gospel according to Luke is proclaimed.
Gospel according to John is proclaimed on particular Sundays in each years.

On the weekdays of Ordinary Time, there’s a two-year cycle numbered Ⅰ and Ⅱ.

I. Year Ⅰ – readings for the years that end in odd numbers
II. Year Ⅱ – readings for the years that end in even numbers.

Liturgical Calendar

The following is a glance at the Liturgical Year:

I. Advent Season
A. Liturgical Color
1. Purple
B. Meaning
2. From the Latin word (ad venire) which means “to come to” or “arrival”
3. The season of four weeks of preparation before the celebration of Jesus’ birth.
C. Date
1. It starts on the Fourth Sunday before Christmas. In 2022, it would likely start on Sunday,
November 27th, and ends on Saturday, December 24th.
D. Importance
1. We celebrate this to mark the start of a season of preparation that looks forward to the
celebration of Christmas and the second coming of Christ.
E. Tradition
1. Advent Wreath - symbolizes everlasting life. The circular shape has no beginning or
end. This signifies an everlasting life found in Christ, the eternity of God, and the
immortality of the soul. It also reminds us of God’s unending love and the eternal life He
makes possible.
- contains 4 candles (3 purple and 1 rose or pink).

2. Advent Candles - candles symbolize hope, love, joy and peace.

  Purple
- used to symbolize repentance and fasting. Symbolizes Royalty, perfect
color to celebrate the “King of Kings.” as a symbol of the coming of the
King.
 Pink
- Pink radiates joy and warmth. It is used during Advent to mark the shift
from repentance to rejoicing in the season.
- Used during 3rd Sunday. This specific Sunday is called Gaudete Sunday.
 White
- Optional candle.
- It is seen as a symbol of the purity found in the birth of Christ

First Candle - symbolizes hope and is called the “Prophet’s Candle.”; purple.
Second Candle - represents faith and is called “Bethlehem’s Candle.”; purple.
Third Candle - symbolizes joy and is called the “Shepherd’s Candle.”; pink.
Fourth Candle - represents peace and is called the “Angel’s Candle.”; purple.
Fifth Candle – represents light and purity and is called the “Christ’s Candle.” It is placed
in the middle and is lit on Christmas Day; white (optional)

II. Christmas
A. Liturgical Color
1. White/Gold
B. Meaning
1. Christmas has its origin from the old English term Cristes Maesse, meaning “Christ’s
Mass.”
2. Wherein we recall the Nativity of Jesus Christ and his manifestation to the people or the
world.
3. Also called Twelve Days of Christmas or the Twelfth Night.
- Twelve Days of Christmas is a period that marks the span between the birth of Christ
and the coming of the Magi or the Three Kings.

C. Date
1. Begins on Dec. 25 to January 6
D. Importance
1. To remind us that Jesus, the son of God, came to the earth for all people.
E. Tradition
1. Christmas stockings
2. Christmas trees
3. Christmas Carols
4. Nativity scenes

III. Holy Family

A. Liturgical Color
1. White/Gold
B. Meaning
1. A religious holiday that mainly celebrates the sanctity of the holy family (Jesus, Mary,
and Joseph), but also celebrates the family unit.
2. Observed since 1921 by Pope Benedict XV.
C. Date
1. Sunday after Christmas (Dec 30 in 2022)
D. Importance
1. To present the Holy Family as the model for all Christian families, and for domestic life
in general.

IV. Mary, Mother of God (New Year’s Day)

A. Liturgical Color
1. White/Gold
B. Meaning
1. This holiday is a celebration of Mary's motherhood of Jesus.
2. The octave of Christmas. An octave is an eight-day extension of the feast.
3. “Mother of God” is a western derivation from the Greek Theotokos, which means “God-
bearer”
 C. Date
1. January 1
D. Importance
1. It is a reminder of the role she played in the salvation of humankind.
V. Epiphany
A. Liturgical Color
1. White/Gold
B. Meaning
1. Commemoration of the coming of the Magi as the first manifestation of Christ to the
Gentiles or in the Eastern Church in commemoration of the baptism of Christ.
2. Also known as the Feast of Holy Theophany
C. Date
1. January 6
D. Importance
1. A reminder that the journey of faith continues.
2. To remember both the visit of the Three Kings and Jesus’ Baptism

VI. Baptism of the Lord

A. Liturgical Color
1. White/Gold
B. Meaning
1. It is the feast day commemorating the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River by John the
Baptist.
C. Date
1. Jan. 9, 2022
D. Importance
1. The Baptism of the Lord is notable because it marks the beginning of Jesus’ ministry and
confirms his identity as the Son of God.

VII. Ordinary Time

A. Liturgical Color
1. Green
B. Meaning
1. Ordinary Time after Baptism of the Lord
C. Date
1. Ordinary Time begins on Monday after the Sunday following 6 January and continues
until Tuesday before Ash Wednesday inclusive. Therefore, 7 weeks and 4 days.

VIII. Lent
A. Liturgical Color
1. Purple
B. Meaning
1. An annual season of fasting and penitence in preparation for Easter, beginning on Ash
Wednesday (March 2)
2. Lent is the season of the church year that follows the Epiphany Season.
3. Observed by Roman Catholic, Anglican, and certain other churches.
4. Lent comes from the Middle English word lente meaning "springtime", which is itself
descended from the Old English Lencten.
C. Date
1. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday (the 7th wednesday before Easter; March 30, 2022) and
ends on Holy Saturday (the day before Easter; April 16, 2022).
D. Importance
1. It is a time we set aside each year to remember the love of God that is poured out through
Christ Jesus on the cross in his defeat of death, sin and Satan in Christ's death and
resurrection that brings Eternal Life to you.
2. It is the season to observe and commemorate the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus
Christ, the son of God, our Savior and Redeemer.

IX. Holy Week

 Palm Sunday
- A Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter.
- The feast commemorates Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem.
 - Palm Sunday marks the first day of Holy Week.
- Starts on April 10, 2022
 Sacred Paschal Triduum
- Liturgically considered as “one day”
 Holy Thursday - a commemoration of the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the apostles in
Jerusalem before he was betrayed by Judas Iscariot.
 Good Friday - a commemoration the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary.
 Holy Saturday - a commemoration of the day that Jesus Christ lay in tomb after His
death.

A. Liturgical Color
1. Red – symbolizes passion and blood
 for Palm/Passion Sunday and the next three days of Holy Week.
 for Good Friday
2. White/Gold
 for Holy Thursday. – To symbolize the church’s rejoicing in the sacrament of
the Lord’s Supper. But at the end of the Maundy Thursday celebration, the
mood changes abruptly: all decorations are removed, and the Holy Table is
stripped bare. the church remains stripped bare on Good Friday and Holy
Saturday
– Symbol of purity
3. Purple
 for Holy Saturday – Symbol of mourning

B. Meaning
1. In the Greek and Roman liturgical books, it is called the Great Week because Great
Deeds were done by God during this week. The name Holy Week was used in the 4th
century by St. Antanasius, bishop of Alexandria, and St. Epiphanius of Constantia.
2. Holy Week comes from the Latin word "Hebdomada Sancta or Hebdomada Maior"
which means, the most sacred week in the liturgical year in Christianity.
3. During Holy Week, the congregation follows the footsteps of Jesus from his entry into
Jerusalem (Palm/Passion Sunday) through the Last Supper (Maundy Thursday) to his
death on the Cross (Good Friday).
C. Date
1. Begins with Palm Sunday (April 10, 2022) and ends on Holy Saturday (April 16, 2022)
2. Holy Thursday – April 14, 2022
3. Good Friday – April 15, 2022
4. Holy Saturday – April 16, 2022
D. Importance
1. It reminds Christians of God’s sacrifice of His son, as well as God’s love for His people.
Christians can learn much about Jesus through the Last Week of his life.
E. Tradition
1. Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord’s Supper
2. Good Friday Celebration of the Lord’s Passion, and;
3. Easter Vigil Mass of Resurrection of the Lord

X. Easter Season
A. Liturgical Color
1. White
B. Meaning
1. “Easter” came from the Old English meaning "East". Just like every new morning where
the sun rises from the East, Easter also reminds us of our light and our hope who is Jesus
Christ.
2. Easter is the commemoration of the Lord’s resurrection from the dead, culminating in his
ascension to the Father and the sending of the Holy Spirit upon the Church.
3. Easter Sunday to the second Sunday of Easter is called the "Octave of Easter" or "Eight
Days" which allow us to celebrate the Easter joy.
4. Easter also celebrated the defeat of death and the hope of salvation.
C. Date
1. Easter Season begins on Easter Sunday (April 17, 2022) and lasts 50 days, ending on
Pentecost (June 5, 2022).
 D. Importance.
1. The resurrection of Jesus, as describes in the New Testament of the Bible, is essentially
the foundation upon which the Christian religions are built. Hence, Easter is a very
significant date on the Liturgical calendar.

XI. Ascension
A. Liturgical Color
1. White
B. Meaning
1. Feast of the Ascension is celebrated when Jesus ascended to heaven.
C. Date
1. 40th day after Easter
2. May 18, 2022
D. Importance
1. The domain of God's glory is opened to us, and Jesus, in His glorified humanity, takes
His rightful place at God's right hand. It is a privilege for all of us that one of our own, a
man like us in all things but sin, has been so glorified.

XII. Pentecost
A. Liturgical Color
1. Red
B. Meaning
3. comes from the Greek word pentekoste which means fiftieth.
4. Latin word “ascendere”, meaning “to mound, ascend, go up.”
5. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles and other disciples
following the Crucifixion, Resurrection, and Ascension of Jesus Christ (Acts of the
Apostles, chapter 2), and it marks the beginning of the Christian church's mission to the
world
C. Date
1. Seven weeks after Easter Sunday: that is to say, the fiftieth day after Easter inclusive of
Easter Sunday.
2. June 5, 2022
D. Importance
1. This is because it marks the descent of the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Blessed
Trinity, on the Apostles and Mary, the Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ. This happened
fifty days after Easter.

XIII. Ordinary Time

A. Liturgical Color
1. Green
B. Meaning
1. Ordinary time after Pentecost
C. Date
1. Monday after Pentecost; June 6, 2022

XIV. Trinity Sunday

D. Liturgical Color
1. White
2.
E. Meaning
1. The first Sunday after Pentecost to honor the Holy Trinity—the Father, Son and Holy
Spirit.
2. The Monday after Pentecost is called Monday of the Holy Spirit, and the next day is
called the Third Day of the Trinity.
F. Date
1. June 12, 2022, celebrated on the first Sunday after Pentecost, when the outpouring of the
Holy Spirit first occurred.

D. Importance
 1. It is brought to remembrance how Christians should respond to the love God has shown
us, praising Him and giving Him glory.

XV. Body and Blood of Christ

A. Liturgical Color
1. White
B. Meaning
1. Is a Christian liturgical solemnity celebrating the Real Presence of the Body and Blood,
Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ in the elements of the Eucharist;
2. Also called Feast of The Corpus Christi. (Ecclesiastical Latin/Liturgical Latin Dies
Sanctissimi Corporis et Sanguinis Domini Iesu Christi, or the 'Day of the Most Holy
Body and Blood of Jesus Christ the Lord' Corpus Christi.
3. Corpus Christi - Latin for Body of Christ.
4. Was proposed by Saint Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church, to Pope Urban IV in
1264, in order to create a feast focused solely on the Holy Eucharist, emphasizing the joy
of the Eucharist being the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ.
C. Date
1. Thursday after Trinity Sunday. June 16, 2022; 60 days after Easter,
2. Supposedly on Thursday because it was the day that the Last Supper was held however
since Corpus Christi is not a holy day of obligation, Sunday was assigned as its proper
day
D. Importance
1. To honour the real presence of the body (corpus) of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.

XVI. Ordinary Time

D. Liturgical Color
1. Green

XVII. Solemnity of Christ

A. Liturgical Color
1. White
B. Meaning
1. The first Sunday after Pentecost to honor the Holy Trinity—the Father, Son and Holy
Spirit.
2. The Monday after Pentecost is called Monday of the Holy Spirit, and the next day is
called the Third Day of the Trinity.
C. Date
1. Originally, it was celebrated on the last Sunday in October, but in the revised liturgical
calendar promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1969 it was moved to the last Sunday of
Ordinary, which is the final Sunday of the Liturgical year.
2. November 20, 2022
D. Importance
1. This feast is designed to give special recognition to the dominion Christ our Lord has
over all aspects of our lives.

Solemnities and Feasts of Ordinary Time

 Feast of The Presentation of the Lord ( 2nd of February) – Honoring Jesus Christ’s presentation in the
Temple when he was a young child.
 Solemnity of The Nativity of Saint John the Baptist (24th of June) – Commemoration the birth of saint
John the Baptist
 Solemnities of Saints Peter and Paul (29th of June) – A liturgical feast in honour of the martyrdom in
Rome of the apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul.
 Feast of The Transfiguration of The Lord (6th of August) – commemoration of the occasion upon
which Jesus Christ took three of his disciples, Peter, James, and John, up on a mountain,
where Moses and Elijah appeared and Jesus was transfigured.
- The festival celebrates the revelation of the eternal glory of the Second Person of
the Trinity, which was normally veiled during Christ’s life on earth. The event took place
on Mount Tabor.
 Solemnity of All Saints (1st of November) – is about celebrating all the canonized saints and all the
uncanonized saints as well.
- Also called as All Saints’ Day.
  Commemoration of All Faithful Departed Souls (2nd of November) – All Souls Day is a solemn
celebration in the Roman Catholic Church commemorating all of those who have died and are now in
Purgatory.
- Also called as All Souls’ Day
 Feast of The Baptism of The Lord or Solemnity of The Epiphany of The Lord (Always preempts
the First Sunday in Ordinary Time/ Sunday after January 6 or Epiphany) - It is the feast day
commemorating the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River by John the Baptist.
 Solemnity of The Most Holy Trinity (Always preempts the Sunday immediately after Pentecost) –
prolongation of the mysteries of Christ and as the solemn expression of our faith in this triune life of the
Divine Persons, to which we have been given access by Baptism and by the Redemption won for us by
Christ.
 Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ The King of The Universe (Always preempts the 34th Sunday of
Ordinary Time)

Four Marian Solemnities

 The Feast of The Immaculate Conception in Advent, (December 8th)
 The Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God (January 1st)
 the ancient feast of the Annunciation of the Lord/Solemnity of the Lord but associated to Mary
(March 25th)
 the Solemnity of the Assumption (August 15th), which is the prolonged in celebrating the Queenship of
the Blessed Virgin Mary on the eight day.

10 Holy Days of Obligation

1. Solemnity of Mary, Mother of Jesus (Jan 1) -The role that the Blessed Virgin played in the plan of
salvation
2. Epiphany (Jan 6) - Christ's revelations to man

3. Solemnity of Saint Joseph (March 9) - The life of the foster father of Jesus Christ

4. Feast of the Ascension (40 days after Easter) - When the risen Christ ascended into heaven

5. Corpus Christi (Thursday after Trinity Sunday) - The institution of the Sacrament of Holy Communion

6. Solemnities of Saints Peter and Paul (June 29) - The two greatest apostles, whose martyrdom established
the preeminence of the Church at Rome

7. Solemnity of the Assumption (August 15) - The Blessed Virgin Mary's death and her assumption into
heaven

8. Solemnity of All Saints/All Saints Day (November 1) - The martyrdom of Christian saints

9. Solemnity of Immaculate Conception (December 8) - The conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the
womb of her mother, Saint Anne

10. Christmas (December 25) - The birth of Christ.

Sundays of Ordinary Time

o Ordinary Time I [Sundays 1–9] Note: Ordinary Time has 2 Periods
o Ordinary Time II [Solemnities]
o Ordinary Time III [Sundays 8–15] 1st Period- starts the day after Baptism of the Lord, ends the day
o Ordinary Time IV [Sundays 16–24] before Ash Wednesday. (Jan 10, 2022 – March 1, 2022)
o Ordinary Time V [Sundays 25–34]
2nd Period – starts the day after Pentecost, ends with the
Saturday after the Solemnity of Christ the King, which ends the
Weekdays During Ordinary Time
liturgical year and sends us into Advent. (June 6, 2022 –
o Ordinary Time 1 [Weeks 1–5]
November 26, 2022)
o Ordinary Time 2 [Weeks 6–10]
Ordinary Time 3 [Weeks 11–15]
Ordinary Time has 2 periods.
o
o Ordinary Time 4 [Weeks 16–20]
o Ordinary Time 5 [Weeks 21–25]
o Ordinary Time 6 [Weeks 26–30]
o Ordinary Time 7 [Weeks 31–34]