A New Liturgical Year (Bulletin Column 20151115)

Many of us like to recognize special events in our lives and the lives of others. We will have parties for birthdays, anniversaries and graduations. We will celebrate promotions, retirements and many other things just too numerous to mention. One event that many people celebrate is New Year’s Eve. People will attend parties to “ring-in” the New Year. Others may enjoy a quiet evening by watching television with their family or friends. Regardless of how you bring in the New Year, you are probably with someone that is special to you.

Just as there is a calendar year that mark events in our life, the Church has a liturgical year that will mark events of both the life of Jesus and the Church.  These many events deserve recognition and celebration. By use of the liturgical calendar we are able to revisit the events annually. This gives us the opportunity to rediscover them as we grow in maturity and spirituality. Some yearly celebrations include the birth of Christ, his baptism, passion and resurrection. The calendar also includes the feast days of men and women who have played important roles in the growth of our faith. Through the use of Holy Days, the Church will call our attention to special events in the history of our faith that should be celebrated, remembered and prayed upon.

The liturgical year of the Catholic Church begins with the first Sunday of Advent. There are many things you will immediately notice on the first Sunday of a new liturgical year. The clergy will be wearing violet vestments and not the green color that has been worn since the end of the Easter season. The Church will begin a new cycle of readings. For many churches the most obvious change will be the displaying of an Advent wreath. The Advent wreath is used during the Advent season and will remain out until the beginning of the Christmas season.

The official end of the liturgical year is the last Saturday before the beginning of the Advent season. To properly celebrate the end of the liturgical year we must first consider what has happened during this concluding year. We used the liturgical year to recall the life of Christ here on earth. We heard readings at the Mass that are only read every three years. We celebrated important events in Church history. The Church ends each year in Ordinary time; giving us the opportunity to grow as we contemplated the teachings of Jesus anew.

The last Sunday of the liturgical year is the Solemnity of our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. To “ring-out” the end of the liturgical year the Solemnity will mark the culmination of our spiritual growth and understanding for the ending year. Do not wait until the end of the calendar year to review your spiritual life. Review and resolve to make the changes that will bring you closer to God. Let us “ring-in” the new year proclaiming that Christ is our King.

Advent and the New Liturgical Year

This is the column I wrote for our Church bulletin dated November 30, 2014.

When we begin a new calendar year we start a cycle that recalls different parts of our life throughout that calendar year.  Think of birthdays and anniversaries as examples of this.  We also begin a new cycle of celebrating events that are important to us as a people of a community.  Think of Independence Day or Memorial Day as examples of this type of celebration.  These days are not forgotten because they are important to us either as an individual or as part of a larger community.

Today is the first day of a new year in the Catholic Church.  It is the beginning of the new liturgical year.  The cycle of recalling the events of God interacting with his people will begin anew.  The Church will also use the liturgical year as an opportunity to help us reach our desire of eternal salvation.  One of the first things you will notice in the new liturgical year is a change in the Sunday Gospel reading.  The Church is now in Cycle B. The Gospel readings for the Sunday Masses of the new liturgical year will be from the Gospel of Saint Mark and chapter 6 of the Gospel of John.  The Gospel cycle gives us the opportunity to hear all four Gospels over three years.  This spacing allows us to grow in our understanding of the Gospel message as we grow spiritually and intellectually in our own life.  The liturgical calendar is different from a calendar year in that it is more than just a way to mark the passing of time. It also helps us to better understand and live our faith.

A calendar year can mark the passing of time by season; winter, summer, fall and spring.  The Church liturgical calendar also marks the passing of time through seasons.  The seasons of the Liturgical calendar are Lent, Sacred P aschal Triduum, Easter, Ordinary Time, Christmas and the season we are beginning today, Advent.  Each season points us to a very special event that happens in the life of the Church.  Just as the changing cycle of the Gospel readings help us grow in our faith, so too does the liturgical season help us prepare, appreciate and understand the events that take place in the Church.

The liturgical year always begins with the season of Advent. It is a time of preparation.  The Advent season focuses on the both the birth of Christ and his second coming.  In the first reading of today’s Mass we hear the Israelites calling out to God.  They are in exile and are praying for God to reveal himself to them.  The Israelites are asking God to come to their aid.  In the Advent season we too are awaiting the coming of Jesus.  Open yourself up to the beauty of the Advent season.  Participate in all the events the Cathedral is offering.  Expand your prayer life.  Remove yourself from that what separates you from God.  Become what the Israelites pray; “clay in the Father’s hand.”