Introduction to the Liturgical Year
Living the Mysteries of Christ Through Sacred Time
What Is the Liturgical Year?
The Liturgical Year is the sacred rhythm by which the Church walks through the mysteries of Jesus Christ.
Each year, the Church remembers and celebrates the life of Christ: His coming, His birth, His public ministry, His Passion, His Death, His Resurrection, His Ascension, and the sending of the Holy Spirit.
This is not only a way of marking time. It is a way of being formed by Christ.
Sacred Time
The Church does not treat time as empty or meaningless. Time belongs to God.
Through seasons, feasts, solemnities, memorials, fasts, and celebrations, the Church teaches Catholics to live each year with Christ at the center.
The Liturgical Year helps the faithful pray with the Church, remember the works of God, and grow in holiness.
The Main Seasons
- Advent: preparation for the coming of Christ.
- Christmas Season: celebration of the Incarnation and Nativity of the Lord.
- Ordinary Time I: growth in discipleship before Lent.
- Lent: prayer, fasting, repentance, and preparation for Easter.
- Sacred Triduum: the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Christ.
- Easter Season: the joyful celebration of the Resurrection.
- Pentecost: the coming of the Holy Spirit.
- Ordinary Time II: continued growth in Christian discipleship.
Navigation Order
- Introduction to the Liturgical Year
- Advent
- Christmas Season
- Ordinary Time I
- Lent
- Sacred Triduum
- Easter Season
- Pentecost
- Ordinary Time II
- Solemnities, Feasts, and Memorials
- Liturgical Calendar Resources
Why It Matters
The Liturgical Year helps Catholics avoid living the faith as only an idea or private devotion.
It draws the whole Church into the worship of God and teaches the soul to live according to the mysteries of salvation.
Year after year, the Church returns to these mysteries so that they may sink more deeply into the heart.