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- At Advent,
we prepare for God's coming among
us. We get ready for the happy
occasion by making our own way
straight, hearing John the Baptist's
call to repentance..
- At Christmas,
we celebrate the birth of Jesus, who
is God with us. We remember that by
Christ and through the Holy Spirit,
God is still with us today, and has
not abandoned us in the crush of
daily life.
- At Epiphany,
we celebrate Jesus' revealing
Himself to the whole world. Like he
revealed his kingship to the three
magi and those looking on when Jesus
was baptized, we too are amazed as
what God has done, and we realize it
was not just for us, but for all.
- In Lent,
we look at our own role in bringing
about Jesus' death. We uncover our
own sin, and realize how weak and
two-faced we are in facing it. We
turn to God, who is the only One
with the power to change us.
During Holy
Week which ends Lent, we
relive Christ seized, abandoned, and
led to His death.
- At Easter
(or 'Resurrection Sunday'), we
celebrate God's answer : Humanity
killed Jesus, but He
didn't stay dead ! We are
forgiven!
- During Ordinary Time, we
follow the life of Jesus in Bible
readings (the lectionary) and
sermons (homilies) that are usually
based on those readings, so we can
learn what it is to live as
followers of Christ in our own
lives. We celebrate the Spirit that
Jesus sent in His stead, and use the
gifts that this Spirit has given in
order to build up each other, the
church, and the society as a whole.
 The
seasons help give us a way to experience
how our faith can be lived in our daily
lives.
Go in PEACE to live
the message of Jesus!
NEW CALENDAR FOR
ENGLISH SAINTS
The Vatican has approved the new
liturgical calendar of saints' days for
England. The new National Calendar was
approved by the Catholic Bishops'
Conference of England and Wales in 1993
following wide consultation in the
dioceses, and accepted by the Vatican in
June this year. It will take effect from
Advent 2000.
Among the changes are:
The up-grading of St George's Day (23
Apr) from a Feast to a Solemnity - St
George is Patron Saint of England. This
is the only Solemnity in the National
Calendar. The only Feasts are now Sts
John Fisher and Thomas More, the Patrons
of Wales, Ireland and Scotland (David,
Patrick, Andrew), and - at the Vatican's
request - the six Patrons of Europe
(Cyril, Methodius, Catherine of Siena,
Benedict, Bridget, Teresa Benedicta of
the Cross).
The 40 canonised Martyrs (previously
25 Oct), have joined the 85 beatified
Martyrs on 4 May, with other martyrs
from the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries. These are now known as 'The
English Martyrs'. This coincides with
the Church of England celebration of
'English Saints and Martyrs of the
Reformation Era'.
There are now 41 celebrations, when
there were 15 previously. The new
calendar replaces the previous version
of 1971; it will be used in addition to
the universal calendar employed
throughout the world.
NATIONAL
CALENDAR FOR ENGLAND
[Where no other indication is given the
celebration is an Optional Memorial.]
January
12 AELRED OF RIEVAULX, abbot
19 WULSTAN, bishop
February
14 CYRIL, monk, and METHODIUS, bishop,
patrons of Europe [Feast]
March
1 DAVID, bishop, patron of Wales [Feast]
17 PATRICK, bishop, patron of Ireland
[Feast]
April
21 ANSELM, bishop, doctor of the Church
23 GEORGE, martyr, patron of England
[Solemnity]
24 (ADALBERT, bishop and martyr) (FIDELIS
OF SIGMARINGEN, priest and martyr)
29 CATHERINE OF SIENA, virgin and doctor
of the Church, patron of Europe [Feast]
May
4 THE ENGLISH MARTYRS (The English Men
and Women martyred for the Catholic
Faith 1535-1680 and beatified or
canonised by the Holy See.) [Feast]
19 DUNSTAN, bishop,
25 BEDE THE VENERABLE, priest, doctor of
the Church [Memorial]
27 AUGUSTINE OF CANTERBURY, bishop
[Memorial]
June
5 BONIFACE, bishop, martyr [Memorial]
9 COLUMBA, abbot
16 RICHARD OF CHICHESTER, bishop
20 ALBAN, martyr
22 JOHN FISHER, bishop and THOMAS MORE,
martyrs [Feast]
23 ETHELDREDA (AUDREY), abbess
July
1 OLIVER PLUNKET, bishop, martyr
11 BENEDICT, abbot, patron of Europe
[Feast]
23 BRIDGET, religious, patron of Europe
[Feast]
August
9 TERESA BENEDICTA OF THE CROSS (EDITH
STEIN), virgin, martyr, patron of Europe
[Feast]
26 B. DOMINIC OF THE MOTHER OF GOD
BARBERI, priest
30 MARGARET CLITHEROW, ANNE LINE, and
MARGARET WARD, virgin, martyrs
31 AIDAN, bishop, and SAINTS OF
LINDISFARNE
September
3 GREGORY THE GREAT, pope, doctor of the
Church [Memorial]
4 CUTHBERT, bishop
19 THEODORE OF CANTERBURY, bishop
24 OUR LADY OF WALSINGHAM [Memorial]
October
10 PAULINUS OF YORK, bishop,
12 WILFRID, bishop
13 EDWARD THE CONFESSOR
26 CHAD and CEDD, bishops,
November
3 WINEFRIDE, virgin
7 WILLIBRORD, bishop
16 EDMUND OF ABINGDON, bishop MARGARET
OF SCOTLAND
17 HILDA, abbess HUGH OF LINCOLN, bishop
(ELIZABETH OF HUNGARY, religious)
30 ANDREW, apostle, patron of Scotland
[Feast]
December
29 THOMAS BECKET, bishop, martyr (Note:
Adalbert - normally 23 Apr in the
universal calendar - has been
transferred to 24 Apr and now joins
Fidelis of Sigmaringen, to avoid a clash
with George. Elizabeth of Hungary has
been down-graded to Optional Memorial to
enable the celebration of Hilda or Hugh
of Lincoln.)
- Colors
used in Church
- Since fabrics, such as banners and
vestments, have to be some color or
the other, the historic Church has
taken advantage of this fact and has
used color to set the theme of
worship. Color usage was more
diverse in the past, mainly because
dyes were expensive and it wasn’t
as easy as it is today to get fabric
in any color. In modern times, we’ve
developed the following general
consensus:
- Green
- You might say that green is
the default color. Green is the
color for the Season of Epiphany
and the Season After Pentecost,
Ordinary Time.
- Purple
- In antiquity, purple dye was
very expensive, so purple came
to signify wealth, power, and
royalty. Therefore purple is the
color for the seasons of
Advent
and Lent,
which celebrate the coming of
the King. Since as Christians we
prepare for our King through
reflection and repentance,
purple has also become a
penitential color.
- White
- Angels announced Jesus’
birth (Luke 2:8-15) and His
Resurrection (Luke 24:1-8).
The New Testament consistently
uses white to describe angels
and the risen Lord (see
Matthew 17:2 and 28:3,
Mark 9:3 and 16:5,
John 20:12, Acts 1:10,
and throughout Revelation.)
Therefore, white is the color
for the seasons of Easter and
Christmas.
- Red
- Red is the color of blood, and
therefore also of martyrdom. Red
is the color for any service
that commemorates the death of a
martyr. It is also an
alternative color for the last
week of Lent, which is called
Holy Week. (Holy Week is the
last week of Lent. In 2001, it
begins on 8 April and ends on
14 April.) Since red is
also the color of fire, it is
also used for Pentecost Sunday.
- Black
- Black is the color of formal
occasions and it is often the
color for funeral services and
for Good Friday.
- Rose
- Rose is used on the third
Sunday in Advent, to signify
joy.
- Gold
- Gold is an alternative to
white.
- Blue
- Blue is not a Liturgical
colour, but is used in Masses in
honour of Mary.
Liturgical
Year Calendar
RESOURCES
FOR LITURGICAL CATECHESIS
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