The Liturgical Year

ADVENT
The Penitential Season of Advent prepares us for the Nativity
of Christ. It is a penitential season, and violet vestments are
worn at Mass and the Divine Office. Advent begins on Advent
Sunday and ends on Christmas Eve, a period of about four
weeks that reflect the four thousand years between the fall of
Adam and the birth of the Messiah.

SAPIENTIATIDE
The last week of Advent, starting on December 17 and ending
on the day before Christmas Eve. During this period, the Office
of Vespers is sung with greater solemnity with the Great O
Antiphons spelling out the imminent approach of the
Messiah. The Ember Days of Sapientiatide are observed in the
week following Gaudete Sunday, the 3rd Sunday in Advent.

CHRISTMASTIDE
The twelve days of Christmas, or Yuletide, traditionally lasts
until the Vigil of Epiphany, known as Twelfth Night. However,
Christmastide actually extends well beyond Epiphany and is
concluded by the joyful feast of the Purification of the Blessed
Virgin on February 2.

EPIPHANYTIDE
Epiphanytide is really a continuation of the Christmas season,
and is kept until Alleluia Saturday, the day before
Septuagesima Sunday. The period after the Octave of
Epiphany reverts to green vestments for the Office of the
Season, as we transition from the joyful Christmas cycle into
the Easter Cycle, with its sombre beginnings in Shrovetide,
Lent and Passiontide.

SHROVETIDE
Shrovetide is a period of preparation for the Great Fast of
Lent. The joyful sound of the Alleluia is removed from the
liturgy, and the vestments for the Office of the Season are the
penitential color of violet. It is a relatively short season, lasting
only two weeks and two days, with the names of the Sundays
reflecting the approach of Easter--Septuagesima (70),
Sexagesima (60), and Quinquagesima (50). The season ends
on Shrove Tuesday, on which the faithful are encouraged to
confess their sins in preparation for the following day of Ash
Wednesday.

LENT
Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, with the imposition of ashes
on the foreheads of the faithful, a reminder that we are dust
and unto dust we shall return. The first four weeks of Lent are
devoted to the themes of penance, prayer, and alms-
giving. The Latin name for Lent is Quadragesima (40) which
reflects the time spent by our Lord who himself fasted forty
days and forty nights in the wilderness. The Ember Days of
Quadragesima are observed in the week following
Quadragesima Sunday, the 1st Sunday in Lent. Every day of
Lent has its own proper Mass, and at Matins, a Homily is read
on the Gospel of the day.

PASSIONTIDE
The last two weeks of Lent are called Passiontide, and our focus
shifts now to the Passion and Death of our Lord. The second
Sunday of Passiontide is called Palm Sunday and introduces us
into the most solemn of all liturgical weeks, Holy Week. The
liturgy loses some of its joyful prayers during this time, and on
the last three days of Passiontide, the Sacred Triduum of
Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday, the stark
nature of the Divine Office is completely different from the rest
of the year.

EASTERTIDE
With an explosion of joy on the morning of Holy Saturday, the
Easter Vigil welcomes the Resurrection of our Lord. The
Alleluia and other joyful prayers return to the Mass and Divine
Office, and indeed are sung with greater abundance than the
rest of the year. This season, which is also known as
Paschaltide, extends for the same duration as the forty days of
Lent, and ends with the Vigil of the Ascension.

ROGATIONTIDE
The last four days of Eastertide are also known as Rogationtide,
on which we call down God's blessings on the new crops, with
processions and litanies. Rogationtide begins on Rogation
Sunday, which is the 5th Sunday after Easter, and ends on the
Vigil of the Ascension.

ASCENSIONTIDE
Forty days after our Lord's Resurrection, Ascension Thursday
celebrates the end of that great period of history during which
the Lord God dwelled amongst his people. It is a bitter-sweet
time, during which we join our prayers with those of the
Apostles, invoking God to send us his Holy
Spirit. Ascensiontide is only nine days long, and ends on the
Vigil of Pentecost.
WHITSUNTIDE
Whitsuntide refers to the Octave of Pentecost. Like Easter,
Whitsunday has a similar but shorter vigil at which prophecies
are read and the baptismal font is blessed again. Pentecost is
the second greatest feast of the Church's year, after Easter, as
we commemorate the official birthday of the Catholic
Church. The octave has a proper Mass each day. The color of
the vestments at the Mass and Office is red, commemorating
the tongues of fire that descended on the heads of the Apostles.
The Ember Days of Whitsuntide are observed this week.

TRINITYTIDE
Extending from Trinity Sunday until Advent, Trinitytide is the
longest of the liturgical seasons. The color of the vestments is
green, and the season recalls the teachings and miracles of our
Lord's three-year ministry. The Divine Office maintains the
theme of the Holy Trinity during this season, with many of the
texts in praise of the Triune God. In the ancient church, the
Sundays were numbered "after Trinity", a practice continued
today by the Dominicans. According to Roman custom, we
number our Sundays "after Pentecost". The Ember Days of
Michaelmas are observed during the 3rd week of September.
The mood of Trinitytide darkens as we move into November,
the month of the Holy Souls, and focus on the four last things,
Death, Judgment, Heaven and Hell.