Holy Spirit Catholic Church

What is the Catholic Liturgical Year?

Liturgical Environment: The Ministry of Liturgical Environment at Holy Spirit Church contributes to the church's visual enhancement during liturgical celebrations. The Goal: is to create an inviting and fitting environment of worship during the different liturgical seasons. The ministry strives to provide an environment to help us focus on the liturgy and prayer throughout the "Liturgical Year".

Purpose Statement: The committee seeks to create a liturgical environment that is welcoming and yet invites contemplation that speaks to the mystery of our faith and creates a sense of the holy.

The liturgical environment reveals the themes or symbols of liturgical seasons, appealing to the senses and emphasizing the wholeness or oneness of the community.

The Committee strives to express the cultural diversity of our community by embracing the different cultural expressions through the liturgical environment.

The Catholic liturgical calendar is the cycle of seasons in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church. The Church year begins the 1st Sunday of Advent, and ends with the final Saturday of Ordinary time. The Church year consists of six liturgical seasons: Advent, Christmas, Ordinary Time after Epiphany, Lent, Easter, and Ordinary Time after Pentecost. Seasons begin or end based on a movable feast and so some seasons vary in length from year to year.

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Liturgical Calendar 2017 The 2017 liturgical year begins on the First Sunday of Advent, November 27, 2016.

The Season of Advent begins four Sundays before Christmas and ends after the mid-afternoon prayer on Christmas Eve.

The Christmas Season begins with Evening Prayer on Christmas Eve (December 24, 2016) and ends with Evening Prayer on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord (January 09, 2017).

Ordinary Time begins after Evening Prayer on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord (January 9, 2017) until Ash Wednesday (March 1, 2017).

The Season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday (March 1, 2017) and ends prior to the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday (April 13, 2017). Lenten practices are properly maintained up to the Easter Vigil, excluding Sundays. The Paschal Triduum begins on Holy Thursday with the Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper (April 13, 2017) and ends with Evening Prayer on Easter Sunday (April 16, 2017).

The Easter Season begins on Easter Sunday (April 16, 2017) and ends with Evening Prayer on the Solemnity of Pentecost (June 4, 2017).

Ordinary Time begins after Evening Prayer on the Solemnity of Pentecost (June 4, 20157) and continues until Evening Prayer of the First Sunday of Advent (December 3, 2017).

If you would like more information about the Liturgical Environment committee:

Please contact: Holy Spirit Church 707-425-3138