CHRISTIAN LIVING HANDOUT

4th Quarter
Lesson 2
Special Lesson: Liturgical Calendar of the Church : Ordinary Time, Lent & Easter
Seasons
In General, the Seasons of the Church:
Help us remember all that God has done for us.
Is a celebration of the Birth, Life, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Reminds us of what we believe in as Christians.
Reminds us of who we are called to be like Jesus Christ.
GNLY (General Norms for the Liturgical Year and Calendar)

is the Church documents which introduces the Churchs celebration of the Liturgical
year and how it is celebrated.

SUNDAY the Church celebrates the Paschal mystery on the first day of each week,
known as the Lords Day or Sunday. Thus Sunday must be ranked as the first feast
day of all.

LITURGICAL CYCLES The Lectionary follows a Sunday and Weekday Cycle. The
Sunday cycle is 3-yearly and denoted by the letters A, B, and C. Each year follows
through one of the Gospels:
A Matthew, B Mark, C Luke.

The Liturgical Calendar begins with the Advent Season.

and concludes with the Solemnity of Christ the King.

What is the most important feast of the Christian year? E A S T E R

Lenten Season
Origins of Lent:
The name lent is a Germanic word originally used to refer to the spring season generally. Over
time, it replaced the Latin quadragesima, which means forty days. Lent lasts forty days
because, according to biblical accounts, Jesus went into the wilderness for forty days of
fasting, meditation and reflection before beginning his ministry. In Western Christendom Lent
begins on Ash Wednesday; for Eastern Orthodox Churches, it is called Great Lent and begins
on Clean Monday.

Lent & Mardi Gras (Carnival)

In many places around the world, the last day before Lent (known variously as Mardi Gras,
Shrove Tuesday, Carnival, or Fasching) is celebrated as a last fling before the solemn days of
Lent. Carnival is a common name because, for centuries, people were expected to fast by
abstaining from meat during Lent (just as they were expected to abstain from meat every
Friday), and the term carnivale is Latin for farewell to meat.
What is Lent?
In the Christian liturgical calendar, lent is the penitential period of 40 days from Ash
Wednesday to Easter. Traditional Christian observances of Lent include fasting and penitence,
both in preparation for Easter and as a way of spiritually joining Jesus with the fasting and
meditation he did in the wilderness. For early Christians and for Eastern Orthodox Christians
today the rules of fasting are strict: just one meal a day, in the evening, and no meat, fish,
eggs, or butter is permitted.

Lent Preparatory season of fasting & prayer

Ash Wednesday to Holy Thursday (40 days)

Why is it called Lent?

The word Lent comes from the old Anglo Saxon word lengthen, which means
springtime named so for the time of the year in which it occurs. Lent is observed in spring,
when the days begin to get longer.
When does Lent begin?
Lent begins 40 days prior to Easter (not counting Sundays). The first day of Lent is Ash
Wednesday. The 40 days is significant, as it commemorates the 40 days Jesus fasted in the
desert and the 40 years the Israelites spent roaming in the desert prior to entering the Holy
Land. Since Sundays are a time of celebration representing the resurrection in Christianity,
they are not included in the 40 days. For this year 2011, Ash Wednesday falls on March 9.
When does Lent end?
Lent ends the day before Easter Sunday, also known as Holy Saturday. Palm Sunday marks the
last week of Lent and commemorates the day Jesus entered Jerusalem to people laying palms
at his feet. However, Roman Catholics end Lent at sundown on Holy Thursday when the Mass
of the Lord's Supper begins.
Why 40 days?
40 is a significant number in Jewish Christian scripture:
In Genesis, the flood which destroyed the earth was brought about by 40 days and nights of
rain. The Hebrews spent 40 years in the wilderness before reaching the land promised to them
by God. Moses fasted for 40 days before receiving the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai.
Jesus spent 40 days fasting in the wilderness in preparation for his ministry. Most Christians
regard Jesus time in the wilderness as the key event for the duration of Lent.
How is Lent celebrated?
Two things occur during Lent - fasting and prayer. It used to be that fasting was the giving up
of food, but today many Christian teens give up other items such as television or the Internet.
Orthodox Christians give up both meat and dairy products during Lent. The fasting is used to
remind Christians of the 40 days Jesus spent in the desert fasting and being tempted by Satan.
Who celebrates Lent?
There are several Christian denominations that do not celebrate Lent, but mainly Lutheran,
Methodist, Presbyterian, Roman Catholic, and Anglican churches observe Lent. In the Eastern
Orthodox church, Lent begins on Monday, and they do not celebrate Ash Wednesday. Other
denominations have chosen not to observe the holiday.
Colors and Symbols of Lent
The color used in the sanctuary for most of Lent is purple, red violet, or dark violet. These
colors symbolize both the pain and suffering leading up to the crucifixion of Jesus as well as
the suffering of humanity and the world under sin. But purple is also the color of royalty, and
so anticipates through the suffering and death of Jesus the coming resurrection and hope of
newness that will be celebrated in the Resurrection on Easter Sunday.

Purple is used for two reasons: firstly, because it is associated with mourning and so
anticipates the pain and suffering of the crucifixion, and secondly, because purple is the color
associated with royalty, and celebrates Christs resurrection and sovereignty.
Some churches use grey for Ash Wednesday or for the entire season of Lent, or for special
days of fasting and prayer. Gray is the color of ashes, and therefore a biblical symbol of
mourning and repentance. The decorations for the sanctuary during Lent should reflect this
mood of penitence and reflection.
Traditionally, the sanctuary colors of Good Friday and Holy Saturday are black, the only days of
the Church Year that black is used. It symbolizes the darkness brought into the world by sin. It
also symbolizes death, not only the death of Jesus but the death of the whole world under the
burden of sin. In this sense, it also represents the hopelessness and the endings that come as
human beings try to make their own way in the world without God (see The Days of Holy
Week). Black is always replaced by white before sunrise of Easter Sunday.
Lenten Fasting Regulations:
1. Abstinence on all the Fridays of Lent, and on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.
No meat may be eaten on days of abstinence. Catholics 14 years and older are
bound to abstain from meat. Invalids, pregnant and nursing mothers are exempt.
2. Fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.
Fasting means having only one full meal to maintain ones strength. Two smaller,
meatless and penitential meals are permitted according to ones needs, but they
should not together equal the one full meal. Eating solid foods between meals is not
permitted.
Catholics over 18 but not yet 60 years are bound to fast. Again, invalids, pregnant
and nursing mothers are exempt.
3. Friday abstinence outside of Lent
It should be noted that Fridays throughout the year are designated days of penance.
The Code of Canon Law states that Friday is a day of abstinence from meat throughout
the year.
Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday is the seventh Wednesday before Easter Sunday, is the first day of the
Season of Lent. Its name comes from the ancient practice of placing ashes on worshippers
heads or foreheads as a sign of humility before God, a symbol of mourning and sorrow at the
death that sin brings into the world. It not only prefigures the mourning at the death of Jesus,
but also places the worshipper in a position to realize the consequences of sin. Ash Wednesday
is a somber day of reflection on what needs to change in our lives if we are to be fully
Christian.
The minister or priest marks each worshipper on the forehead, and says remember you are
dust and unto dust you shall return. The modern practice in Roman Catholic churches
nowadays, as the ashes are being administered, is for the priest to say something like turn
away from sin and believe the Gospel. This years Ash Wednesday falls on February 17,
2011.
In the early church, ashes were not offered to everyone but were only used to mark the
forehead of worshippers who had made public confession of sin and sought to be restored to
the fellowship of the community at the Easter celebration. However, over the years others
began to show their humility and identification with the penitents by asking that they, too, be
marked as sinners. Finally, the imposition of ashes was extended to the whole congregation in
services similar to those that are now observed in many Christian churches on Ash Wednesday.
Ashes became symbolic of that attitude of penitence reflected in the Lords Prayer: forgive us
our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us (Luke 11:4, NRSV).
Where do the ashes come in for Ash Wednesday?
It was traditional in ancient times for people engaged in special times of fasting, prayer,
repentance, or remorse by rubbing ashes on their forehead as an outward symbol of what they
are experiencing internally. This custom entered Christianity through Judaism, and Christians
today may ashes on their foreheads to mark the beginning of Lent. Ideally, one should use
ashes from the burning of palm fronds from the previous years Easter celebrations.
Symbolism of the Ashes

The marking on the forehead with a cross made of ashes reminds each churchgoer that:
Death comes to everyone
We should be sad for our sins
We must change ourselves for the better
God made the first human being by breathing life into dust, and without God, human
beings are nothing more than dust and ashes.
The shape of the mark and the words used are symbolic in other ways:
The cross is a reminder of the mark of the cross made at baptism
The phrase often used when the ashes are administered reminds Christians of the
doctrine of original sin.
The cross of ashes may symbolize the way Christs sacrifice on the cross as atonement
for sin replaces the Old Testament tradition of making burnt offerings to atone for sin.
EASTER Resurrection of Jesus
According to Christian scripture, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after
his crucifixion. Some Christians celebrate this resurrection on Easter Day or Easter
Sunday (also Resurrection Day or Resurrection Sunday)
Easter also refers to the season of the church year called Eastertide or the Easter
Season.
The first week of the Easter Season is known as Easter Week or the Octave of Easter.
Easter is a moveable feast, meaning it is not fixed. The date of Easter varies between
March 22 and April 25.

Easter Triduum (3 holy days)

Holy Thursday (Last Supper & Washing of the feet)
Good Friday (Crucifixion)
Black Saturday (Easter Vigil) Sat. evening; baptism of neophytes

Easter Sunday (Sun. after first full moon in Spring)

Easter Octave (one full week = 8 days; Sun. to Sun.)

Easter Season (7 weeks = 50 days, till Pentecost)

Ascension of the Lord (40th day: Thursday; or 6th Sunday)

Pentecost Coming of Holy Spirit (Acts 2)

Ordinary Time
The actual number of weeks of Ordinary Time in any given year can total 33 or 34.
In the Roman Catholic Church, Ordinary Time begins on the day following the Baptism of
the Lord.
Ordinary comes from the same root as our word "ordinal, and in this sense means "the
counted weeks".
In the Roman Catholic Church and in some Protestant traditions, these are the common
weeks which do not belong to a proper season. In Latin, these seasons are called the
weeks per annum, or "through the year.
OT I between seasons of Christmas & Lent
Between 5 and 8 weeks (depends on date of Easter)
Called Sundays after Epiphany by some other Christians.
OT II after Pentecost to next years Advent
Up to 34 weeks (last Sunday called feast of Christ the King)
Called Sundays after Pentecost by some other Christians.
Other Feasts:
Lesser events related to the Life of Jesus
Feasts of Mary & the Saints
Memorials of the deceased

Trinity Sunday (first Sunday after Pentecost)

Feast of Corpus Christi (second Sunday after Pentecost)
Feast of Christ the King (last Sunday in OT)

Prepared by: Mr. Gerald Cabrestante @DBTC 2011