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The following is an list of the principal feasts and liturgical seasons from the Catechism:
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Feast |
Date |
Description |
| Advent |
The last 4 Sundays before Christmas |
The four weeks prior to Christmas, devoted to preparation for the coming of Christ at Christmas. |
| Christmas |
25 December |
The feast of the Nativity, the birth of Jesus. |
| Epiphany |
6 January |
The feast that
celebrates the manifestation to the world of the newborn Christ as Messiah,
Son of God, and Saviour of the world. The feast of Epiphany celebrates the adoration
of Jesus by the wise men (magi) from the east, together with his baptism in the
Jordan and the wedding feast of Cana in Galilee. |
| Annunciation |
25 March |
The visit of the angel
Gabriel to the virgin Mary to inform her that she was to be the mother of
the Saviour. After giving her consent to God's word, Mary became the mother
of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit.
If Jesus were born on 25
December, then His conception would have been nine months earlier, on about
25 March. That is when the angel Gabriel would have announced Jesus’ birth
to Mary. Thus 25 March is known in the historic church as The
Annunciation.
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| Holy Week |
sometime between 15 March and 18 April |
The week preceding
Easter, beginning with
Palm (Passion) Sunday. It marks the Church's annual celebration of the events of
Christ's passion, death, and resurrection, culminating in the Paschal
Mystery. |
| Easter |
sometime between 22 March and 25 April |
The greatest and
oldest Christian feast, which celebrates Christ's Resurrection from the dead.
Easter is the "feast of feasts", the solemnity of solemnities, the "Great
Sunday". Christians prepare for it during Lent and Holy Week, and catechumens
usually receive the Sacraments of Christian Initiation (Baptism, Confirmation,
Eucharist) at the Easter Vigil.
The Council of Nice decreed in 325 A.D.
that "Easter was to fall upon the first Sunday after the first full moon on
or after the Vernal Equinox." The Vernal Equinox is when there is a 12
hour day - approx. March 21st. |
| Ascension |
Sometime between 1 May and 4 June |
The entry of Jesus'
humanity into divine glory in God's heavenly domain, forty days after His
Resurrection. |
| Pentecost |
sometime between 11 May and 14 June |
The 50th day after the
Sabbath of the Passover (Easter in the Christian dispensation), thus it is
50 days after Easter Sunday. At the first Pentecost after the Resurrection
and Ascension of Jesus, the Holy Spirit came down and filled the apostles. |
| Whitsun |
sometime between 11 May and 14 June |
Whitsun (or
Whitsuntide) starts with Whit Sunday, which is always the
7th Sunday after Easter Sunday. It is usually combined with the feast of
Pentecost. Whit Sunday commemorates the coming of the Holy Spirit in the form of flames
to the disciples (Apostles), as recorded in the New Testament. It is often
called Pentecost because when the disciples received the Holy Spirit and
began to go out and preach about Jesus it was the Jewish festival of
Pentecost.
Whit Sunday is a
favourite day for baptism. It is thought that as people baptised are often
dressed in white it was probably originally 'White Sunday' |
| Trinity Sunday |
sometime between 17 May and 20 June |
The first Sunday after Pentecost, instituted to honour the
Most Holy Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Ghost). |
| Corpus Christi |
sometime between 21 May and 24 June |
This is the Thursday
following Trinity Sunday to formally celebrate the institution of the Holy
Eucharist. |
| Assumption |
15 August |
When the Virgin Mary
was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory. |
Other
| Immaculate Conception |
The belief that from the
first moment of her conception, Mary (by the singular grace of God and by virtue
of the merits of Jesus Christ) was preserved immune from original sin. |
| Feast Days |
The annual cycle of
liturgical celebrations commemorating the saving mysteries of Christ's life,
as a participation in the Paschal Mystery, which is celebrated annually at
Easter, the "feast of feasts." Feast days commemorating Mary, the Mother of
God, and the saints are also celebrated, providing the faithful with
examples of those who have been glorified with Christ. |
| Holy Days of Obligation |
Principal feast days on
which, in addition to Sundays, Catholics are obligated by Church law to
participate in the Eucharist; a precept of the Church. |
| Lent |
Lent is a forty-day period before Easter. It begins on Ash
Wednesday. Sundays are skipped when counting the forty days, because Sundays
commemorate the Resurrection.
In the Roman Catholic Church, Lent
officially ends at sundown on Holy Thursday, with the beginning of the mass
of the Lord’s Supper.
Lent is a season of soul-searching and
repentance. It is a season for reflection and taking stock. Lent originated
in the very earliest days of the Church as a preparatory time for Easter,
when the faithful rededicated themselves and when converts were instructed
in the faith and prepared for baptism. By observing the forty days of Lent,
the individual Christian imitates Jesus’ withdrawal into the wilderness for
forty days. Lent has been observed in the church since apostolic times.
In many countries, the last day before Lent (called Mardi Gras, Shrove
Tuesday, Carnival, or Fasching) has become a last fling before the solemnity
of Lent. For centuries, it was customary to fast by abstaining from meat
during Lent, which is why some people call the festival Carnival,
which is Latin for farewell to meat. |
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