The liturgical year, with its cycle of seasons and feasts, is the handmaid of spirituality. We are invited to soak up and become steeped in the spirit of the different liturgical seasons to enrich our spiritual lives and become closer to and more like Jesus.
Advent is the time of “devout and expectant delight” for the celebration of Jesus’ birth and His coming again in glory. Christmas celebrates the Lord’s Nativity and first Manifestation. Lent is a time to be ever more attentive to the word of God and prayer and prepare by penance for the renewal of our baptismal promises. Easter is the 50- day celebration of Jesus’ victory over death and thanks to Him, ours and the coming of the Holy Spirit.
In these days we begin what is called, Ordinary Time. “Ordinary” in this context does not mean common place, rather from the Latin root, it means an ordered way of counting weeks. The official description from the Roman Missal says; “Besides the times of year that have their own distinctive character, there remains in the yearly cycle thirty-three or thirty-four weeks in which no particular aspect of the mystery of Christ is celebrated. But rather the mystery of Christ himself is honored in its fullness, especially on Sundays.”
So…. Let the cycles of the rich church year enrich your spiritual life.
Saint James Catholic Church 