Dear Parishioners, on the 11th Sunday of Ordinary Time we went from the Easter Season to Ordinary Time. I thought that this gives me the opportunity to share with all of you this article (Part 2 of 2) from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishop’s Article teaching us what the liturgical year is and means. As we begin Summer season I pray that we may have a relaxing and enjoyable summer break. My love and prayers always, ~~Fr. Steve

Liturgical Calendar

The organization of each liturgical year is governed by the Church and ultimately integrated into a liturgical calendar.

The Second Vatican Council brought renewed emphasis to Sunday as a unique liturgical category: “the Lord’s day is the original feast day” (Sacrosanctum Concilium, no. 106), and it “must be observed in the universal Church as the primordial holy day of obligation” (Code of Canon Law, canon 1246§1). Thus,only a limited number of feasts of the Lord or the saints may take the place of the scheduled Sunday celebration.

Saints and other celebrations are distinguished in accordance with the importance assigned to each one: each is a Solemnity, Feast, or Memorial. Sundays and Solemnities begin their celebration on the evening before, Feasts and Memorials are celebrated over the course of one day, and Memorials are either Obligatory or Optional.

Holy days of obligation (also known as feasts of precept) are days when the faithful are obliged to participate at Mass and abstain from unnecessary work or other activities which hinder the suitable relaxation of mind and body. Each Sunday is a holy day of obligation, and six Solemnities are also observed as feasts of precept in the United States.

Finally, there are other days of prayer and special observances throughout the year that are promoted by the Ho-ly See or the USCCB. For the most part, they are not part of the Church’s liturgical calendar, but they can help focus the prayers of the Church toward the particular needs of the human family.

General Roman Calendar and Recent Addi-tions/Changes

The General Roman Calendar includes “both the entire cycle of celebrations of the mystery of salvation in the Proper of Time, and that of those Saints who have universal significance and therefore are obligatorily celebrated by everyone, and of other Saints who demonstrate the universality and continuity of sainthood within the People of God” (Universal Norms on the Liturgical Year and the Calendar, no. 49).

After the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, the General Roman Calendar was first promulgated in 1969 by Pope Saint Paul VI, and has subsequently been amended over the years by the Holy See with new celebrations. The last major revision was in 2002, but since the publication of the Roman Missal, Third Edition, the following celebrations have been added to the General Roman Calendar or otherwise changed:

February 27–Optional Memorial of Saint Gregory of Narek

May 10–Optional Memorial of Saint John of Avila

May 29–Optional Memorial of Saint Paul VI Monday after Pentecost –Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church

July 22 –Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene (Preface)

July 29–Memorial of Saints Martha, Maryand Lazarus

September 17–Optional Memorial of Saint Hildegard of Bingen

October 5 –Optional Memorial of Saint Faustina Kowalska

October 11–Optional Memorial of Saint John XXIII

October 22–Optional Memorial of Saint John Paul II

December 10 –Optional Memorial of Our Lady of Lore to

U.S. Proper Calendar and Recent Additions

The calendar for the universal Church is complemented in this country by the Proper Calendar for the Dioceses of the United States of America, most recently approved in 2010. Two Optional Memorials have been added to the U.S. Proper Calendar since the 2011 implementation of the Roman Missal, Third Edition:

January 23–Optional Memorial of Saint Marianne Cope

October 5–Optional Memorial of Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos

Liturgical Calendar for the Dioceses of the Unit-ed States of America

Each year, the USCCB Secretariat of Divine Worship publishes the Liturgical Calendar for the Dioceses of the United States of America. This calendar lists each day’s celebration, rank, liturgical color, citations for the Lectionary for Mass, and Psalter cycle for the Liturgy of the Hours. It is primarily used by authors ofordinesand other liturgical aids published to foster the celebration of the liturgy in our country, but may also be used by anyone who purchases or downloads a copy.

For More Information:Including Saints or Blessed in Diocesan CalendarsUnderstanding the Liturgical Colors