Liturgical Year
- The birth of the Messiah
- 6-7 weeks.
- Advent: Four Sundays prior to Christmas day.
- Christmas: December 25 to Baptism of the Lord.
- Following Jesus as a disciple
- 30-34 weeks.
- Ordinary Time: varies.
- The death and resurrection of Jesus
- 14 weeks.
The Liturgical Year also contains Holy Days of Obligation; the number varies by rite and region.
Dynamic Seasons
- The Advent season leads to Christmas day.
- The Christmas season ends with the Baptism of the Lord, the beginning of Jesus' public ministry (i.e., the time that He spent in the company of His disciples).
- Lent leads to Easter Sunday.
- The Easter season culminates on the day of Pentecost.
- Ordinary Time ends with the Feast of Christ, the King. Unlike all of the other feasts of the Church year, the Feast of Christ, the King is concerned with a future event: the end of everything.
Before the development of the Liturgical Year, there were four times of fasting and prayer (Ember Days) to break the year into four quarters.
Key dates for 2012
| Jan 8 | Epiphany |
| Jan 9 | Baptism of the Lord |
| Feb 22 | Ash Wednesday |
| Apr 8 | Easter |
| May 27 | Pentecost |
| Jun 10 | Corpus Christi |
| Nov 25 | Christ the King |
| Dec 2 | First Sunday of Advent |
Key dates for 2013
| Jan 6 | Epiphany |
| Jan | Baptism of the Lord |
| Feb 11 | Clean Monday |
| Feb 13 | Ash Wednesday |
| Mar 31 | Easter |
| May 19 | Pentecost |
| May 30 | Corpus Christi |
| Nov 24 | Christ the King |
| Dec 1 | First Sunday of Advent |