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Liturgical Seasons

Cycles of prayer throughout the year

The Liturgical Seasons of the Church Year

The Catholic Church builds its communal prayers, called Liturgy, around the cycle of the year.  Each liturgical year begins on the First Sunday of Advent during the preceding calendar year. For example, the First Sunday of Advent in 2024 launched the 2025 liturgical year.  The liturgical year is made up of six seasons that are described below.

The scriptural passages used in the Mass are based upon a 3-year cycle that takes us through key readings in the entire Bible, including both the Old and New Testaments. The Daily Reflections we post on this website are related to the daily readings used in the Mass throughout the world on any given day. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) posts the Liturgical Calendar that provides the readings, Holy and Feast Days, and the corresponding colors for each day. The liturgical calendar can be accessed here.

The Six Seasons of the Liturgical Year:

  • ADVENT (white)
    Beginning the Church’s liturgical year, the season of Advent includes four weeks of preparation before the celebration of Jesus’ birth. Advent is a time of preparation that directs our hearts and minds to Christ’s second coming at the end of time and to the anniversary of Our Lord’s birth on Christmas. In the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, Advent begins on the evening of the Sunday that falls on or closest to November 30 and it ends with Evening Prayer on Christmas Eve.
  • CHRISTMAS (white)
    At Christmas, we recall the Birth of Jesus Christ and his manifestation to the people of the world. The Christmas season starts on the Nativity, December 25, and ends with the celebration of the Epiphany.
  • LENT (violet)
    The Lenten season is a 40-day penitential season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. It is a period of preparation to celebrate the Lord’s Resurrection at Easter. This season begins on Ash Wednesday and ends at sundown on Holy Thursday.
  • SACRED PASCHAL TRIDUUM (white)
    These are the holiest “Three Days” of the Church’s year, where the Christian people recall the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus—from the evening of Holy Thursday to the evening of Easter Sunday. Though chronologically three days, they are liturgically one day unfolding for us the unity of Christ’s Paschal Mystery. The single celebration of the Triduum marks the end of the Lenten season and leads to the Mass of the Resurrection of the Lord at the Easter Vigil.The liturgical services that take place during the Triduum are the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion, and the Mass of the Resurrection of the Lord.
  • EASTER (white)
    The Easter Season is a full 50 days of joyful celebration of the Lord’s resurrection, culminating with the feast of Pentecost, where Scripture (Acts 2:1–31) tells us that the Holy Spirit descended on the Apostles. It is the most important of all liturgical times, which Catholics celebrate as the Lord’s resurrection from the dead, culminating in his Ascension to the Father and sending of the Holy Spirit upon the Church.
  • ORDINARY TIME (green)
    Ordinary Time takes up most of the calendar year. It’s a time for growth and maturation, a time in which the mystery of Christ is called to penetrate ever more deeply into history until all things are finally caught up in Christ. The goal, toward which all of history is directed, is represented by the final Sunday in Ordinary Time, the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe.Ordinary Time is divided into two sections: Ordinary Time I is a span of 4 to 8 weeks after Christmas. Ordinary Time II lasts about six months between the Seasons of Easter and Advent.

The use of color

In the liturgical calendar, the color for each day corresponds to that day’s main liturgical celebration, even though Optional Memorials (perhaps with a different color) might be chosen instead. The four main colors are:

WHITE – Christmas Time and Easter Time; celebrations of the Lord (except of his Passion), of Mary, of the Angels, and of Saints who were not Martyrs; solemnities of the Most Holy Trinity (Sunday after Pentecost), of All Saints (Nov. 1), and of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist (June 24); feasts of the Conversion of St. Paul (Jan. 25), of the Chair of St. Peter (Feb. 22), and
of St. John (Dec. 27); also permitted in the United States at Masses for the Dead

RED – Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Pentecost Sunday; celebrations of the Lord’s Passion, of Apostles, and of Evangelists; celebrations of Martyrs

GREEN – Ordinary Time

VIOLET – Advent and Lent; Masses for the Dead

Other liturgical colors not represented on this calendar include:

ROSE – Third Sunday of Advent and Fourth Sunday of Lent

BLACK – Masses for the Dead

GOLD or SILVER – Permitted in the United States for more solemn occasions