The sacred rhythm of the Church year
The Octave Day of the Nativity of the Lord: Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God
Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops and Doctors of the Church
January 3
Genevieve of Paris, The Most Holy Name of Jesus
The Epiphany of the Lord
Elizabeth Ann Seton
Saint John Neumann, Bishop
Tuesday after the Epiphany of the Lord
André Bessette
Wednesday after the Epiphany of the Lord
Raymond of Penyafort
Thursday after the Epiphany of the Lord
Severinus of Noricum
Friday after the Epiphany of the Lord
Alix Le Clerc
Saturday after the Epiphany of the Lord
Gonçalo of Amarante
The Baptism of the Lord
Monday of the first week of Ordinary Time
Marguerite Bourgeoys
Tuesday of the first week of Ordinary Time
Hilary of Poitiers
Wednesday of the first week of Ordinary Time
Sava of Serbia
Thursday of the first week of Ordinary Time
Paul the First Hermit
Friday of the first week of Ordinary Time
Marcellus I, Pope
Saint Anthony, Abbot
Anthony the Great
Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Prisca of Rome
Monday of the second week of Ordinary Time
Saint Joseph Sebastian Pelczar
Tuesday of the second week of Ordinary Time
Pope Fabian, Sebastian the Martyr
Saint Agnes, Virgin and Martyr
Agnes of Rome, Fructuosus of Tarragona, Meinrad of Einsiedeln
Thursday of the second week of Ordinary Time
Vincent of Saragossa
Friday of the second week of Ordinary Time
Ildephonsus of Toledo, Marianne Cope
Saint Francis de Sales, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, or Sunday of the Word of God
The Conversion of Saint Paul the Apostle
Saints Timothy and Titus, Bishops
Tuesday of the third week of Ordinary Time
Angela Merici
Saint Thomas Aquinas, Priest and Doctor of the Church
Thursday of the third week of Ordinary Time
Bolesława Maria Lament
Friday of the third week of Ordinary Time
Hyacintha Mariscotti
Saint John Bosco, Priest
The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph
Fifth Day within the Octave of the Nativity of the Lord
Sixth Day within the Octave of the Nativity of the Lord
Seventh Day within the Octave of the Nativity of the Lord
The Octave Day of the Nativity of the Lord: Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God
Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops and Doctors of the Church
January 3
The Epiphany of the Lord
Saint John Neumann, Bishop
Tuesday after the Epiphany of the Lord
Wednesday after the Epiphany of the Lord
Thursday after the Epiphany of the Lord
Friday after the Epiphany of the Lord
Saturday after the Epiphany of the Lord
The Baptism of the Lord
Monday of the first week of Ordinary Time
Tuesday of the first week of Ordinary Time
Wednesday of the first week of Ordinary Time
Thursday of the first week of Ordinary Time
Friday of the first week of Ordinary Time
Saint Anthony, Abbot
Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Monday of the second week of Ordinary Time
Tuesday of the second week of Ordinary Time
Saint Agnes, Virgin and Martyr
Thursday of the second week of Ordinary Time
Friday of the second week of Ordinary Time
Saint Francis de Sales, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, or Sunday of the Word of God
Saints Timothy and Titus, Bishops
Tuesday of the third week of Ordinary Time
Saint Thomas Aquinas, Priest and Doctor of the Church
Thursday of the third week of Ordinary Time
Friday of the third week of Ordinary Time
Saint John Bosco, Priest
On the First Sunday of Advent, four Sundays before Christmas — so the Church's year opens in late November or early December, not in January.
Advent, Christmas, Lent, the Sacred Paschal Triduum, Easter and Ordinary Time. Ordinary Time is the longest, and falls in two stretches: between Christmas and Lent, and between Pentecost and Advent.
Green for Ordinary Time, violet for Advent and Lent, white for Christmas, Easter and most feasts of the Lord, Our Lady and non-martyr saints, and red for Pentecost, Palm Sunday, Good Friday and the martyrs.
They are ranks. A solemnity is the highest and keeps its own Mass with Gloria and Creed; a feast ranks below it; a memorial lower still, and an optional memorial may be kept or passed over at the priest's discretion.
A day on which the faithful are bound to attend Mass and to rest from work that would hinder it. Every Sunday is one, along with a handful of solemnities that vary by country.
