The sacred rhythm of the Church year
Tuesday of the first week of Advent
Charles de Foucauld
Wednesday of the first week of Advent
Lucius of Chur
Saint Francis Xavier, Priest
Friday of the first week of Advent
Adolph Kolping, Anno of Cologne, Barbara, Virgin and Martyr
Saturday of the first week of Advent
Sabbas the Sanctified
Second Sunday of Advent
Nicholas of Myra
Saint Ambrose, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
Ambrose of Milan
The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Patroness of the USA
Wednesday of the second week of Advent
Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin
Thursday of the second week of Advent
Eulalia of Mérida, Our Lady of Loreto
Friday of the second week of Advent
Damasus I
Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Americas
Third Sunday of Advent
Saint Lucy, Odile of Alsace
Saint John of the Cross, Priest and Doctor of the Church
Tuesday of the third week of Advent
Nino of Georgia
Wednesday of the third week of Advent
Adelaide of Italy
December 17
John of Matha
December 18
Winibald of Heidenheim
December 19
Pope Urban V
Fourth Sunday of Advent
Dominic of Silos
December 21
Peter Canisius
December 22
Jutta of Sponheim
December 23
John of Kanty
December 24
Irmina of Oeren
The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas)
Saint Stephen, the First Martyr
Stephen, Protomartyr
The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph
The Holy Innocents, Martyrs
Fifth Day within the Octave of the Nativity of the Lord
Thomas Becket
Sixth Day within the Octave of the Nativity of the Lord
Anysia of Thessalonica
Seventh Day within the Octave of the Nativity of the Lord
Sylvester I
First Sunday of Advent
Saint Andrew, Apostle
Tuesday of the first week of Advent
Wednesday of the first week of Advent
Saint Francis Xavier, Priest
Friday of the first week of Advent
Saturday of the first week of Advent
Second Sunday of Advent
Saint Ambrose, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Patroness of the USA
Wednesday of the second week of Advent
Thursday of the second week of Advent
Friday of the second week of Advent
Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Americas
Third Sunday of Advent
Saint John of the Cross, Priest and Doctor of the Church
Tuesday of the third week of Advent
Wednesday of the third week of Advent
December 17
December 18
December 19
Fourth Sunday of Advent
December 21
December 22
December 23
December 24
The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas)
Saint Stephen, the First Martyr
The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph
The Holy Innocents, Martyrs
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
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.
