The sacred rhythm of the Church year
Tuesday of the eighth week of Ordinary Time
Suitbert of Kaiserswerth
Ash Wednesday
Thursday after Ash Wednesday
Katharine Drexel
Friday after Ash Wednesday
Casimir
Saturday after Ash Wednesday
Gerasimus of the Jordan
First Sunday of Lent
Fridolin of Säckingen
Monday of the first week of Lent
Perpetua and Felicity
Tuesday of the first week of Lent
John of God
Wednesday of the first week of Lent
Frances of Rome
Thursday of the first week of Lent
The Forty Martyrs of Sebaste
Friday of the first week of Lent
Eulogius of Córdoba
Saturday of the first week of Lent
Angela Salawa
Second Sunday of Lent
Roderick of Córdoba
Monday of the second week of Lent
Matilda of Ringelheim
Tuesday of the second week of Lent
Louise de Marillac
Wednesday of the second week of Lent
Heribert of Cologne
Thursday of the second week of Lent
Patrick of Ireland
Friday of the second week of Lent
Cyril of Jerusalem
Saint Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Third Sunday of Lent
Cuthbert of Lindisfarne
Monday of the third week of Lent
Enda of Aran
Tuesday of the third week of Lent
Nicholas Owen
Wednesday of the third week of Lent
Turibius of Mogrovejo
Thursday of the third week of Lent
Óscar Romero
The Annunciation of the Lord
Saturday of the third week of Lent
Ludger of Münster
Fourth Sunday of Lent
Rupert of Salzburg
Monday of the fourth week of Lent
Stephen Harding
Tuesday of the fourth week of Lent
Ludolph of Ratzeburg
Wednesday of the fourth week of Lent
John Climacus
Thursday of the fourth week of Lent
Balbina of Rome
Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Monday of the eighth week of Ordinary Time
Tuesday of the eighth week of Ordinary Time
Ash Wednesday
Thursday after Ash Wednesday
Friday after Ash Wednesday
Saturday after Ash Wednesday
First Sunday of Lent
Monday of the first week of Lent
Tuesday of the first week of Lent
Wednesday of the first week of Lent
Thursday of the first week of Lent
Friday of the first week of Lent
Saturday of the first week of Lent
Second Sunday of Lent
Monday of the second week of Lent
Tuesday of the second week of Lent
Wednesday of the second week of Lent
Thursday of the second week of Lent
Friday of the second week of Lent
Saint Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Third Sunday of Lent
Monday of the third week of Lent
Tuesday of the third week of Lent
Wednesday of the third week of Lent
Thursday of the third week of Lent
The Annunciation of the Lord
Saturday of the third week of Lent
Fourth Sunday of Lent
Monday of the fourth week of Lent
Tuesday of the fourth week of Lent
Wednesday of the fourth week of Lent
Thursday of the fourth week of Lent
Friday of the fourth week of Lent
Saturday of the fourth week of Lent
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.
