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