ENCOUNTERING

CHRIST THROUGH
THE
LITURGICAL
YEAR
 The abbreviation A.D. stands
for Anno Domini which means
in the Year ( Anno ) of the
Lord ( Domini ). For us
Christians, every year is a Year
of the Lord. As stated in
Vatican II’s Constitution on
the Sacred Liturgy ( 102 ).
 “In the course of the year,
Holy Mother church unfolds
the whole mystery of Christ
from the incarnation to the
Nativity to the Ascension,
to Pentecost and the
expectation of the blessed
hope of the coming of the
Lord. The Church created
Its own liturgical year, or
The yearlong pattern of
Celebrations of the official
Prayer of the Church,
Marking the life and
Mysteries of Christ.
The liturgical year begins with
Advent and ends with the
Thirty-fourth week of the Year,
and feast of Christ the King.
The season of the Liturgical
year keep us attentive to the
process of growing in faith
and becoming more
and more like Christ.
The seasons of the liturgical
Year keep us attentive to the
process of growing in faith
and becoming more and
More like Jesus. We must
understand that the seasons
of the Liturgical Year are
not just a psychological
 Remembering of past events
In Jesus’ life, rather through
the liturgy, we celebrate the
Mystery of the Risen Christ’s
presence and action in our
lives now the Risen Christ who
was born of the Virgin Mary,
Baptized by John the Baptist
 Preached the Gospel,
died and Rose from
the dead. Through the
liturgical celebrations,
Jesus is brought present
to us every day
of our lives.
 The different liturgical
seasons in each year follow
the pattern of the main
events in the life of Jesus:
His birth, infancy,
ministry, passion, death,
resurrection, and Ascension
to heaven.
 These main events in
Jesus’ life are embodied
in the five seasons of the
Liturgical Year, namely
Advent, Christmas,
Lent, Easter,
and Ordinary Time.
 Advent is the four-week
Season starting our
Liturgical year. The word
Advent comes from the
Latin word adventus that
means “coming.” This
is the season that
Commemorates the two
Comings of Christ: His
Incarnation and birth,
and his second coming
in glory at the end of
time. We celebrate the
Lord’s coming anew into
our hearts in grace every
Christmas. The theme
of the First Sunday of
Advent picks up the
theme from the close
of the previous liturgical
Year on the end of the
World and relates to Christ’s
second coming. But by the
third and fourth Sundays
of Advent the focus shifts
to Christ’s first coming in
Bethlehem this prepares
us for the liturgical
Coming of Christ.
Christmas is
the
feast of the
human birth
of
our Lord who
came as light
into the
darkness of
this world.
 The great
message of
Christmas is
the incarnation
the mystery of
God the Son
becoming
man in Christ.
 It is a season of joy because
God “became one of us,”
the Emmanuel. Our God is
a God who is not just “up there” but a
God who
comes to us and lives
among and within us.
 Lent is a forty-day period
Preparing for Easter. This is
the time when Christians get
ready to celebrate Holy Week,
Christ’s Paschal Mystery.
Lent begins on Ash Wednesday
and ends before the Eucharist
On Holy Thursday.
Lent is traditionally a season
for prayer and fasting, for
confessing our sins in the
Sacrament of Reconciliation,
for attending recollections in
School and parish. It involves
Participating in different
Penitential rites and religious
 Activities that climax in the

Sacred Triduum: Holy Thursday

Good Friday, Easter Vigil.
This is a time of spiritual
renewal so that we, as
disciples of Jesus and
Members of His Body,
the Church, can draw closer
to him, our Lord and Savior.
 Our celebration of the Holy
Week or “Mahal na Araw” is
uniquely Filipino. This yearly
Commemoration of our Lord’s
Passion and Death presents to
the young people a very rich
Religious tradition, a tradition
that leads us closer to Jesus.
 In the universal Church, from
The first Christian centuries,
Holy week has been also called
“Paschal Week,” “Greater Week,”
“Week of The Lord’s Passion,”
or the “Week of Sorrowing.”
Holy Week leads to Easter
that is the high point of the Liturgical
Year.
 Holy Week
begins on
Palm Sunday,
more popularly
known as
Domingo de
Ramos or
Linggo ng
Palaspas.
 On which we celebrate and
dramatize the triumphant
Entry of Jesus, the Messiah,
into Jerusalem. During Holy
Monday, Holy Tuesday, and
Holy Wednesday the Church
reflects on the Lord’s Passion
through the readings in the liturgy.
 The readings
present to us
Jesus as the
Suffering -
Servant and the
incident that
happened last
days before the
Lord’s Passion.
 On Holy
Thursday ,
we celebrate
the “Last
Supper” and
reenact the
institution of
the Eucharist
 The
ordination
of the
Apostles
and the
Washing
of the feet.
 In highlighting Jesus’ institution
Of the Eucharist, the liturgy
recalls Jesus’ new commandment
of love: “Love one another
as I love you” ( Jn.15:12 ).
Together with the Washing
of the feet, this calls us to
humble service to one another.
 On Good
Friday,
the day
Commemorating
The Lord’s
Death
On the
Cross.
 No full Mass is celebrated.
Only communion rite is offered
in which the Church mourns
the Lord’s Death through the
readings from Scriptures.
The cross is the symbol of
“perfect liberating love for all
People for all times.”
 On Holy Saturday, the Church
Quietly meditates during the
Day at the Lord’s tomb,
Prayerfully preparing for
Celebrating the Resurrection.
The altar is left bare. But in the
evening, with the solemn
Easter Celebration begins.
THE EASTER VIRGIL HAS
FOUR PARTS
1. Service of Light –
uses fire and the
blessing of the Paschal
Candle to proclaim that
darkness of sin has
been overcome by
Christ, the light.
2. Liturgy of the Word
the selected readings
cover the whole story of
salvation from creation
to redemption in Christ.
Three are selected from
Seven possible readings
 from the Old Testament,
and the epistle taken from
the letter to the Romans.
The Gospel, taken from
the three synoptic
accounts, proclaims
the Resurrection.
3. Liturgy of the Baptism –
the faithful are led to
renew their baptismal
vows and confirm their
commitment to the Triune
God. Baptisms are
traditionally celebrated
during this night.
4. The Mass – has special
Alleluja, Preface, and the Post-
Communion Prayer that focus on
the Resurrection, the highpoint of
the liturgical year.
 The greatest feast in the
liturgical year is Easter, or
Pasko ng Pagkabuhay,
because it celebrates Christ’s rising
from the dead. The Easter
Season is celebrated through
fifty days climaxing with the
Sending by the Father
And the Risen Christ of the
Holy Spirit on Pentecost,
The fiftieth day after Easter.
But the major part of the
Liturgical year does not fall
Within the particular
Seasons of Advent,
 Christmas, Lent and
Easter. The rest of the
Year is called Ordinary
Time, which consist of
Thirty-three to thirty-
Four weeks, or more
 than half year. It is the
time to celebrate and
deepen our understanding of
the Public life of Jesus, with His
teachings and miracles.
 Ordinary Time begins on
the day after the feast of the
Baptism of the Lord and
runs to the Tuesday
Before Ash Wednesday,
starts again after Pentecost
and runs to the end of the
Liturgical year.
 ACTIVITY 3
Activity Title: The Calendar of the Church
Learning Target: To understand the
meaning and aware of the Liturgical
Seasons/Year.
References: Called to Meet Christ in
Scripture, Church, and Sacraments
Author : Ester V Frago and
Josephine C. Dango
Page Number/s: 171 – 175
 Concept Notes
Every year, the Church unfolds
For us the entire life of Jesus
through the different liturgical
Seasons and feast that make
up the liturgical Year. The
Liturgical Year is a celebration
empowered by the Holy Spirit.ly Spirit
 that makes present
now the Mystery of Christ’s
historical
saving deeds and
actions for all mankind.
Choose the letter of the best answer and write
it on the blank before each number.
____ 1. The abbreviation A.D.
stands for Anno Domini,
which means
a. Year of the Lord
b. Year of the Laity
c. Year of the Blessed
___ 2. Through this seasons we
keep us attentive to the
process of growing in Faith
and becoming like Christ.
a. Liturgical Colors
b. Liturgical Year
c. Liturgical Vestments
____ 3. The Liturgical Year begins
with Advent and ends with
the thirty-fourth week of the
Year, with the Feast of
a. Christ Light of the Nation
b. Christ Redeemer
c. Christ the King
____ 4. It is the four-week seasonstarting
our liturgical year.
a. Advent
b. Lent
c. Easter
____ 5. It is the feast of the
human birth of our Lord
who came as light into
the darkness of this world. a.
Christmas
b. Easter
c. Ordinary Time
____ 6. The forty-day period
preparing for Easter.
a. Lent
b. Advent
c. Ordinary time
 ____7.The meaning of “God is
with us”
a. Emmanuel
b. Samuel
c. Israel
____ 8. The word Advent comes
from the Latin word
adventus that means
a. hope
b. love
c. coming
____ 9. Holy week begins on
Palm Sunday more popularly
known as:
a. Domingo de Ramos
b. Domingo Alviz
C. Domingo de Gloria
.

____ 10. We celebrate the

“Last Supper” and reenact
the institution of the Eucharist
and the washing of the feet on:
a. Holy Thursday
b. Holy Tuesday
c. Holy Monday
____11. The day
commemorating
the Lord’s Death on the
Cross.
a. Good Friday
b. Good Sunday
c. Holy Saturday
____12. The Church quietly
meditates during the
day at the Lord’s tomb with
the solemn Easter vigil.
a. Holy Monday
b. Holy Wednesday
c. Holy Saturday
___ 13. Uses fire and the blessing of the Paschal
Candle to proclaim that darkness of sin has been
overcome by Christ.
a. Service of light
b. Mass
c. Liturgy of the Word
 ___ 14. It is the selected
readings cover the whole
story of salvation fromcreation to
redemption of Christ
a. Liturgy of the Baptism
b. Liturgy of the Word
c. Service of Light
____ 15. Has a special Alleluja,
Preface, and the Post-
Communion Prayer that
focus on the Resurrection.
a. Mass
b. Liturgy of Baptism
c. Liturgy of the Word
___ 16. The faithful are led to renew their
Baptismal vows and confirm their commitment
with the Triune God.
a. Liturgy of the Word
b. Liturgy of the Baptism
c. Mass
____ 17. The greatest feast in
the liturgical year because
it celebrates Christ’s rising
from the dead.
a. Easter b. Lent c. Advent
____ 18. The Easter season is
celebrated through fifty
days and the fiftieth day
after Easter is called
a. Resurrection
b. Ascension
c. Pentecost
____ 19. The rest of the year
____ 19. The rest of the year
which consist of thirty-
Three to forty-four weeks.
a. Lent
b. Advent
c. Ordinary Time
__
____ 20. It is the symbol of
“perfect liberating love for
all people for
Alltimes.”
a. Cross
b. Scripture
c. Gospel