Liturgical Seasons
Of the Catholic Church
Advent
Advent is a season observed in the Catholic Church as a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas as well as the return of Jesus at the second coming.
Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Catholic liturgical year, it is preceded by the season of Advent.
Ordinary Time
In the liturgy of the post-Vatican II Roman Rite, Ordinary Time is that part of the Christian liturgical year that lacks the distinctive characters of the Paschal Triduum, Eastertide, Lent, Christmastide, and Advent. and is divided into two periods: that between Christmas and Lent, and that between Eastertide and Advent.
Lent
Lent is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends approximately six weeks later, before Easter Sunday. The purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer for Easter through prayer, doing penance, repentance of sins, almsgiving, and self-denial.
Triduum
Easter Triduum, Holy Triduum, or Paschal Triduum, or The Three Days, is the period of three days that begins with the liturgy on the evening of Holy Thursday, reaches its high point in the Easter Vigil, and closes with evening prayer on Easter Sunday. It recalls the passion, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, as portrayed in the canonical Gospels.
Easter
Easter, also called Pascha or Resurrection Sunday, is a festival and holiday commemorating the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Each Sunday of the Easter Season is treated as a Sunday of Easter, and, after the Sunday of the Resurrection, they are named Second Sunday of Easter, Third Sunday of Easter, etc. up to the Seventh Sunday of Easter, while the whole fifty-day period concludes with Pentecost Sunday.
Ordinary Time
In the liturgy of the post-Vatican II Roman Rite, Ordinary Time is that part of the Christian liturgical year that lacks the distinctive characters of the Paschal Triduum, Eastertide, Lent, Christmastide, and Advent. and is divided into two periods: that between Christmas and Lent, and that between Eastertide and Advent.