Chucki and other Catholics

[Rosie_0801]

That was a very detailed liturgical calendar you posted on another thread, Chucki. I'm writing a religious calendar curriculum and I confess it is a little too detailed for me! http://www.usccb.org/about/divine-worship/liturgical-calendar/upload/2013cal.pdf

 

Would I be correct in assuming the table at the top of the document is the, uh, Important Stuff, for want of a better phrase? I'm surprised Good Friday is missing.

 

 

First Sunday of Advent

Ash Wednesday

Easter Sunday

The Ascension of the Lord [Thursday]

Pentecost Sunday

The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

First Sunday of Advent

 

Thanks!

[Crimson Wife]

If one knows the date of Easter, it's easy to count back 2 days to figure out when Good Friday is.

 

I'm not sure whether "The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ" is Corpus Christi?

[UrbanSue]

I'm pretty sure those are Holy Days of Obligation that aren't attached to the same date every year. Plus the days that start a new Liturgical Season. The other Days of Obligation are always the same--Immaculate Conception, Assumption, All Saints, Christmas.

 

The Most Holy Body and Blood is Corpus Christi and that feast, along with Ascension, are transferred to a Sunday in most dioceses in the US.

[OrdinaryTime]

Hmm...Ash Wednesday isn't a Holy Day of Obligation, though. This list is stumping me a bit. I thought the dates might be marking the change in Church seasons, I.e. First Sunday of Advent starts Advent, Ash Wednesday starts Lent, etc., but that doesn't work with them all and it is missing dates. I'm ready to call the USCCB tomorrow and ask!

[OrdinaryTime]

OP, I think the list is likely too short to be "The Important Stuff" for your purposes. It is missing The Nativity of Our Lord (Christmas), The Feast of Mary, the Mother of God (January 1), Holy Thursday and Good Friday, Mary's Assumption, All Saints' Day, and the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, just to start.

[RootAnn]

Hmm...Ash Wednesday isn't a Holy Day of Obligation, though. This list is stumping me a bit. I thought the dates might be marking the change in Church seasons, I.e. First Sunday of Advent starts Advent, Ash Wednesday starts Lent, etc., but that doesn't work with them all and it is missing dates. I'm ready to call the USCCB tomorrow and ask!

 

That's my first thought, too -- marking changes in Church season (liturgy changes). Advent to Christmas (missing), Christmas end (missing) switch to Ordinary time (missing), Ordinary to Lent, Lent ends (missing) to Paschal Tridium, Tridium to Easter (missing), Easter/Ascension/Pentecost/Corpus Christi to Ordinary, Ordinary (missing) to Advent, etc.

 

Season changes, big feasts, Holy Day of Obligation -- those would be important, IMO. That list isn't very good, IMO. There is some good info in the rest of the document, but I wouldn't go with the list at the top for anything in and of itself.

[UrbanSue]

OP, I think the list is likely too short to be "The Important Stuff" for your purposes. It is missing The Nativity of Our Lord (Christmas), The Feast of Mary, the Mother of God (January 1), Holy Thursday and Good Friday, Mary's Assumption, All Saints' Day, and the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, just to start.

 

Right, but those dates are either very closely tied to Easter or on the same day every year. I think this list is sort of part of the annual Epiphany proclamation that some churches read that officially announced the date of Easter, the start of Lent and Advent, and the the Days of Obligation that vary year-to-year. I don't think it's meant at all to be an exhaustive calendar at all for the faithful--just a way of making sure we're all on the same page about the variable stuff.

 

OP, combining this list with the days above would be a good start, liturgically, if you want to hit the "important stuff". Though I'm not sure exactly what you are going for.

[Ellie]

That was a very detailed liturgical calendar you posted on another thread, Chucki. I'm writing a religious calendar curriculum and I confess it is a little too detailed for me! http://www.usccb.org...oad/2013cal.pdf

 

Would I be correct in assuming the table at the top of the document is the, uh, Important Stuff, for want of a better phrase? I'm surprised Good Friday is missing.

 

 

First Sunday of Advent

Ash Wednesday

Easter Sunday

The Ascension of the Lord [Thursday]

Pentecost Sunday

The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

First Sunday of Advent

 

Thanks!

I looked at the link; in that document,the dates are given for each of those:

 

 

PRINCIPAL CELEBRATION OF THE LITURGICAL YEAR 2013

First Sunday of Advent

 

 

 

 

December 2, 2012

Ash Wednesday

February 13, 2013

Easter Sunday

March 31, 2013

The Ascension of the Lord [Thursday]

May 9, 2013

Pentecost Sunday

May 19, 2013

The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

June 2, 2013

First Sunday of Advent

December 1, 2013

 

It isn't that those are the important stuff; it is only that those particular days are on different dates each year, and those are the dates for 2013. We all know that the Nativity of Our Lord (Christmas) is always December 25, so there's no need to specify that, nor the date of Good Friday or Holy Thursday, and so on.

[Parrothead]

That was a very detailed liturgical calendar you posted on another thread, Chucki. I'm writing a religious calendar curriculum and I confess it is a little too detailed for me! http://www.usccb.org/about/divine-worship/liturgical-calendar/upload/2013cal.pdf

 

Would I be correct in assuming the table at the top of the document is the, uh, Important Stuff, for want of a better phrase? I'm surprised Good Friday is missing.

 

 

First Sunday of Advent

Ash Wednesday

Easter Sunday

The Ascension of the Lord [Thursday]

Pentecost Sunday

The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

First Sunday of Advent

 

Thanks!

 

What Ellie said.

[anabelneri]

I'd echo the PPs... those are the dates that change each year; folks planning liturgies need to make sure those are on their calendars in addition to the ones that don't change from year to year (like Christmas, or most holy days of obligation).

 

My question is: why is the Feast of Corpus Christi on that list? Isn't it always the 2nd Sunday after Pentecost (Trinity Sunday being the 1st Sunday after Pentecost)? Despite my involvement at church I'm totally likely to miss some kind of new emphasis, like the growing importance of a particular Sunday celebration, so I thought I'd ask.

 

:)

[Parrothead]

I'd echo the PPs... those are the dates that change each year; folks planning liturgies need to make sure those are on their calendars in addition to the ones that don't change from year to year (like Christmas, or most holy days of obligation).

 

My question is: why is the Feast of Corpus Christi on that list? Isn't it always the 2nd Sunday after Pentecost (Trinity Sunday being the 1st Sunday after Pentecost)? Despite my involvement at church I'm totally likely to miss some kind of new emphasis, like the growing importance of a particular Sunday celebration, so I thought I'd ask.

 

:)

The Feast of Corpus Christi is a movable feast. It is celebrated on thursday after Trinity Sunday. Only in countries where it is not a HDO is it on Sunday after Trinity Sunday.

[Rosie_0801]

Though I'm not sure exactly what you are going for.

 

Neither am I altogether. I've never been Catholic. :) Though the phrase 'Holy Days of Obligation' sounds a useful, distinguishing sort of phrase. My curriculum needs to include the Important Days that all observant Catholics keep, but without going into the detail of every saints day because otherwise religion studies would take all morning.

 

Hopefully I'll have another draft to post in a while. :)

[Parrothead]

 

 

Neither am I altogether. I've never been Catholic. :) Though the phrase 'Holy Days of Obligation' sounds a useful, distinguishing sort of phrase. My curriculum needs to include the Important Days that all observant Catholics keep, but without going into the detail of every saints day because otherwise religion studies would take all morning.

 

Hopefully I'll have another draft to post in a while. :)

Then basically you want the HDO on your calendar. Anything other than that is gravy.

[anabelneri]

The Feast of Corpus Christi is a movable feast. It is celebrated on thursday after Trinity Sunday. Only in countries where it is not a HDO is it on Sunday after Trinity Sunday.

 

Aah, that makes sense, thanks. I've never lived anywhere besides here, so I've never experienced it as a HDO but always as a Sunday celebration. Good fun.

:)

[anabelneri]

 

Neither am I altogether. I've never been Catholic. :) Though the phrase 'Holy Days of Obligation' sounds a useful, distinguishing sort of phrase. My curriculum needs to include the Important Days that all observant Catholics keep, but without going into the detail of every saints day because otherwise religion studies would take all morning.

 

Hopefully I'll have another draft to post in a while. :)

 

 

FWIW, the way we teach the calendar in our religious ed program is we start with the three major feasts of the year: Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost. We also teach the liturgical colors very early on. With the youngest kids (3yo) we simplify things a bit: purple is for preparation, white is for celebration, green is for the growing time, red is for Pentecost. As they get older we expand that, and they learn that the "purple seasons" are Advent and Lent, because we're preparing for the great feasts. The great feasts that we're preparing for are Christmas and Easter, which are so special that they are not just one day celebrations, but they have a whole season that is white for celebration. We point out Pentecost, which is red, and we do a special Pentecost celebration of the gifts of the Holy Spirit each year so they have an association with the feast beyond the name and color. And we talk about Ordinary Time being the season of growth... just like when we have eaten a big meal we need time to digest it, when we've celebrated such wonderful feasts we need time to grow into them. The primary tool we use for this is a wooden calendar that looks approximately like this. As the kids get older we introduce the method of calculating when Easter will occur. All through this we are also helping them stay aware of the current liturgical season, and any important feasts that are coming up or that have just passed. At some point the kids can make their own calendars (they'll draw their own, usually) and they can mark important feasts like HDO or their own family's special days (like their patron saint's day). Kids also like looking at bigger liturgical calendars like this one (there is also a poster size available) which are often available at Catholic bookstores, if you have one around.

 

Have fun! Good luck!

:)

Anabel

[Rosie_0801]

Draft 2

 

Jan

1- The Octave Day of the Nativity of our Lord- Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God [Two different things? Which is the obligation?]

6- The Epiphany of the Lord [solemnity]

13- The Baptism of the Lord [Feast]

 

Feb/ March- Ash Wednesday- Beginning of Lent

March/April- Palm Sunday- Beginning the last week of Lent

March/ April- Holy Thursday

March/April- Friday of the Passion of the Lord (Good Friday)

March/April- Holy Saturday

March/ April- Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord [solemnity]

May/June- The Ascension of the Lord [Holy Day of Obligation] (Should be the Thursday 40 Days after Easter Sunday, but is moved to the next Sunday in some areas)

May/June- Pentacost Sunday [solemnity]

May/June- The Most Holy Trinity Sunday [solemnity]

May/June- The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ [solemnity] aka Corpus Christi [Feast]

 

August

15- The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary [Holy Day of Obligation]

November

1- All Saints Day [Holy Day of Obligation]

Nov/Dec- Advent Sunday (First Day of the Liturgical Year and beginning of the Advent season)

December

25- The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas)

 

 

How does this list look? Would any of you bring it up on a web page some time and want to attack it with a red pen?

[nono]

Rosie, I thought I should mention that Holy Days of Obligation vary in the Catholic church by country.

[Rosie_0801]

I'd got that idea, Nono. Ah well. I can't expect the Catholic church to organise itself to my convenience :p Hopefully I can get enough input that I'm able to make a reasonable list that Catholics would nod at rather than spit in my eye for pretending to know stuff. :p

[UrbanSue]

Draft 2

 

 

Jan

1- The Octave Day of the Nativity of our Lord- Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God [Two different things? Which is the obligation?]

6- The Epiphany of the Lord [solemnity]

13- The Baptism of the Lord [Feast]

 

 

Feb/ March- Ash Wednesday- Beginning of Lent

 

March/April- Palm Sunday- Beginning the last week of Lent

March/ April- Holy Thursday

March/April- Friday of the Passion of the Lord (Good Friday)

March/April- Holy Saturday

March/ April- Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord [solemnity]

 

May/June- The Ascension of the Lord [Holy Day of Obligation] (Should be the Thursday 40 Days after Easter Sunday, but is moved to the next Sunday in some areas)

May/June- Pentacost Sunday [solemnity]

May/June- The Most Holy Trinity Sunday [solemnity]

May/June- The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ [solemnity] aka Corpus Christi [Feast]

 

 

August

15- The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary [Holy Day of Obligation]

 

November

1- All Saints Day [Holy Day of Obligation]

 

Nov/Dec- Advent Sunday (First Day of the Liturgical Year and beginning of the Advent season)

 

December

25- The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas)

 

 

 

How does this list look? Would any of you bring it up on a web page some time and want to attack it with a red pen?

 

 

The Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God is the reason for the obligation on January 1. Christmas and Easter are both celebrated as octaves and, liturgically, the eight days after those feasts is still a Solemnity and that feast day but they aren't days of obligation unless they are also Sundays (which are all days of obligation).

 

December 8 is a Holy Day of Obligation--the Feast of the Immaculate Conception (when Mary was conceived)

 

The First Day of the Liturgical Year is just the First Sunday of Advent. I've never heard it referred to as "Advent Sunday" since the next three Sundays are also Sundays in Advent.

 

Otherwise, you've hit all the Days of Obligation here, I think, plus the start of the two major penitential seasons, so that's a good start.

 

If this is for religious ed at home, you have a lot for the winter/spring and a lot for late spring/early summer which is natural, since those are the liturgically rich times. If you were looking for ways to flesh out the fall a bit more, there are lots of big saints celebrated in the fall. You could pick one or more that are important to your family and learn about those. You could also focus on a few other big, but not obligatory feasts such as Christ the King (last Sunday before Advent), the Annunciation (March 25th when Gabriel came to Mary), the Presentation (February 2 when Jesus was presented in the Temple).

 

Hope that helps!

[Faithr]

You might also want to include All Souls Day which is November 2nd. It isn't a Holy Day of Obligation but the month of November is dedicated to praying for the dead (all the souls in Purgatory) and this day in particular is devoted to remembering those who have died the previous year.

 

A couple of other minor highlights of the Catholic year are Michaelmas or Feast of the Archangels, and October 4th Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, many parishes have blessing for pets on this day. December 14th is the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe and many parishes have a special mass and a fiesta in honor of her. Then there's St. Patrick's Day which is a Holy Day of Obligation in Ireland. Here it is just an excuse to drink unfortunately! St. Joseph's feast is 2 days later, 3/19. He gets another feast day in June, cuz he's really important. I think only St. Paul has multiple feast days too.

 

When you're a Catholic practically every day is a excuse for some kind of celebration!

 

Another day that has become more prominent of late is Divine Mercy Sunday. This is the Octave Sunday after Easter, Pope JPII had a special devotion to St. Faustina (he had her canonized) who brought us the Divine Mercy chaplet which has become hugely popular. It is also the day he died. It has become very popular to pray the Divine Mercy at 3:00 p.m. on that Sunday as a parish.

 

So if you throw in a couple of the above mentioned, I think you'll pull off looking like you know the Catholic world even more convincingly!!!

[UrbanSue]

You might also want to include All Souls Day which is November 2nd. It isn't a Holy Day of Obligation but the month of November is dedicated to praying for the dead (all the souls in Purgatory) and this day in particular is devoted to remembering those who have died the previous year.

 

A couple of other minor highlights of the Catholic year are Michaelmas or Feast of the Archangels, and October 4th Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, many parishes have blessing for pets on this day. December 14th is the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe and many parishes have a special mass and a fiesta in honor of her. Then there's St. Patrick's Day which is a Holy Day of Obligation in Ireland. Here it is just an excuse to drink unfortunately! St. Joseph's feast is 2 days later, 3/19. He gets another feast day in June, cuz he's really important. I think only St. Paul has multiple feast days too.

 

When you're a Catholic practically every day is a excuse for some kind of celebration!

 

Another day that has become more prominent of late is Divine Mercy Sunday. This is the Octave Sunday after Easter, Pope JPII had a special devotion to St. Faustina (he had her canonized) who brought us the Divine Mercy chaplet which has become hugely popular. It is also the day he died. It has become very popular to pray the Divine Mercy at 3:00 p.m. on that Sunday as a parish.

 

So if you throw in a couple of the above mentioned, I think you'll pull off looking like you know the Catholic world even more convincingly!!!

 

Just two minor corrections: Our Lady of Guadalupe is December 12, not the 14th. She is patroness of the Americas.

 

Also, St. Joseph does not have a feast day in June though there is the feast of St. Joseph the Worker on May 1. I think you are thinking of St. John the Baptist who is the only saint (other than Jesus and Mary) for whom we celebrate the birth and death. His birth is a Solemnity which is the highest kind of feast--though not all Solemnities are Holy Days of Obligation. ETA: we celebrate this on June 24th.

 

OP, are you thoroughly confused yet? :)

[Ellie]

 

When you're a Catholic practically every day is a excuse for some kind of celebration!

 

 

:iagree: :iagree: :iagree:

 

And how kewl is that? :-)

[OrdinaryTime]

Thanks, Ellie, for figuring it out. It makes sense now!

[Faithr]

Oops, sorry. I was typing fast!

[Faithr]

You know, I don't think I ever realized that about st John the Baptist! Wow, learn something every day! Lol!

[Rosie_0801]

The Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God is the reason for the obligation on January 1.

 

Thanks

 

Christmas and Easter are both celebrated as octaves and, liturgically, the eight days after those feasts is still a Solemnity and that feast day but they aren't days of obligation unless they are also Sundays (which are all days of obligation).

 

Ah, I could see the octave business on the link I was working from, backed up by something Ellie said earlier. Not sure what it really means though in practical terms of what you are supposed to be doing.

 

And Sundays all being days of obligation, does that mean you have to be in church?

 

December 8 is a Holy Day of Obligation--the Feast of the Immaculate Conception (when Mary was conceived)

 

Good. I'll add that one.

 

The First Day of the Liturgical Year is just the First Sunday of Advent. I've never heard it referred to as "Advent Sunday" since the next three Sundays are also Sundays in Advent.

 

I think that's what the Wikipedia article was called. :p I'll change it on my list though.

 

If this is for religious ed at home, you have a lot for the winter/spring and a lot for late spring/early summer which is natural, since those are the liturgically rich times. If you were looking for ways to flesh out the fall a bit more, there are lots of big saints celebrated in the fall. You could pick one or more that are important to your family and learn about those.

 

I can see that I could easily fill up the whole year, which is, I suppose, what religious calendars are supposed to do! But I'm not trying to do religious ed Catholic style. When you belong to a religion of one, there isn't a religious curriculum to buy off the shelf. ;)

 

You could also focus on a few other big, but not obligatory feasts such as Christ the King (last Sunday before Advent), the Annunciation (March 25th when Gabriel came to Mary), the Presentation (February 2 when Jesus was presented in the Temple).

 

How widely observed are these?

 

Hope that helps!

Very much thanks!

[Rosie_0801]

OP, are you thoroughly confused yet? :)

 

Pretty much, when it comes to the non-obligation days that seem to be major events. For simplicity's sake, surely big should equal obligation and small should equal "please yourself." :p

 

I'd rather skip over the location saints but I'm not sure whether days such as Michaelmas ought to be on my list. So, I'll hang here and wait for more feedback. :p

[Caitilin]

Rosie, those last are "big" feasts, and would get "airtime" in church. They are also mysteries of the rosary, so devout Catholics would know them in that context as well.

[Caitilin]

Michaelmas is, I think, the feast of the archangels, on September 29?

[Parrothead]

Michaelmas is, I think, the feast of the archangels, on September 29?

 

Yes, one in the same.

[Caitilin]

It seems to me that the big-ness of some of these is going to depend on the level of devotion in a family and/or a parish. I know the RCC HSers in our group are very devout and observe many feasts which might be officially more minor devotions, kwim?

[Parrothead]

Thanks

 

Ah, I could see the octave business on the link I was working from, backed up by something Ellie said earlier. Not sure what it really means though in practical terms of what you are supposed to be doing.

I don't know of many people who actually feast for 8 days. Unless of course one is a child on a continuous sugar high.

 

And Sundays all being days of obligation, does that mean you have to be in church?

Yes. Every Sunday unless one is sick or unable to get out of working. The obligation may be met during the Saturday vigil if one has that available. Very large parishes have multiple mass times to help accommodate as many people as possible.

 

Good. I'll add that one.

In Australia the only HDOs outside of Sundays are Christmas and the Assumption of the BVM. Worldwide there are are more.

Here is a list of the most common ones. There used to be more.

• 1 January: Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God

• 6 January: the Epiphany

• 19 March: Solemnity of St. Joseph, Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary

• Thursday of the sixth week of Easter the Ascension

• Thursday after Trinity Sunday: Corpus Christi aka: the Body and Blood of Christ

• 29 June: Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles

• 15 August: the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

• 1 November: All Saints

• 8 December: the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

• 25 December: the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ

 

 

I think that's what the Wikipedia article was called. :p I'll change it on my list though.

More people would know what you are referring to by "first Sunday of Advent".

 

 

I can see that I could easily fill up the whole year, which is, I suppose, what religious calendars are supposed to do! But I'm not trying to do religious ed Catholic style. When you belong to a religion of one, there isn't a religious curriculum to buy off the shelf. ;)

LOL

 

How widely observed are these?

Throughout the church they are a pretty big deal.

 

Very much thanks!

 

[anabelneri]

 

Pretty much, when it comes to the non-obligation days that seem to be major events. For simplicity's sake, surely big should equal obligation and small should equal "please yourself." :p

 

 

 

Practically speaking, Catholic churches have very high attendance on Easter, Christmas, and "get stuff" days. Ash Wednesday is a well-attended day, because you get ashes on your forehead. Palm Sunday is another "get stuff" day, when you get palm leaves. Churches have to plan for extra people on those days in particular.

 

My only concern about your list is that it's not clear how you're thinking about showing the overall flow of the year for Catholics. The core of the year are the liturgical seasons, because those are how we celebrate the life of Jesus in an ongoing way. It's kinda like the regular seasons of the year -- just as summer has a different feel than winter, Advent feels like waiting (for Jesus' birth, & Jesus' return) while Lent feels more introspective & penitential. The HDO are important, but they're one-day bursts of experience, just like New Year's is a one-day celebration, or a national independence day. In practice, some families highlight the current liturgical season at home, but we are all impacted by it every Sunday at church (and yes, we're expected to go to Mass every Sunday) because the colors that the church is "dressed" in, the colors the priest wears, the scripture readings, the songs, and the prayers all reflect the liturgical season.

 

Does that make sense? Or am I just missing that you've already got that included? Sometimes all this black-and-white text makes it hard to get the "feel" of what we're all planning or meaning.

 

:)

[Rosie_0801]

 

My only concern about your list is that it's not clear how you're thinking about showing the overall flow of the year for Catholics. The core of the year are the liturgical seasons, because those are how we celebrate the life of Jesus in an ongoing way. It's kinda like the regular seasons of the year -- just as summer has a different feel than winter, Advent feels like waiting (for Jesus' birth, & Jesus' return) while Lent feels more introspective & penitential. The HDO are important, but they're one-day bursts of experience, just like New Year's is a one-day celebration, or a national independence day. In practice, some families highlight the current liturgical season at home, but we are all impacted by it every Sunday at church (and yes, we're expected to go to Mass every Sunday) because the colors that the church is "dressed" in, the colors the priest wears, the scripture readings, the songs, and the prayers all reflect the liturgical season.

 

Does that make sense? Or am I just missing that you've already got that included? Sometimes all this black-and-white text makes it hard to get the "feel" of what we're all planning or meaning.

 

:)

 

 

No, you make sense and those things you've mentioned above are the sorts of things I need to know about. I don't yet know how I'm going to show the overall flow of the year for Catholics. I'm not sure if I can, really, considering that in my project, Catholicism is only one component of the whole. And, I've only just begun my project, so while I have ideas for later stages of development, I'm not there yet. Also, this curriculum can't possibly include all the information about a religion that ought to be transmitted. Some of those things will have to be taught separately. Then, of course, I'm not Catholic and can't feel like one. I'm expecting to invite people from each religion we'll be covering to write us a letter talking about what each of the holy days means to them. I don't know if people will want to, but as most people like talking about their religion, I expect a few people will be willing. Whatever I manage to put together over this year will be better than a kick in the head, anyway. ;)

[UrbanSue]

 

Pretty much, when it comes to the non-obligation days that seem to be major events. For simplicity's sake, surely big should equal obligation and small should equal "please yourself." :p

 

I'd rather skip over the location saints but I'm not sure whether days such as Michaelmas ought to be on my list. So, I'll hang here and wait for more feedback. :p

 

I think I missed some earlier thread where you described your exact project so I'm not sure how helpful this will be. But I think a "problem" you'll have--which is maybe also a blessing--is that the Catholic faith is, in some ways, just a lot more black and white than most Christian religious practice. The various feasts are all given a set level of solemnity from "Holy Day of Obligation" all the way down to "Optional Memorial". There is not a lot of variety here. A particular person, parish, community, or country might elevate a more minor feast if it is the "patronal" feast (for example, St. Jerome parish might have a big party on the otherwise minor feast of St. Jerome). And some countries get dispensations for Holy Days for lack of priests. Australia and parts of the US just can't staff all the parishes for enough masses for everyone to attend so they move Holy Days to Sundays (which are always and everywhere required).

 

So this all is what it is. How widely practiced is any of it? The Feast of the Annunciation is a big feast--a Solemnity. But it isn't obligatory so unless you go to Daily Mass, you miss it six out of seven years so it wouldn't be on the radar for an average Catholic, perhaps. The feasts of all the Apostles are pretty big, too. But they are "trumped" by the greater solemnity of Sunday so, again, unless you go to daily Mass you might never realize these are relatively big feasts.

 

Then there are hugely popular saints whose feasts are, in the US anyway, very minor but they are really celebrated. St. Patrick and St. Nicholas are two examples.

 

So, there's the black and white of the "official" calendar and liturgical practice. And then there is what the faithful actually do. It can all be hard to sort out.

[Rosie_0801]

I think I missed some earlier thread where you described your exact project

 

It's a religious calendar. Imagine a filing system with a folder for each day of the year. In each folder is a list of who (goodly devout persons/every man and his dog/only first born sons etc) is observing what, briefly why and how, and perhaps a picture book or small craft. Ideally this will develop as the kids age because they'll be bored of the picture books by the time they are 14 :p

 

But I think a "problem" you'll have--which is maybe also a blessing--is that the Catholic faith is, in some ways, just a lot more black and white than most Christian religious practice.

 

You reckon? !!

 

The various feasts are all given a set level of solemnity from "Holy Day of Obligation" all the way down to "Optional Memorial". There is not a lot of variety here.

 

Right. I figured there must be a hierarchy, but hadn't worked out what it was yet. I'll have to look into this.

 

A particular person, parish, community, or country might elevate a more minor feast if it is the "patronal" feast (for example, St. Jerome parish might have a big party on the otherwise minor feast of St. Jerome). And some countries get dispensations for Holy Days for lack of priests. Australia and parts of the US just can't staff all the parishes for enough masses for everyone to attend so they move Holy Days to Sundays (which are always and everywhere required).

 

Yes, I understand this and think most of this would be beyond the scale of this little project. I'm looking for sort of Universal Catholic rather than Catholics of Certain Place, kwim?

 

So this all is what it is. How widely practiced is any of it? The Feast of the Annunciation is a big feast--a Solemnity. But it isn't obligatory so unless you go to Daily Mass, you miss it six out of seven years so it wouldn't be on the radar for an average Catholic, perhaps. The feasts of all the Apostles are pretty big, too. But they are "trumped" by the greater solemnity of Sunday so, again, unless you go to daily Mass you might never realize these are relatively big feasts.

 

This is the part I don't know how to deal with. Black and white, easy peasy my foot. :p

 

Then there are hugely popular saints whose feasts are, in the US anyway, very minor but they are really celebrated. St. Patrick and St. Nicholas are two examples.

 

Yes, I think it would be too cluttering to involve patron saints of countries and such, but St. Nicholas? I assume he is widely celebrated around the world, so it really would be appropriate and flavoursome to include him.

 

So, there's the black and white of the "official" calendar and liturgical practice. And then there is what the faithful actually do. It can all be hard to sort out.

 

Yes indeedy, lol.

[UrbanSue]

The Liturgy of the Hours volumes have great liturgical hierarchy calendars in them. I can hunt around later for an online version nor maybe someone else here will have a link for you quicker. But now that you explain your project I think you could probably get away with the HDO already mentioned in this thread with maybe a small addition of mentioning the penitential seasons and the Octaves.

[UrbanSue]

Okay, it wasn't too hard to find, actually. Here is a Universal Calendar. You can click on each month and see what's up. This calendar is what is true everywhere--it says below that it can be trumped by local calendars but you don't need to worry about that. The "ranks" are, in order of importance: Solemnity, Feast, Memorial, Optional Memorial (which on this calendar is signified by no notation in the rank column).

 

All HDOs are Solemnities but not all Solemnities are HDOs. The common, worldwide HDOs are listed above. So you can pretty reliably decide how "deep" to go with this depending on how involved you want your project to be. Maybe stick to Solemnities and the start of seasons? Maybe add in the Feasts? And I'm sure you can get plenty of help making judgment calls on which lesser feasts are widely celebrated enough to be included (St. Nicholas is probably a good example, there).

 

Does this help?

[RootAnn]

And just to throw something out there, this site is kind of a Catholic Planner site. If you click on the Liturgical Year tab on the top, you get the major seasons. Some of them have sub-menus that give you the Big Days that occur during those seasons. For example, they list St. Lucy's day during Advent because some nationalities celebrate that as a special day (wreath of candles in eldest's hair bringing rolls & coffee to people in bed) & in the Time After Epiphany: the Feast of St. Blaise (a 'get something' day as our throats are blessed).

Under the "Downloads" tab, there is a link called "Liturgical Year Bulliten Board." There are various links about the Liturgical Year there that might be helpful as it is geared to children.

[Rosie_0801]

Thanks ladies, I'll dig into those last two resources when I've recovered from the heat! Ugh!

[Rosie_0801]

Ok, here is my latest draft. If you can all agree that some of these occasions may be safely taken off my list, I'd be much obliged. I suspect they can't be, so I will just say I'm glad you all have a whole year to do this in, because it's pretty exhausting to do in two or three sittings. :p

 

Jan

1- Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God [Holy Day of Obligation]

6- The Epiphany of the Lord [solemnity]

13- The Baptism of the Lord [Feast] Is the date right here? One one site it was listed as the 13th, on another, the Sunday after the 6th

The Monday after Jan 13 is the start of the first season of Ordinary Time

Feb 2- Candlemas (Presentation of Christ at the Temple) End of the Christmas Season

The Tuesday before Ash Wednesday is the end of the first season of Ordinary Time

Feb/ March- Ash Wednesday- Beginning of Lent

March

19- St Joseph's Day [solemnity]

25- The Annunciation of the Lord [solemnity]

March/April- Palm Sunday- Beginning the last week of Lent, which is called Holy Week

March/ April- Holy Thursday (end of Lent, the Easter Triduum begins at sunset)

March/April- Friday of the Passion of the Lord (Good Friday)

March/April- Holy Saturday

March/ April- Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord [solemnity] (Begins the Easter Season)

May/June- The Ascension of the Lord [Holy Day of Obligation] (Should be the Thursday 40 Days after Easter Sunday, but is moved to the next Sunday in some areas)

May/June- Pentacost Sunday [solemnity] (End of Easter Season)

May/June- The day after Pentacost begins the second season of Ordinary Time

May/June- The Most Holy Trinity Sunday [solemnity]

May/June- The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ [solemnity] aka Corpus Christi [Feast]

June-ish- The Sacred Heart of Jesus (Friday following Second Sunday after Pentecost) [solemnity]

June

24- The Birth of St John the Baptist [solemnity]

29- St Peter and Paul the Apostles [solemnity]

August

15- The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary [Holy Day of Obligation]

November

1- All Saints Day [Holy Day of Obligation]

Nov/Dec- Christ the King (Last Sunday in Ordinary Time and last day of the liturgical year) [solemnity] Uh, so what about the week between this Sunday and the next? It can't be part of neither the passing year nor the coming year!

Nov/Dec- First Sunday of Advent (First Day of the Liturgical Year and beginning of the Advent season)

December

6- St Nicholas Day (widely celebrated)

8- Feast of the Immaculate Conception (Mary being the one conceived, not Jesus)

24- The Christmas season begins at sunset This is right, yeah?

25- The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas)

[justamouse]

All Souls Day is Nov 2, which is when you make soul cakes and go light candles on graves, in some countries, The Day of the Dead, a day to remember our ones who've passed on.

 

On my 2013 calendar, I'm seeing Nov 24th as Christ the King (Sunday, and then the Next Sunday, the 1 of Dec, starts Advent).

 

Mine also says that Jan 13th was the Baptism.

 

 

You'd like St. Lucy's on Dec 13, where the young women of Sweden dress in white, wear a crown of candles, and bring their parents breakfast in bed. I mean, after all that, you deserve the rest. :-P The boys wear starboy hats and have wands.

 

You'd also like the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday as Fat Tuesday, Shrove Tuesday, or Carnival. Goodbye to meat!

[UrbanSue]

All Souls Day is Nov 2, which is when you make soul cakes and go light candles on graves, in some countries, The Day of the Dead, a day to remember our ones who've passed on.

 

On my 2013 calendar, I'm seeing Nov 24th as Christ the King (Sunday, and then the Next Sunday, the 1 of Dec, starts Advent).

 

Mine also says that Jan 13th was the Baptism.

 

 

You'd like St. Lucy's on Dec 13, where the young women of Sweden dress in white, wear a crown of candles, and bring their parents breakfast in bed. I mean, after all that, you deserve the rest. :-P The boys wear starboy hats and have wands.

 

You'd also like the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday as Fat Tuesday, Shrove Tuesday, or Carnival. Goodbye to meat!

 

 

I wrote a response to this last night and just before hitting post, my computer fritzed on me. Grr.

 

Anyway--looks good! The confusion with Baptism of the Lord is that in the US we celebrate Epiphany on the Sunday after Jan 1--no matter what day it is. This is what the churches do, anyway. Observant Catholic families often do a home celebration on the actual day. Then Baptism of the Lord is the Sunday after that and Ordinary Time begins the next day. BUT--if Epiphany lands on the 7th or 8th we skip Baptism of the Lord that year and OT starts the day after Epiphany. For your purposes, what you have is fine. The US changes more stuff to Sundays than other countries because, while lots of urban areas are heavily Catholic, much of the country is still in more or less "missionary" status with priests traveling like crazy to cover all the Masses. What you have gets the gist of it and is more the "ideal".

 

Christ the King is the last Sunday of the Liturgical Year and the Sundays are what really matter because that's when we're all supposed to be celebrating together. But the weekdays in between Christ the King and the First Sunday of Advent are still Ordinary Time.

 

And, yes, Christmas--as well as all Solemnities, including Sundays--begin at sundown the night before. Most churches offer Vigil Masses for this reason and to give the faithful more opportunities to fit in Mass.

 

I hope you are able to post the completed calendar at some point--this must be an enormous project!

[UrbanSue]

Oh, and, sorry, I wouldn't remove anything. The only thing arguable is St. Nicholas because it is actually a pretty minor feast but you are correct that it is so widely celebrated that you should probably leave it.

[Rosie_0801]

Alright. Thank you very much, Ladies. I shall consider draft one complete. Laugh loudly at the idea of me now starting the same process with the Orthodox and how much fun it's going to be to meld the two together, and add in the Protestants. ;)

[misty.warden]

Alright. Thank you very much, Ladies. I shall consider draft one complete. Laugh loudly at the idea of me now starting the same process with the Orthodox and how much fun it's going to be to meld the two together, and add in the Protestants. ;)

 

 

Even more fun when a shared holiday between them has a slightly different day (I believe Orthodox Lent is a week later than RC, but don't quote me). Do the dc get to do the activity twice in that case?

[Rosie_0801]

I hope not. :p

[justamouse]

Alright. Thank you very much, Ladies. I shall consider draft one complete. Laugh loudly at the idea of me now starting the same process with the Orthodox and how much fun it's going to be to meld the two together, and add in the Protestants. ;)

 

Man, everyday's gonna be a party at your house.

[UrbanSue]

Don't worry, Protestants have hardly any holidays. That's why I converted!

 

:laugh:

[Rosie_0801]

So, can you ladies recommend any picture books about your holy days, including Sunday worship? And if there are any you know to be awful, I'd like to know about them too so I don't buy them. :D I could also do with recommendations about saints if you have any too: Mother Mary, St Joseph, St John the Baptist, St Peter, St Paul and St Nicholas.

Thanks :)