The Seasons of the Year

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The Advent Season begins the Church's  Liturgical Year.   

The Advent season is a time of preparation that directs our hearts and minds to Christ’s second coming at the end of time and to the anniversary of Our Lord’s birth on Christmas.  

Advent typically begins the fourth Sunday before Christmas and lasts until December 24.    During this time we reflect on the beautiful events that lead up to the birth of Christ. We decorate our church with the advent wreath and candles, lighting one each week at mass leading up to Christmas day.  

Christmas is a very special time for St. Joseph as we  celebrate the birth of Jesus.  A  The Christmas Season begins on the morning of December 25 celebrating  Solemnity of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, which is also holy day of obligation. 

The Christmas season actually lasts 40 days, from Christmas Day until Candlemas, the Feast of the Presentation, in February.  There are also other celebrations during this time that include the Epiphany and Three Kings Day.

The Season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, 46 days before Easter Sunday, and ends at sundown on Holy Thursday. In preparation to celebrate the Lord's Resurrection at Easter, during Lent we abstain from luxuries through traditionally abstaining from meat on Friday.  We are called to prayer to better align ourselves with God’s purpose.   With almsgiving we share God's gifts not only through the distribution of money, but through the sharing of our time and talents.

In Lent, the baptized are called to renew their baptismal commitment to answer Christ’s call to discipleship.  This takes us back to our own confirmation as others are undergoing through a period of learning and discernment in preparation to receive the Sacraments of Baptism, Reconciliation, Holy Eucharist and   Confirmation into the Church.

Easter Sunday is our most important Christian feast because it represents the fulfillment of our faith as Christians. 

During the Easter Season, Catholics celebrate the life, death and resurrection of Christ.  For this reason, Catholics traditionally are brought into the church during the Easter Season through services that celebrate the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Communion.  

The sacrament of Baptism, parallels Christ’s death and resurrection and paves the way for all Christians to die to sin and rise to new life. 

In the Sacrament of Confirmation, new members of the church are welcomed as new disciples of Christ in a ceremonious washing of their feet that symbolizes Christ washing the feet of his apostles. 

In their first Sacrament of Communion, our youth and new church members are answering Christ’s call to communion with him that he instituted at the Last Supper.