1. The Seasonal Cycle: an annual cycle of liturgical seasons —
Advent – CHRISTMAS – Time of the Year (after Epiphany).
Lent – EASTER – Time of the Year (after Pentecost).
2. The Sunday Cycle: a 3-year cycle of readings for Sundays and the Major Feast days of the year.
Note: A liturgical year begins with Advent during the previous calendar year.
3. The Weekday Cycle: a 2-year cycle of Readings for Weekdays during the “Time of the Year,” presenting all the major portions of the Bible; a 1-year cycle of Gospel readings presents Matthew, Mark, and Luke during the Time of the Year (John is read during the Easter Season). Year I = odd years, Year II = even years. Advent and Lenten weekdays have readings organized around themes of hope and penance.
4. The Sanctoral Cycle: an annual cycle of remembrances of the saints on (or near) the dates of their death, chosen from all centuries and continents according to their universal appeal, variety, and what we know of them. The new calendar prescribed for the universal Church has left many “free” days open, to be filled with celebrations of more local appeal as decided by local bishops’ conferences. For example, the United States Church has inserted Elizabeth Ann Seton on January 4, and celebrates on December 12th Our Lady of Guadalupe (instead of Jane Frances de Chantal). A “saint” honored in the liturgy must be one the Church has officially deemed by a judgment of long tradition or of the process of “canonization” to be certainly in heaven, or probably so (“venerable” or “blessed”).
The Kinds of Feast Days in the Liturgical Cycles
1st Class = Solemnity (e.g., holydays of obligation)
2nd Class = Feast (e.g., for apostles, major saints)
3rd Class = Memorial (e.g., most saints)
4th Class = Optional Memorial (e.g., lesser saints).
Holy Days of Obligation are Feast days to be observed by attendance at Mass and rest, as far as possible, from unnecessary servile work. The number and dates of these vary among countries. In the United States there are six holy days:
January 1, the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God;
Thursday of the Sixth Week of Easter, the solemnity of the Ascension;
August 15, the solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary;
November 1, the solemnity of All Saints;
December 8, the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception;
December 25, the solemnity of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Whenever January 1, the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, or August 15, the solemnity of the Assumption, or November 1, the solemnity of All Saints, falls on a Saturday or on a Monday, the precept to attend Mass is set aside.