In the Catholic Church we have a framework for liturgical celebration that consists of many elements, including the annual feasts and seasons as well as the cycle of Mass readings. No year we experience is ever the same, partially because the calendar moves. Our Sunday Mass readings are on a three-year cycle while the Daily Mass readings’ cycle is two.
None of God’s creations are identical. That seems to be reflected in our stable but ever-changing liturgical framework. This framework is designed to help us grow in holiness, in deepening union with the life of the Triune God, and in our ability to bring Christ into our human relationships. Our exercise and ongoing training in the life of virtue are what brings that growth, deepens that union, and blesses those relationships.
How can we make progress in this union, this holiness, this life of virtue by engaging the gift of the framework of liturgical celebrations?
The upward cycle of annual celebrations and readings
Our liturgical calendar is filled with celebrations and commemorations of every imaginable sort. We also read the same gospel stories regularly. We learn detachment through the observation of Lent, expectant faith through Advent, the value of poverty of spirit by celebrating St. Francis, and humility on the feast of the Annunciation.
On August 1st we celebrate Our Lady of Silence. But does that mean that we have noisy minds, hearts, and lives the rest of the year? Hopefully not. Hopefully it means we ponder silence more on that day, yielding fruit throughout the year. Hopefully we take a step up on the circular staircase of virtue with each passing year’s observance.
Who hasn’t experienced the feeling of “I really need Lent” in mid-February after the long celebration of Christmas? The need is cyclical and so is the grace God provides. The world, the flesh, and the devil pull us away from each virtue, each grace. The feasts, seasons, and readings reset us and hopefully bring us further ahead than the previous year.
What is your Achilles Heel?
The mythological Greek warrior was believed to have been vulnerable only in his heel. The myth tells us that is where Achilles was slain with a poisoned arrow. The saying “Achilles heel” therefore refers to a person’s area of particular vulnerability. In the moral life this vulnerability is akin to any vice that tempts us more than others.
God will not leave us alone in our particular vulnerabilities. He always provides the grace we need to overcome.
Therefore, whoever thinks he is standing secure should take care not to fall. No trial has come to you but what is human. God is faithful and will not let you be tried beyond your strength; but with the trial he will also provide a way out, so that you may be able to bear it. (1 Cor. 10:12-13)
One way He does this is through the Church’s liturgical calendar. Yes, the calendar is a structure, but form follows function, and the function of this structure is holiness.
If we struggle with lust, there are many saints who have struggled too. St. Augustine and St. Margaret of Cortona both overcame earlier lives of sexual sin. Their feasts can be opportunities to ask their intercession and learn from their example.
If we find ourselves lacking in diligence, there are many diligent saints whose feasts we might observe, from St. Teresa of Avila to St. John Bosco to St. Teresa of Calcutta, as well as the observance of the season of Lent.
Perhaps the virtue of hope is the weakest of your theological virtues. On January 17th of each year, we celebrate Our Lady of Hope of Pontmain, France, a Church approved apparition in which the Blessed Mother came to reassure and encourage families in a small village during wartime. Ask Our Lady for her assistance in acquiring the virtue of hope and expect to have the opportunity to practice that virtue in short order.
If prudence is the virtue you need to work on, consider:
- On March 19th, or May 1st, learning more about and asking the intercession of St. Joseph might be helpful. This saint’s prudence was demonstrated in his thoughtful actions and decisions, particularly in protecting Mary and Jesus.
- On September 28th, spend some time learning about St. Wenceslaus, who demonstrated prudence in his leadership and decisions, always prioritizing the good of others.
- Through the liturgical cycle, pray for prudence with Jesus’ parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins on the Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A or on the Friday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time in both Years 1 and 2.
Far from repetitive boredom, the Holy Spirit gives newness to each observation of our holy days, each instance of our readings. The reading of the Passion narrative is completely different in a year when we are grieving the death of a loved one than it is when all is well. The edifice of the liturgical calendar exercises our virtue muscles each time we observe and are present to the readings, feast, and season that each day provides.
A Gift, Not a Burden
Through the ministry of the Church, the Lord gives the abundant life, which is not meant to be lived fiercely, nose-to-the-grindstone, but as a joyful labor, co-yoked with Him. The liturgical calendar is more like a flowing river of mercy and grace than a production line that is moving too quickly for us to keep up with. On each observation, with each reading, we apply ourselves to the best of our current ability and receive what God wishes. Next time, next year, there will be more, God willing.
Celebrate according to your personal spiritual needs. Take each graced opportunity to step upward on the stairway of the virtue or grace you need—but allow the Holy Spirit to lead you gently. In any observance of the Annunciation there may be a wide host of graces, including deeper understanding of:
- Mary’s humility
- Trust in Divine Providence
- The importance of solitude and prayer
- Fearlessness in the face of other’s opinions of you when doing God’s will
Sometimes practicing the virtue “head on” isn’t what God is leading you to. It may be that fearlessness is the key to loosening the pride that binds your heart. It may be a lack of trust. Who knows what God is up to this time around? In His ever-newness the possibilities are endless.
It is for freedom He set us free! This freedom, within the structure of the liturgical year and its feasts, seasons, and readings, can lead us to deeper life in Him if we avail ourselves of the opportunity.
We strive to improve in virtue. We work to receive the graces the liturgical calendar yields each day. But we do well to remember we are becoming God’s unique creations, not cookie-cutter images of someone we think is holy, not even if that person is a canonized saint. These people can inspire us and guide us. But co-yoked with Jesus, through the ministry and magisterium of the Church, we are called to become His unique creations one reading, one feast, one season, and one day at a time.
Image via Wikimedia Commons
