Fr. Hans' Pair o' Dimes

Greetings from the middle of November!
 
The liturgical calendar includes a lot that makes sense once you think about it. For instance,  it was believed that Jesus, being perfect, would have been conceived and died on the same day of the year, so it makes complete sense that we would celebrate his birthday (Christmas) approximately nine months after the day he died (Good Friday).
 
There are also several instances where feasts which are related to each other are exactly a week apart, forming an “Octave.” A couple good examples of this: the Assumption of Mary and the crowning of Mary on August 8th and 15th; and Christmas and the Feast of Mary, Mother of God, on December 25th and January 1st. The Church’s calendar includes a lot which doesn’t happen by chance.

The month of November is unique in the Church’s liturgical calendar as we pray in a special way for those who have died. It is no surprise that the focus on life ending would happen at the end of the Liturgical Year, and at a time when the world is moving from the vital life of summer into the darker and colder months ahead.
 
We began this month with two important celebrations. On November 1st we celebrated with all of the Saints, those who have died and are already in heaven, both those well known and those unknown (whom I called “Secret Saints”). On November 2nd we prayed in a particular way for all those who have died and are making their way through the purification of purgatory to the blessedness of heaven. Throughout this month we continue those prayers, but always with the Resurrection in our minds. Death leads to new life.
 
And just as in the changing of seasons we know that fall is followed by winter which is followed by new life in spring, so also the Church’s liturgical year follows the month focused on life ending with a month focused on life beginning. The season of Advent, which is coming in two weeks, is all about preparing for new life, and serves both as an end to the previous year and a beginning of the next.
 
Advent caps off November with the first couple weeks focused on the Second Coming of Christ, the end of this world, and the beginning of “new heavens and a new earth.” Advent transitions into joyful preparation to celebrate again the Birth of Christ, and the New Life brought about 2,000 years ago. And with the celebration of Christmas, the whole cycle is renewed each year.


PS: I have no idea how they talk about this in the southern hemisphere, where the seasons are opposite. The Church’s calendar developed from Judaism and early Catholicism, which all took place in the northern hemisphere and took cues from northern seasons. If you have perspectives from the southern hemisphere, I’d love to learn more!