Liturgy

The liturgical season of Christmas lasts until the Baptism of the Lord. Epiphany is the first Sunday after January 1. The Baptism of the Lord is the first Sunday after Epiphany.

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Ordinary time is the time on the church (liturgical) calendar that does not encompass the other seasons of the church year such as Advent and Lent. It is a time to focus on God's movement and rythmns in the ordinary seasons of our life.

The Catholic liturgical year runs concurrently with the civil year. ("Liturgical year" means the annual cycles of feast and observances.) Actually, there are three cycles in the Catholic church. There is the three year cycle for Sunday Mass readings, the two year cycle for the weekday Mass readings, and the annual cycle of liturgical seasons and feast days.

The liturgical seasons are Advent (the weeks leading up to Christmas), Christmastide (which continues through Epiphany), Lent (the weeks of preparation for Easter), the Easter season or Paschaltide (the weeks from Easter to Pentecost). These times are marked by special prayers and observances.

The rest of the year is called Ordinary Time.These are the weeks from after Epiphany until Ash Wednesday (which begins Lent) and from after Pentecost until Advent. There are still feastdays and holidays during this time, but it is not considered a particular liturgical season.

Ordinary Time refers to the time in the liturgical calendar when the Church is not in one of the special seasons of the year, such as Advent, Christmas, Lent or Easter.

from the website Catholic.com

THE CHURCH IS ONE (Rom. 12:5, 1 Cor. 10:17, 12:13, CCC 813-822)

Jesus established only one Church, not a collection of differing churches (Lutheran, Baptist, Anglican, and so on). The Bible says the Church is the bride of Christ (Eph. 5:23-32). Jesus can have but one spouse, and his spouse is the Catholic Church.

His Church also teaches just one set of doctrines, which must be the same as those taught by the apostles (Jude 3). This is the unity of belief to which Scripture calls us (Phil. 1:27, 2:2).

Although some Catholics dissent from officially-taught doctrines, the Church's official teachers-the pope and the bishops united with him-have never changed any doctrine. Over the centuries, as doctrines are examined more fully, the Church comes to understand them more deeply (John 16:12-13), but it never understands them to mean the opposite of what they once meant.

THE CHURCH IS HOLY (Eph. 5:25-27, Rev. 19:7-8, CCC 823-829)

By his grace Jesus makes the Church holy, just as he is holy. This doesn't mean that each member is always holy. Jesus said there would be both good and bad members in the Church (John 6:70), and not all the members would go to heaven (Matt. 7:21-23).

But the Church itself is holy because it is the source of holiness and is the guardian of the special means of grace Jesus established, the sacraments (cf. Eph. 5:26).

THE CHURCH IS CATHOLIC (Matt. 28:19-20, Rev. 5:9-10, CCC 830-856)

Jesus' Church is called catholic ("universal" in Greek) because it is his gift to all people. He told his apostles to go throughout the world and make disciples of "all nations" (Matt. 28:19-20).

For 2,000 years the Catholic Church has carried out this mission, preaching the good news that Christ died for all men and that he wants all of us to be members of his universal family (Gal. 3:28).

Nowadays the Catholic Church is found in every country of the world and is still sending out missionaries to "make disciples of all nations" (Matt. 28:19).

The Church Jesus established was known by its most common title, "the Catholic Church," at least as early as the year 107, when Ignatius of Antioch used that title to describe the one Church Jesus founded. The title apparently was old in Ignatius's time, which means it probably went all the way back to the time of the apostles.

THE CHURCH IS APOSTOLIC (Eph. 2:19-20, CCC 857-865)

The Church Jesus founded is apostolic because he appointed the apostles to be the first leaders of the Church, and their successors were to be its future leaders. The apostles were the first bishops, and, since the first century, there has been an unbroken line of Catholic bishops faithfully handing on what the apostles taught the first Christians in Scripture and oral Tradition (2 Tim. 2:2).

These beliefs include the bodily Resurrection of Jesus, the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, the sacrificial nature of the Mass, the forgiveness of sins through a priest, baptismal regeneration, the existence of purgatory, Mary's special role, and much more -even the doctrine of apostolic succession itself.

Early Christian writings prove the first Christians were thoroughly Catholic in belief and practice and looked to the successors of the apostles as their leaders. What these first Christians believed is still believed by the Catholic Church. No other Church can make that claim.

• One
• Holy
• Catholic
• Apostolic

• The marks of the Church are found in the Creed: the Church is One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic.

  One - It can only be one, as it is the Mystical Body of Our Blessed Lord, thus it has no divisions or "denominations".

  Holy - As it is not only the Bride of Christ, but also His Mystical Body, it is, of course, Holy, both in itself, and in what it makes its members - those who are cooperating with the graces given them.

  Catholic - It is universal.

  Apostolic - It is founded on the Apostles, particular its first Pope - St. Peter, and his successors: the Bishops who are in communion with the Holy Father in Rome.

  The phrase Marks of the Church refers to the four distinctive characteristics of the Roman Catholic Church. These are One (unified); Holy; Catholic;and Apostolic. The marks signify the Catholic Church to be the true faith and the instrument of salvation in the world which was founded by and belonging entirely to Jesus Christ. The marks further signify the one Church in opposition to other rival claimants of Christianity.

  The four marks were enumerated by the First Council of Constantinople, 381 CE, in formulating the Nicene Creed and were reaffirmed by the Council of Trent (1545-1563) which of necessity and desirability responded to the Protestant Reformation.

Answer

Briefly, the marks are the Roman Catholic Church are:

One because its members are united in faith and doctrine under the authority of the Pope;

Holy because it alone offers the means of receiving sanctifying grace and because it was founded by Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, and is animated by God in the Holy Spirit;

Catholic because it is universal, meaning that the Church is intended for all peoples in all places of the world; and

Apostolic because of the unbroken line of succession from the apostles to the bishops whose authority, the magisterium, can be traced to the eternal and unquestionable teachings of Jesus Christ.

A number of Catholic writers, notably St. Robert Cardinal Bellarmine, added to the marks of the Church. St. Robert declared 15 marks of distinction. However, St. Robert believed that the four marks could stand uniquely alone.

Though various Christian Churches may have some differences in their parts of the Mass, in general then in the 1st part of the Liturgy there is a part titled the 'Readings' - usually from the Old Testament, Psalms, then New Testament. These readings are then usually 'explained or interpreted' in the homily that follows the last reading.

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