Catholic Liturgy Calendar for 2023-2024 (Year B)

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Holy Week is the week which precedes the great Feast of the Resurrection on Easter Sunday: it includes the last days of Lent and the beginning of the Easter Triduum. During Holy Week, the Church celebrates the mysteries of salvation accomplished by Christ in the last days of his life on earth, beginning with his messianic entrance into Jerusalem. (ORDO)

Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion marks the beginning of Holy Week, the final week of preparation before the feast of Easter. In the Roman Rite, the celebration of Mass has particular traditions that make it look much different than a typical Sunday Mass. Many of these traditions are centuries old, having roots in the early Church, based on the events that occur in the Gospel passages. The differences are meant to enrich our celebration of Jesus’ Passion, immersing us into the events in a unique way to help our souls ponder the beauty and riches of the Paschal mystery. 

THE SACRED PASCHAL TRIDUUM
Through his Paschal Mystery, the Lord Jesus redeemed the human race and gave perfect glory to the Father. By dying, Christ destroyed our death; by rising, he restored our life. For this reason, the Easter Triduum, when we celebrate the suffering, Death and Resurrection of our Lord, is the high point of the Liturgical Year. The Easter Solemnity is to the year what Sunday is to the week.

Paschal Feast: The Church of God fasts on God Friday and Holy Saturday to honour the suffering and death of the Lord Jesus, and to prepare to share more deeply in the joy of his resurrection. Good Friday is a universal day of fasting and abstinence from meat.

Holy Saturday & Easter Vigil
On Holy Saturday, the people of God remain in prayer and fasting at the tomb of the Lord, meditating on his sufferings, death, and descent to the dead. Throughout this day the faithful are invited to continue the solemn paschal fast which they began on Good Friday. During the Vigil Service, a night of prayer which looks forward to the celebration of the Lord's resurrection, mourning will give way to the joys of Eastertide, which we will celebrate for the next fifty days.