One of my favorite things about being Catholic is living according to a liturgical calendar. Liturgical living has been practiced by traditional Christians since the 4th century…that’s 1,600 years of following a Church calendar!
Liturgical living is beautiful because at its very root is the Liturgy. Liturgy is so much more than empty rituals and traditions. There has been a movement in modern Christianity to rid ourselves of any tradition as a means to not be “religious”. But I would argue that the very root of the Liturgy is relationship. Relationship, first and foremost, with the Holy Trinity, God our Father, Christ the Son and our Redeemer, and the Holy Spirit Whom He sent to dwell within us. And, secondly, relationship with the Body of Christ. By definition, liturgy calls us to step outside of ourselves because the Liturgy includes an aspect of communal public worship. Our Lord instituted a Church so that we could come together as the entire Body to worship Him. The Liturgy isn’t about what we “get out of it” as individuals but us coming together as Christ’s family to worship Him through the Holy sacrifice of the Mass. It calls us to set our own selves aside and instead sacrifice our time and offer our love in worship for the One True God.
Living according to the Church calendar is so beautiful because it challenges us to right our minds and focus on Jesus every day of the year not just on Sundays and major holidays. Within the Church calendar, there are different days and seasons meant for both celebrations and for fasting. Some seasons are rejoiceful (Easter and Christmas for obvious reasons) and some are solemn and penitential (Advent and Lent). These seasons help us to never forget what Jesus did on the Cross for us and to do it as a family. God’s family.
I love this because it’s so easy to make holidays into secular consumerism. November 1st has become Christmas when for centuries Advent was a solemn time to think about how dark it must have been waiting for the Savior and how we wait anxiously for His return. Peeps marshmallows and Easter eggs weren’t on the shelves and bunnies weren’t traditionally decorated with in early March because early March is a season of fasting and solemnity to remember how much Jesus sacrificed for our salvation. On the flip side, our Faith is not a puritanical boring religion. When it’s time to party, it’s time to party! There is great rejoice in our Savior’s birth (we celebrate Christmas until February 2nd!) and overwhelming joy in Jesus gifting us salvation on the Cross (Easter’s not one day for us but FIFTY!). In fact, there’s something to celebrate almost every day of the year, including in “ordinary times” (times outside of the Advent/Christmas and Lent/Easter seasons). We celebrate how Jesus works through our brothers and sisters in Christ with special celebrations almost every day of the entire year.
Liturgical living is also beautiful because it causes us to step out of ourselves as individual Christians and to live fully in the Body of Christ as Christ intended. We get to rejoice with our family across the entire world (and time…because we believe in the communion of saints) and celebrate the highs of Christ’s redemptive work on the Cross and how His Holy Spirit has worked through His people. In turn, we also get to come together as a family and fast together and push each other in following Jesus more closely. We get to weep together at the thought of our Lord and Savior dying on the Cross for our sins. I’m so thankful that Christ instituted a family that I get to forever be a part of to experience all the fullness of life and Faith.
If you’ve never lived liturgically before, here’s how I’d get started:
1. Find a faith community to do so
Find other believers and start living in community with them and rejoice when they rejoice and weep when they weep. Set out together to make every day a day of worship to the Lord together. This idea is the very essence of the meaning “Catholic”. Catholic means universal. It means being a part of a worldwide family that is for everyone, without any points of separation and a family that comes together to worship. I would encourage you to chew on that word for a while as you consider faith community.
2. Download a liturgical calendar and start doing it
If it seems overwhelming, start this year with Lent and Easter. Learn the three pillars of Lent (fasting, almsgiving and prayer) and start doing it with your people! Really focus on dying to yourself during this time and keep your eyes on Jesus’ sacrifice. And then, come Easter, have a big celebration not because you “did Lent perfectly” but because you have a Savior and HE LIVES!
3. Keep the seasons about Christ and not consumerism
The best way to stay focused on liturgical living is to remember what it’s all about. Remember that you don’t need the decorations or treats the second they hit the shelves but make those things truly special as you incorporate them into the real meaning of the seasons. Remember that every day is a day to live for Jesus and we can do so intentionally without buying a bunch of random stuff as soon as it is available.
I pray that this Lent is a season that grows you closer to Jesus than ever before. I hope I’ve given you some insight on what liturgical living is and why it may be worth considering living this way.
Many blessings,
Liv
Liv Homolka 
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