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Seasonal Guidelines and Resources
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Liturgical Seasons
Just as we celebrate important moments in our lives, so too, the church celebrates the saving work of Christ throughout the year. The Catholic Church remembers the resurrection on the Lord's Day, and once a year walks with Christ in His passion leading up to His resurrection on Easter. The year continues with the celebration of the Annunciation, Christmas and the Epiphany, where the Church "communicates the first fruits of the Paschal Mystery." (CCC 1171). These moments of recollection and celebration extend the grace of God to every generation. The beginning and end of the Liturgical year, however, differs from the typical calendar year. The order of seasons in the Liturgical year is as follows:
- Advent, Christmas
- Ordinary Time
- Lent, Triduum, Easter
For a complete list of Liturgical celebrations for the current year, please visit the USCCB website here. -
Holy Days and Feast Days
Within the Liturgical year are special days in which the Church commemorates the mysteries of Christ and honors the Blessed Virgin Mary as the Mother of God and Mother of the Church. In honoring Mary, the church is pointed towards Christ and His work of salvation. Some of these feasts are known as Holy Days of obligation, important events on which the church places special attention. Within the liturgical calendar, the church also designates feast days to remember the saints and martyrs who have conquered evil by remaining faithful to God and his promise through times of great difficulty.
For a list of Holy Days of obligation for the current year, please visit the page /holy-days-of-obligation. -
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Mary, Mother of the Church
In March 2018, Pope Francis announced the new Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary: “Mary, Mother of the Church" to be celebrated the Monday after the Pentecost.
For more about this memorial, please visit the page /mary-mother-of-the-church.
Monday, June 10, 2019
Bishop Cotta invites all the clergy, religious and laity of the Diocese of Stockton, to offer a prayer of consecration of our Diocese of Stockton to the Immaculate Heart of Our Lady, “Mary, Mother of the Church”.
In our consecration to Mary, Mother of the Church, we seek the graces to be closer to Christ through the intersession of His blessed mother, who He gave to us as our own.Prayer of Consecration:
Holy Mary Mother of the Church,with renewed gratitude for your maternal presence
we join our voice to that of all the generations who call you blessed.We celebrate in you the works of God, who never tires of looking downwith mercy upon humanity, afflicted with the wound of sin, to heal it and save it.Accept with the benevolence of a Mother the act of consecration
that we perform today with confidence.
We are certain that each of us is precious in your eyes
and that nothing of all that lives in our hearts is unknown to you.
We let ourselves be touched by your most sweet regard
and we welcome the consoling caress of your smile.
Hold our life in your arms: bless and strengthen every desire for good;
revive and nourish faith; sustain and enlighten hope;
awaken and animate charity; guide all of us along the path of holiness.
Teach us your own preferential love for the little and the poor,
for the excluded and the suffering, for sinners and the downhearted:
bring everyone under your protection and entrust everyone
to your beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus.
Amen.
Oracion de consagracion:
Santa María Madre de la Iglesia,
con renovada gratitud por tu presencia maternal unimos nuestra voz
a la de todas las generaciones que te llaman bienaventurada.
Celebramos en ti las grandes obras de Dios, que nunca se cansa
de inclinarse con misericordia hacia la humanidad,
afligida con la herida del pecado, para sanarla y salvarla.
Acoge con benevolencia de Madre el acto de consagración
que hoy hacemos con confianza. Estamos seguros de que
cada uno de nosotros somos valiosos ante tus ojos
y que nada de lo que habita en nuestros corazones es ajeno a ti.
Nos dejamos tocar por tu dulce mirada y recibimos
la consoladora caricia de tu sonrisa. Protege nuestra vida entre tus brazos:
bendice y fortalece todo deseo de bien; aviva y alimenta la fe;
mantiene e ilumina la esperanza; despierta y motiva la caridad;
guíanos a todos por el camino de la santidad.
Enséñanos tu gran amor y tu preferencia por los pequeños y los pobres,
por los excluidos y los que sufren, por los pecadores y los pobres de corazón:
lleva a todos bajo tu protección y encomiéndalos a todos
a tu amado Hijo, Nuestro Señor Jesús.
Amén. -
Pentecost
When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together.
And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were
all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues,
as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.
Acts 2:1- 4