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The main feasts of the liturgical year are Christmas and Easter. We remember and live by the great mysteries of Christ’s Incarnation and our Redemption which are the foundation of our life of faith. In order to prepare ourselves both individually and as a community, we recommend these occasions for reflection. Nourished by the Word of God, in Adoration before the Blessed Sacrament and with the possibility of going to confession, we open our hearts so that the “grace of God not to be in vain” (Cf. 1Cor 15, 10)
For the central feasts of the liturgical year, such as the Nativity of our Lord or the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, and for many feasts of the saints, the Church has the venerable tradition of the Novena. Throughout the nine days leading up to the Feast day, the Church prays and meditates, draws inspiration from the lives of the saints and entrusts itself to their powerful intercession. You may follow the community prayers, here, and have access to some of our Novena suggestions for home and family prayer.
In the Holy Season of Lent, the Church proposes this exercise of piety that helps us to grow in identification with the crucified Christ. On Fridays (Day of the Passion of Christ) during Lent, and also on Good Friday, we pray the Via Crucis together, meditating on this Sacred Path that Jesus chose to walk for our Eternal Salvation.
Over approximately four weeks the Church prepares to celebrate the Coming of the Lord. We celebrate Christmas as this great Coming has already taken place. Likewise, we place our hope in the future for the great Coming that is yet to occur. A Coming that happens every day in so many different ways. We are inspired by the prophets who announced the coming of Emmanuel (God with us), by the family of Jesus (who received and cared for him) and by those who first recognized and adored him (shepherds and wisemen), so that every Christmas we know how to recognise the quiet presence that enters the history of humanity, beautiful and full of the light of God . Have a look at our suggestions to open the Lord’s path towards us.
Forty days until Easter. We remember the journey of the People of God through the desert of slavery in Egypt to liberation in the Promised Land. We also remember the forty days of Jesus in the desert (where he was tempted by the devil – Mt 4:1-11) before starting his public mission. It is, therefore, an exceptional time of personal conversion, marked by prayer, fasting and almsgiving, which will prepare the Church for the Paschal Feast of the Lord: crucified, dead, buried and risen. Here we will offer suggestions for prayer and other types of spiritual and corporal exercises, so that each of us is more intimately disposed to participate in Christ’s victory over sin and death.+