Chapter 10
The Liturgical Year: Celebrating Sacred Time
1. How does a seasonal sense of time difer from a sense of time as burdensome or stress-producing?
2. What were some of the earliest forms of religious worship, and what did they mark?
3. Give two examples from the text of how Christains feasts were rooted in pre-Christian festivals.
4. In the liturgical year, what do Christians walk through?
5. In what way does the liturgical year transform us, if we are open to it?
6. What are the two major seasons of the liturgical year, with their preparation periods? What are the time periods in between the two major seasons called?
7. What is the heart of the liturgical year, and why is it considered the heart?
8. Explain this statement: In Advent, Christians reflect on Jesus' coming in the past, in the present, and in the future.
9. On what day do Christians celebrate the Incarnation?
10. How long does the Christmas season last?
11. What does the church focus on in Ordinary Time?
Vocabulary:
* seasonal sense of time * liturgical year * Easter Season * Christmas Season* Ordinary Time
* lectionary * Advent * Easter * Christmas
Essays from the teacher's text
1. Give examples of four ways people experience time. What is your usual sense of time?
2. Describe some early forms of religious worship. Explain the pre-Christian roots or parallels of Easter and Christmas.
3. Briefly summarize the plot of the movie Groundhog Day. How is Phil transformed, and how is his transformation like our journey through the liturgical year?
4. What do we reflect on during the Advent Season? Describe one Advent custom. How does your family celebrate Advent?
5. How did the custom of the Christmas cr�che get started? How does the time or manner of our society�s celebration of Christmas differ from the Christian ideal of celebrating Christmas?
6. What is the purpose of Ordinary Time? Give two examples of scriptural readings during Ordinary Time.
7. List the ways Catholics are challenged to renew themselves during Lent. Briefly describe each day of the Triduum.
8. What celebration is the climax of the entire liturgical year? What are the features of that liturgy? What ancient prayer is chanted?
9. What promise did God make to us all when God raised Jesus from the dead? What difference does that promise make to you personally? How is Pentecost both an end and a beginning?