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 Does time run in a straight line or a circle? This probably isn't a question that we ask ourselves every day! But it is interesting to reflect on our understanding of time and the different events that make up our lives.
When we think of time the image of our nice new 2012 calendar may come to mind. The calendar hanging on the wall shows the month of January. Quite soon we will be turning over January to display February, and January’s scenic photo will become just a memory. And throughout the year we will pass from one month to the next until we get to December and have to look for a new calendar. The image of the calendar, with each month slipping by, lets us think of time as a line, beginning with a certain precise moment and ending with another determined moment in time. Time passes and does not come back. The events take place and then pass into history. We see our lives as a journey, beginning with birth and ending with death, perhaps like a ship passing through the sea and leaving only a wake behind.
But there is another image of time which can take the form of a circle. And with a little imagination we can make a calendar that looks like a circle. This works well with the events which will have special significance for us during the year, such as birthdays, anniversaries, weddings and graduations, major holidays and the days we have marked out for vacation. These are important events, many of which we celebrate every year. In fact, seeing them marked out on a circle reminds us that many of these events pretty much define our lives and give meaning and direction to our years. In such a personal calendar, we see not only the dates of major holidays and celebrations but, as we grow older and mark in anniversaries, we are reminded of events which have helped to form our personal lives. And seeing the circle we know that these events give a constant meaning to each new year. This is something of a contrast to the wall calendar which sees time and events as passing, never to return. The circle reminds us that some events become such a part of our lives that we commemorate their meaning each year.
Portraying recurring events on a circular diagram is a familiar way of presenting and teaching the liturgical calendar. What we call the liturgical calendar portrays the seasons and feasts of the Church year. Generally it is the arrangement of the colors green, purple, and white that catches our eye. Each indicates a season of the year; and to the eye accustomed to calendars divided neatly into twelve more or less equal pages, the liturgical calendar may appear somewhat confusing. Adding to the confusion is the impression that the seasons indicated do not necessarily correspond to the neatly placed twelve months that often form the outer circle.
Perhaps the best way to approach the liturgical calendar is to look at the seasons which seem to flow one from to the other. They focus more on events rather than the listing of dates. And the colors seem to indicate that each season has its own mood and theme. Such a calendar corresponds to the rhythm of our spiritual life as we accompany Christ through our annual celebration of our salvation.
Each year becomes a mini history of salvation focused on the saving events of the New Covenant. But it is more than a history lesson reminding us of past events. The basis of the liturgy is that in remembering these saving events, they become present to us and we become present to them. Distance and time are overcome in liturgical celebration. The calendar shows us at a glance the significance of the major events of our salvation and their relationship to one another.
The liturgical calendar has evolved in such a way that the year begins as we recall the Advent longing for the coming of the Messiah/King/Savior with the hopes nourished by the prophets. In the same spirit we prepare ourselves to celebrate the coming of the Son of God into our world, like us in all things but sin. With Christmas and the Epiphany we celebrate his manifestation to Jewish shepherds and pagan wise men. During Lent our personal union with Christ and his People is focused on our Baptism and our union with Christ’s death and Resurrection. Struggling with sinfulness and renewing our Baptismal commitment in the weeks of Lent, we celebrate Christ’s victory over sin and death as we recall the great events of the Sacred Triduum of Holy Week and the joyous celebration of Resurrection on Easter Sunday. With the apostles and disciples we rejoice in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, which makes us the New People of God and prepares us to build the Kingdom of God with courage and light. During the rest of the liturgical year, the Sundays of Ordinary Time, we are formed in discipleship through the readings and the Gospels.
I doubt that we will want to throw out our new 2012 calendars with the delightful scenes inviting us to welcome each new month as it arrives. But it is worthwhile to take time to reflect on our annual journey through the saving events of our lives as we look at a diagram of the liturgical calendar. The circle is unending and reminds us that our journey continues throughout our entire lives. Our whole life is a remembering and celebration of our life in Christ and which will bring us to the fullness of the Kingdom in Eternal Life.
Fr. Dave Foxen, MSC
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