Today is the Second Sunday of Easter. Easter Sunday was the beginning of the season of Eastertide in the liturgical year. Eastertide is celebrated from Easter Sunday for fifty days, until the day of Pentecost, and focuses on the meaning of Christ’s resurrection. The liturgical color is white, symbolizing light, victory, and eternal life.

Today is Easter Sunday, the joyous celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ! Easter Sunday marks the end of Holy Week, the end of the season of Lent, and is the beginning of Eastertide in the liturgical year. Eastertide is celebrated from Easter Sunday for fifty days, until the day of Pentecost, and focuses on the meaning of Christ’s resurrection. The liturgical color is white, symbolizing light, victory, and eternal life.

Today is Palm Sunday, marking the beginning of Holy Week in the Christian calendar. These are some of the most significant days of the church year. The blessing and procession of palms reenacts the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. During Holy Week, we focus intensely on Jesus’ last days, his execution, his burial, and finally, with Easter Sunday, his resurrection.

Today is the Fifth Sunday in Lent. Lent is the season in which we anticipate Jesus’ final trip to Jerusalem and the self-giving nature of love shown in his passion and death. The season begins with Ash Wednesday and extends for forty days through Saturday of Holy Week. Sundays are excluded from Lent, being regarded as feast days in the midst of the forty-day fast. Lent is a strongly penitential season. The liturgical color is purple, used to symbolize penance, preparation, sacrifice.