Pope Leo is often using his weekly General Audience to explore themes from the Second Vatican Council. On August 12, 2026, he looked at the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (CSL) chapter 5 on the Liturgical Year.
Pope Leo reminds us that the Liturgical Year is not just remembering historical events in the life of Jesus. It is rather our participation in the saving work of Christ now as well as then. He states: “The encounter with Jesus, who died and rose again for us, is the purpose that the Church always pursues, placing the celebration of the Paschal event at the center of every moment.”
The CSL teaches that Sunday, the day of the Resurrection, is the Lord’s Day, the preeminent day of the week on which Christians “must gather together into one place so that; by hearing the word of God and taking part in the eucharist, they may call to mind the passion, the resurrection and the glorification of the Lord Jesus” and may give their thanks to God. It also states that Sunday is the “foundation and core of the whole liturgical year.” (#106)
The way we celebrate Sunday is by our participation in the Mass along with a community of believers. In the Mass we give glory to God and we grow in holiness through studying the Word and receiving the Eucharist, becoming Christ in the world. The Mass invites us to work for peace and justice for all of creation.
Pope Leo quotes Pope John Paul II: “Since Sunday is the weekly Easter, recalling and making present the day upon which Christ rose from the dead, it is also the day which reveals the meaning of time. … Springing from the Resurrection, it cuts through human time, the months, the years, the centuries, like a directional arrow which points them towards their target: Christ’s Second Coming.” (Apostolic Letter, Dies Domini, 1998). It “reveals the meaning of time” which is the heavenly liturgy.
Over time, the Liturgical Year evolved into the Incarnation Season of Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany and the Paschal Season of Lent, Triduum, Easter, and Pentecost, times when we concentrate on established aspects of the Paschal Mystery. The rest of the year is Ordinary Time in which we can focus on any feature of salvation history and the life of Christ.
Pope Leo ended the audience with these words: “The liturgical year thus repeats, in sacramental form, the teaching of the history of salvation, guiding the faithful from the expectation of the Messiah to the fullness of the Paschal Mystery and to the anticipation of future glory.”
For reflection: How do you make holy the Lord’s Day?