The Church Year, 2025: November

CHRISTMAS SEASON: ​ During this season or Christmastide, we celebrate the birth of Christ into our world and into our hearts and reflect on the gift of salvation that is born with him, including the fact that he was born to die for us.

​The Christmas tree and the Nativity scene are popular symbols of the season and a tradition in many Christian homes. It is also traditional to exchange Christmas gifts with family and friends to honor God the Father's gift of his only son to the world. Having received the gift of Christ, we naturally want to pass that gift along to our loved ones.

For the Church, liturgical Christmas Season starts on Christmas Day, which begins not at midnight of 25 December, but with the celebration of Mass (Vigil Mass) following sunset on Christmas Eve. This follows the ancient Jewish way of keeping liturgical time. The end of Christmastide is marked by the celebration of the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, which falls on the Sunday after the Feast of the Epiphany (usually the second Sunday of January). Ordinary Time begins the day after the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. For Year A 2025-2026, the Feast of the Epiphany is celebrated on 8 January 2026, and Baptism of the Lord on 11 January. This usually gives us a Christmas season of around 20 days or so.

​In the older tradition, before the Second Vatican Council, the Christmas season lasted a whole 40 days, echoing the 40 days of Lent. The liturgical calendar of the Extraordinary Form of the Mass still celebrates an extended Christmas, so modern-day Latin Mass-goers will find themselves in the Christmas season until 2 February, the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord.

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(Ref. Salt+Light Media; USCCB.org)

Click here for 2026 Catholic Feast Days.

First Reading – Numbers 6:22-27: God commands Moses to instruct Aaron and his sons to bless Israel with divine protection, grace, favor, and peace, ensuring God’s blessings upon His people through them.
Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8: May God’s merciful blessing and radiant presence make His ways and salvation known globally, leading nations in justice and guidance, inspiring universal praise and reverence.
Second Reading – Galatians 4:4-7: In time’s fullness, God sent His Son to ransom us, granting us adoption as children. With His Spirit in our hearts, we are no longer slaves but heirs of God.
Gospel – Luke 2:16-21: The shepherds, guided by the angel’s message, hurried to Bethlehem and found Jesus with Mary and Joseph. They shared the angelic revelation about the child, astounding all listeners. Mary treasured these events in her heart. The shepherds departed, praising God for the truth of their divine encounter. Jesus was named on the eighth day, as the angel had instructed before His birth.  

(Ref: click here: Young Catholics)

Prayer
We fly to your protection,
O Holy Mother of God;
Do not despise our petitions
in our necessities,
but deliver us always
from every danger,
O Glorious and Blessed Virgin.
(Ancient Marian Prayer)