The Liturgical Year

At St Hugh of Lincoln Catholic Primary School, our prayer and liturgy follow the seasons of the Church's Liturgical Year. Through these seasons, children grow in their understanding of God's love and the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The Liturgical Year begins with Advent and concludes with the Feast of Christ the King. Throughout the year we celebrate and pray through the seasons of:

• Advent
• Christmas
• Lent
• Easter
• Ordinary Time

These seasons help children encounter the key events of salvation history and deepen their relationship with Christ through prayer, scripture and worship.

Liturgical Colours

The colours used in church and within our school prayer spaces help us to recognise the different seasons of the Church year:

• Purple - Advent and Lent
• White - Christmas, Easter and special feast days
• Green - Ordinary Time
• Red - Palm Sunday, Good Friday, Pentecost and the feasts of martyrs
• Rose - Gaudete Sunday and Laetare Sunday

Our class prayer tables and whole-school prayer spaces are updated throughout the year to reflect these liturgical seasons and celebrations.

The Rosary

As a school community, we have a special devotion to Our Lady and regularly pray the Rosary, particularly during the months of October and May.

The Rosary helps us to reflect on important moments in the lives of Jesus and Mary through prayer and meditation. Children are introduced to the Rosary in an age-appropriate way and are encouraged to use it as a form of personal and communal prayer.

The Twenty Mysteries

The Joyful Mysteries

• The Annunciation: The Archangel Gabriel “announces” to Mary that she shall conceive the Son of God.
• The Visitation: Mary visits her cousin Elizabeth, who is pregnant with John the Baptist.
• The Nativity: Jesus is born.
• The Presentation: Mary and Joseph “present” Jesus in the Temple where they meet Simeon.
• The Finding in the Temple: After losing Him, Mary and Joseph find young Jesus teaching the Rabbis in the Temple.

The Luminous Mysteries

• The Baptism in the Jordan: The voice of the Father declares Jesus the beloved Son.
• The Wedding at Cana: Christ changes water into wine, his first public miracle.
• The Proclamation of the Kingdom: Jesus calls to conversion (cf. Mk 1:15) and forgives the sins of all who draw near to him.
• The Transfiguration: The glory of the Godhead shines forth from the face of Christ.
• The Institution of the Eucharist: Jesus offers the first Mass at the Last Supper with his apostles, establishing the sacramental foundation for all Christian living.

The Sorrowful Mysteries

• The Agony in the Garden: Jesus sweats water and blood while praying the night before his passion.
• The Scourging at the Pillar: Pilate has Jesus whipped.
• The Crowning with Thorns: Roman soldiers crown Jesus’ head with thorns.
• The Carrying of the Cross: Jesus meets His mother and falls three times on the way up Calvary.
• The Crucifixion: Jesus is nailed to the cross and dies before His mother and His apostle John.

The Glorious Mysteries

• The Resurrection: Jesus rises from the dead.
• The Ascension: Jesus leaves the Apostles and bodily “ascends” to heaven.
• The Descent of the Holy Spirit: The Apostles receive the Holy Spirit in tongues of fire in the upper room with Mary.
• The Assumption: Mary is taken bodily–assumed–into heaven
• The coronation of Mary as Queen of Heaven and Earth.