08/29/2026
Did you know there are different types of Sundays celebrated by the Holy Catholic Church?
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THE TYPES OF SUNDAY
WHY NOT ALL CATHOLIC SUNDAYS ARE THE SAME
When Catholics hear “Sunday,” we naturally think of Holy Mass, the Eucharist and a day of rest. But look at the Church’s liturgical calendar and you will discover that Sundays do not all have the same character. There is an Advent Sunday, a Sunday of Lent, an Easter Sunday and a Sunday in Ordinary Time. Some Sundays also coincide with major solemnities.
So what makes one Sunday different from another?
1. EVERY SUNDAY IS THE LORD’S DAY
Before talking about the different seasons, we need to understand what every Sunday has in common. Sunday is the day on which the Church celebrates the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and the Paschal Mystery. It is not simply the first day of the week or a convenient day for attending Mass. It is the fundamental weekly celebration of the Christian faith.
The Second Vatican Council calls Sunday the “original feast day” and the “foundation and kernel of the whole liturgical year.” The Church therefore gathers on Sunday to hear God’s Word, participate in the Eucharist and remember Christ’s Passion, Resurrection and glorification.
That is why Sunday is much more than simply “the day we go to church.”
It is the Lord’s Day.
2. SUNDAYS OF ADVENT
The four Sundays of Advent belong to the season in which the Church prepares for the celebration of Christ’s Nativity while also directing our hearts toward His promised coming.
The readings and prayers of these Sundays therefore have a distinctive character of expectation, preparation, conversion and hope.
Advent does not simply say, “Christmas is coming.”
It teaches us to prepare to meet Christ.
The four Sundays lead us progressively toward the celebration of the mystery of the Incarnation, while also reminding us that Christians await the Lord’s final coming.
3. SUNDAYS OF CHRISTMAS TIME
The Christmas season continues beyond Christmas Day, and its Sundays help the Church contemplate the mystery of Christ’s coming in the flesh.
Depending on how the calendar falls in a particular year, these celebrations may include the Feast of the Holy Family, the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God, the Epiphany, and the Baptism of the Lord.
The emphasis moves from waiting for Christ to contemplating the mystery of God who has actually come among us.
Christmas, therefore, is not merely one day on the calendar. The Church gives an entire season in which to celebrate and contemplate the mystery of the Incarnation.
4. SUNDAYS OF LENT
The Sundays of Lent have a distinctive penitential and preparatory character as the Church journeys toward the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Christ.
There are five Sundays of Lent before Palm Sunday and Holy Week.
These Sundays help us enter more deeply into the themes of conversion, repentance, faith, baptism and discipleship, preparing us for the celebration of the Paschal Mystery.
And there is something interesting here: although Lent is penitential, Sundays themselves remain celebrations of the Resurrection. Sunday never ceases to be the Lord’s Day.
The penitential character of Lent therefore does not turn Sunday into a day of mourning. Rather, even during Lent, the Church continues to celebrate Christ’s victory.
5. SUNDAYS OF EASTER TIME
If Lent leads us toward the Paschal Mystery, Easter leads us into its celebration.
The Sundays of Easter Time proclaim the Resurrection of Christ and continue the Church’s celebration of His victory over sin and death.
The Easter Season lasts fifty days, from Easter Sunday until Pentecost, and the Sundays within it progressively unfold the meaning of the Resurrection, Christ’s appearances, His Ascension and the coming of the Holy Spirit.
The Church therefore does not treat Easter Sunday as an isolated celebration.
The Resurrection is so central to Christian faith that the Church gives an entire season to celebrating it.
6. SUNDAYS IN ORDINARY TIME
Then we come to what many Catholics might think of as the “normal” Sundays: the Sundays of Ordinary Time.
But “Ordinary” does not mean unimportant, boring or less holy.
The term refers to the ordered numbering of the Sundays and the period outside the major seasons of Advent, Christmas, Lent and Easter.
Unlike Advent, Lent and Easter, Ordinary Time does not have one single distinctive seasonal theme. Instead, the Sunday readings progressively lead us through the Gospel and allow us to encounter the mystery of Christ throughout His public ministry and teaching.
This is why you can hear one Sunday about forgiveness, another about the Kingdom of God, another about the Eucharist and another about discipleship.
Ordinary Time is not “ordinary” because nothing special is happening.
Christ is still being revealed.
7. SOME SUNDAYS HAVE SPECIAL CELEBRATIONS
There is another important detail.
A Sunday can also coincide with a major celebration of the Lord, the Blessed Virgin Mary or a Saint.
Examples include Trinity Sunday, the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, the Solemnity of Christ the King, and other celebrations that may occur on Sunday according to the liturgical calendar.
The Church has specific rules determining which celebration takes precedence when more than one celebration falls on the same day. Sundays themselves have a very high place in the hierarchy of liturgical days, and only celebrations of truly great importance take precedence over them.
So not every Sunday is simply “the next Sunday of Ordinary Time.”
Sometimes the calendar gives that Sunday a particular celebration and character.
8. WHY DOES THIS MATTER?
Understanding the different Sundays helps us understand why the Church changes the readings, prayers, colours and spiritual emphasis throughout the year.
The Sunday of Advent prepares us.
The Sunday of Lent calls us to conversion.
The Sunday of Easter proclaims the Resurrection.
The Sunday of Ordinary Time continues our journey through the Gospel.
And a Sunday celebrating a solemnity draws our attention to a particular mystery of Christ or a major truth of the faith.
Yet beneath all these differences is one reality:
EVERY SUNDAY LEADS US BACK TO CHRIST.
The Church’s liturgical year is not simply a calendar of religious events. It is a journey through the mysteries of Christ, and Sunday is at the centre of that journey.
THE SIMPLEST WAY TO REMEMBER IT
ADVENT SUNDAYS
We prepare for Christ.
CHRISTMAS-TIME SUNDAYS
We celebrate Christ who has come.
LENTEN SUNDAYS
We journey with Christ toward His Passion.
EASTER SUNDAYS
We celebrate Christ risen in glory.
ORDINARY-TIME SUNDAYS
We continue to encounter Christ through His life and teaching.
SPECIAL SUNDAYS & SOLEMNITIES
We celebrate particular mysteries of Christ, Mary or the Saints according to the liturgical calendar.
Different Sundays.
Different seasons.
Different emphases.
But one Lord. One Eucharist. One Paschal Mystery.
And that is why, in the Catholic Church, Sunday is never just another day of the week.
SOURCES
*Sacred Scripture: Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2; Revelation 1:10; Luke 24:1–35; John 20:1–29.
*Second Vatican Council, Sacrosanctum Concilium, 106: Sunday as the Lord’s Day and the “foundation and kernel” of the liturgical year.
*General Instruction of the Roman Missal, 354, 357: the liturgical treatment and readings assigned to Sundays and the major seasons.
*Congregation for Divine Worship, Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy, 94–95 — the liturgical year and the central place of Sunday.
Be Prayerful. Be Inspired.
©Catholic Dailies
