Observance of the Church year is among the many reasons that Catholicism makes more sense to me than did the Protestant evangelical tradition from which I converted. The liturgical calendar was not the cause of my conversion, though I now understand that it is inseparable from the theology that drew me to the Church. (Other Christian traditions follow a fixed liturgical calendar, after all, but otherwise differ in substantial ways.)
When I entered the Church, in fact, I don’t remember having any particular appreciation for the pace and meaning of the ecclesial year. Since my conversion some three decades ago, however, the rhythm of the seasons is among the more satisfying and edifying aspects of being Catholic. The liturgical year provides the order and purpose to prayer and worship that is missing in the make-it-up-as-you-go style of evangelicalism.
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