Making the Urban Monastic Calendar

Following a liturgical calendar invites us into Jesus’s full life every year. The seasons help us appreciate the waves and seasons of our own lives. The broad strokes of most Calendars are the same. They vary with the individuals lives & moments that are commemorated.

The calendar impacts portions of the Divine Office. Each season and day can prompt us to reflect in different ways. Urban Monasticism does not celebrate church services or mass. This means that Urban Monastics needs to have a liturgical calendar. An initial version of our calendar is now in place.

Of all the work we will undertake, this is likely the project that will be most challenging. This challenge stems from our ecumenical commitment. Our calendar will likely leave everyone a bit disappointed. We believe it is important to have a shared calendar. Our hope is that everyone can appreciate our calendar, and we can share it together.

Our goal is to see a simplified calendar. It is a calendar for individuals from diverse backgrounds to find valuable, engaging, and enriching. Due to our focus on the Monastic tradition, we have a strong preference for celebrating people out of this tradition. You will see that we also have focused on historic individuals or groups. It includes 15 solemnities, 20 feasts, and 37 memorials.

We invite you to add commemorations. They may be personally meaningful, valued in your tradition, or of local importance. May you have a rich and meaningful personal devotional life. We will provide liturgies for celebrations well beyond what is included on our calendar. Supporting many of these within our breviary (online and in print). If there are people you feel should be amongst our celebrations, please let us know.

The process of building our calendar

We began first with the Roman General calendar. Many the commemorations from that calendar appear in our own. This may make some of our protestant members initially uncomfortable. I encourage you to look into the individuals who are being remembered. They are people who have laid foundations we all benefit from today. Most of whom lived well before the time of the reformation and are a part of our shared history.

From the New Testament Narratives

There are only a few commemorations on our calendar that are event based. These are exclusively drawn from key points in the New Testament narratives. These are births, conceptions, deaths, resurrection, ascensions, and Pentecost. In addition, there are some days that celebrate aspects of Jesus or of the cross itself. Each of these days gives us time each year to rest in these moments.

Focusing on People

Our calendar focuses on people. Across the long, wide, and rich history of the Church there are many worth celebrating. To focus our calendar, we have the following preferences:

Apostles and Early Church Leaders
Influential Monastics and Mendicants
The Doctors of the Church
A lasting ecclesial legacy

We have added a feast for the founding of Urban Monasticism (1 December). Beyond this, we want to be slow to add contemporary individuals. History often changes how we understanding the impact individuals had on the Church.

Depending on your liturgical tradition, there are celebrations for consecrations, and other things. Those are not found on our calendar. There is an intentional and explicit focus on individuals.

Including individuals from other traditions

There are more traditions to consider as we move through history towards today. Dates have traditionally fallen to the date of an individual’s death (when known). You will see that Martin Luther has a Memorial on 18 February. He was an easy choice to include. He spent time as an Augustinian Friar, and the role in leading the Protestant Reformation. Today you will see no more Protestants included.

It is unfortunate that Protestantism almost exclusively moved past monasticism. This leaves out many people notable for their theological or evangelistic impact. These people would fall outside our preferences to include. The exception would be for Doctors of the Church, but this is a very short list and does not include protestants.

Initial Commemorations

These are listed by type, and then by chronological order from December through November. Those which are optional have it indicated following their name.

Commemorations marked with a ‘*’ do not have a fixed date, and the dates given are for the 2023 Liturgical Year.

Seasons

For the sake of completeness, we have included the liturgical seasons included on the calendar.

Advent
Christmastide
Ordinary Time
Lent
Eastertide
Ordinary Time

Solemnities

Feasts

Memorials

Photo Credit
Paul Prins on 27 April 2023 in New York City.

Written By

Paul Prins

I’m trying to live an honest, holistic, and integrated life in Paris, France. I believe the way we live flows out of the deep well of what we believe and value. Monastic practices like fasting, contemplation, and the prayers help ground me in my faith, and inspire me to be actively present with God throughout my days.