Joannie WatsonI heard someone point out once that most of us generally celebrate two seasons – Lent and not-Lent. When Lent rolls around, we have the sense that we need to make a plan. How often we hear the week before Lent from someone: “I need to decide what I’m going to do for Lent.” We decide to live the season of Lent intentionally, to some degree. Then after the forty days are over, we celebrate Easter Sunday and go back to our regularly-scheduled programming. We rarely celebrate the season of Easter, and we will revisit things the following year when it comes time for Lent again.

Yet the Church sets out several seasons for us, not just Lent. The liturgical calendar, the calendar by which the Church prays and lives, has a purpose. We need to get back to living the liturgical calendar, as counter-cultural as it may be sometimes. …