As we return to St. Benedict Classical Academy this month, I find joy, hope, and comfort in our Catholic Liturgical Calendar. Opening a brand-new standard Gregorian calendar to January 2026 certainly leads many people to ponder the past year or to make resolutions for the twelve months ahead. As SBCA students and teachers, we returned to school immersed in the pure joy of the Christmas Season and at the beginning of a new Liturgical Year. The feasts of the Epiphany and the Baptism of the Lord bring such gifts to our liturgical journey throughout the Church year. In November, the Holy Father announced a 2026 Year of Grace, calling us to repentance, renewal, and hope. This month also marked the conclusion of the Jubilee Year of Hope, celebrated from December 24, 2024, through January 6, 2026.
When my fifth graders helped hang our new liturgical calendar in the classroom, we looked ahead with excitement to all that is to come this year. Some students even noticed when they will become middle schoolers in the later part of this Ordinary Time! One chapter in our religion textbook, titled In the Fullness of Time, leads us to reflect on what God tells us about time and our need for the virtue of patience. As we recalled the impatience of God’s people while awaiting the Messiah, we considered how difficult it must have been to wait, examining the words of the prophets and trusting in God even in such hardship. How blessed we are to know Jesus as our Savior and to have time to worship Him.
As we return to school in the joy of the Christmas Season and the Feast of the Epiphany, we are blessed to gaze upon images of the infant Jesus all around us. We are reminded of how He humbled Himself to come to us as a newborn baby. When we consider the many ways time shapes our lives through calendars and schedules, Scripture offers us wisdom: “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90). These words remind us that time is a gift from God and should be used intentionally. While calendars and schedules are earthly constructs, we live in hope of eternal life. As 2 Peter 3:8 reminds us, to the Lord “one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”
As we conclude the joyful Christmas Season and move into Ordinary Time, may we continue to strive to begin each day with purpose. Whether “time passes slowly” as Luke says for Mary’s waiting in his Infancy Narrative of Jesus, or time passes so quickly that our students exclaim, “It is Friday already!”, we are blessed to trust that God has a plan for each of our days.
AUTHOR: Kristin Roberto, Grade 5 Teacher
