Liturgical Communications Calendar

The flagship Pillar 2 download. A printable, fillable planning tool that treats the liturgical year as the primary organising principle for parish communications.

Designed to be used once per year in a dedicated planning afternoon, usually in late November or early Advent as the new liturgical year approaches. Reread and updated at the start of each major season. Pinned to the wall of the parish office.

The template is thirteen pages. Each page stands alone as a useful artefact. The curator can print the whole thing, or only the pages she needs for the current season. An optional spreadsheet version supports parishes that prefer digital planning alongside the printed calendar.

THE TEMPLATE

[To be rendered as a thirteen-page PDF, A4 portrait (except page 2, which is A3 landscape for wall mounting). Clean typography, plenty of white space for hand-written planning. Parish name and crest placeholder on each page. True Light Digital attribution in footer.]

PAGE 1: FRONT MATTER AND INSTRUCTIONS

Liturgical Communications Calendar

Parish of [parish name]

Liturgical year: [e.g., Year A, 2026-2027]

Curator: [name]

Date first completed: [date]

About this calendar

This planning tool treats the liturgical year as the primary organising principle for your parish’s communications. It is not a Google Calendar. It is not a content schedule. It is a way of naming, in advance, how your parish’s communications will breathe with the Church’s own rhythm over the coming year.

It exists because parish communications planned week by week tend to produce flat output at constant volume, regardless of whether the Church is inhaling or exhaling. Communications planned by season tend to produce varied, timely, pastorally attentive content that readers can actually feel the shape of.

How to use this calendar

Fill it in slowly, over several sittings. Not all at once. The full planning exercise is probably three to four afternoons over a few weeks. Pages 3 to 10 (the season pages) are each their own planning exercise. Page 2 is the wall-mounted overview.

Start with Page 2. Print it at A3 if possible. Pin it to the wall of your parish office. This is your year at a glance.

Work through the season pages in order. The order matters. Each season’s editorial register is shaped partly by the one that precedes it. Think of it as planning a piece of music, not a spreadsheet.

Come back to this calendar at the start of each season. What you drafted in Advent planning for Eastertide may need adjustment by the time Eastertide actually arrives. That is normal. The calendar is a living document.

Do an end-of-year review on page 13. In late November next year, before you start the next year’s calendar, spend an hour reflecting on what worked and what did not. That review is what makes next year’s calendar better than this year’s.

If you are new to this way of planning

It may feel strange at first. You may find yourself drawn back to weekly thinking. That is fine. Allow yourself time to get used to it. After one full liturgical year of planning this way, most curators report that they cannot imagine going back.

The Pillar 2 cornerstone essay (Rhythm & Restraint) explains the underlying reasoning. If you have not read it, a quiet hour with it before you start this calendar will make the calendar work better. The essay is available free at truelight.digital/formation/rhythm-and-restraint/.

PAGE 2: THE YEAR AT A GLANCE

[To be rendered A3 landscape, designed for wall mounting. A single-page visual calendar showing all the seasons of the liturgical year with their approximate durations and major feasts marked. Designed to be filled in by hand with parish-specific events throughout the year.]

The Liturgical Year: [Year and span, e.g., Advent 2026 to Advent 2027]

The seasons at a glance

Major feasts to mark on the wall calendar

Universal: – Epiphany – Baptism of the Lord – Presentation of the Lord (2 February) – Annunciation (25 March) – Sacred Heart of Jesus – Corpus Christi – Transfiguration (6 August) – Assumption (15 August) – All Saints (1 November) – Immaculate Conception (8 December)

Parish-specific (fill in): – Patronal feast: ____________________ (date) – Parish anniversary: ____________________ (date) – Parish-chosen saint or devotion: ____________________ (date) – Local or diocesan feast: ____________________ (date)

Your parish’s major events (fill in with approximate dates)

First Holy Communion:
Confirmation:
Parish retreat or mission:
Parish bazaar or fundraising event:
Parish trip or pilgrimage:
Other significant annual events:

PAGES 3 THROUGH 10: SEASON-BY-SEASON PLANNING

Each page below follows the same structure. The curator uses each page to plan one season in depth, and each page stands alone as a wall-pinnable reference for that specific season as it unfolds.

PAGE 3: ADVENT

The breath: Advent is an inhalation. The Church is drawing in, waiting, preparing. Your communications should slow, deepen, and narrow.

Editorial register: fewer items, richer ones. Quiet typography. White space. Language that honours the season of expectation rather than rushing toward Christmas.

Content that fits Advent:

Penance service announcement (publish twice: two weeks before, then the week of)
Advent wreath lighting schedule or reflection
Weekly short reflection on the Sunday Gospel
Parish Advent initiative (charity drive, food bank, Jesse Tree, etc.)
Christmas Mass times (publish from the First Sunday of Advent; update weekly)
Carol service or Lessons and Carols invitation
Invitation to the sacrament of reconciliation

Content to hold back in Advent:

Non-urgent appeals and fundraising (unless Advent-framed)
General parish business that can wait until after Christmas
New initiative launches (Advent is not the moment)
Year-end reviews or secular New Year content (too early)
Content that competes with the spiritual depth of the season

Your parish’s Advent plans (fill in):

Week 1 main piece: _______________________________________

Week 2 main piece: _______________________________________

Week 3 main piece: _______________________________________

Week 4 main piece: _______________________________________

Standing content to run each week: ________________________

Reflection for Advent: What is this season asking our parish to communicate, and what is it asking us not to communicate?

___________________________________________________________

PAGE 4: CHRISTMAS OCTAVE AND CHRISTMASTIDE

The breath: Christmas is the held breath. The Church is holding the fullness at the top of the Advent inhalation. Parishes often exhaust themselves with production in the run-up and then fall silent between Christmas Day and New Year, which is almost exactly wrong.

Editorial register: warm, short, consistent presence through the Octave. Less is more, but not absent.

Content that fits the Christmas Octave:

Christmas Day Mass times (published and republished)
A warm Christmas message from the priest
Feast of the Holy Family (Sunday within the Octave)
Mary, Mother of God (1 January)
Epiphany
The Baptism of the Lord (end of Christmastide)
Short daily or near-daily presence on social media with seasonal imagery

Content to hold back in the Christmas Octave:

Secular New Year resolutions framing
Rushing into Ordinary Time content before the season ends
Complex operational announcements (let the Octave breathe)

Your parish’s Christmas plans (fill in):

Christmas Day: _______________________________________

Octave days presence: _______________________________________

Holy Family Sunday: _______________________________________

Mary, Mother of God: _______________________________________

Epiphany: _______________________________________

Baptism of the Lord: _______________________________________

Reflection for Christmastide: How will our parish be present to readers during the Octave, when most of the world has moved on?

___________________________________________________________

PAGE 5: ORDINARY TIME AFTER CHRISTMAS

The breath: The exhale is beginning. The Church is returning to ordinary rhythm, but with the memory of Christmas still fresh. In most years this is a shorter season, cut off by the approach of Lent.

Editorial register: normal cadence returning, but without the depth of the high seasons. Clear, calm, pastorally attentive.

Content that fits this Ordinary Time:

Return to normal bulletin cadence
Any new year initiatives that need introducing can begin to surface now
Parish catechetical offerings (Bible study, RCIA progression, faith formation)
Gentle introduction of Lent preparation content in the final weeks
Standing ministry updates

Content to hold back:

Trying to sustain the intensity of the Christmas season
Heavy spiritual content inappropriate to the register of Ordinary Time
Rushing into Lent before the season arrives

Your parish’s plans (fill in):

Main themes for this short season: _______________________________________

New initiatives to introduce: _______________________________________

Lent preparation begins on: _______________________________________

Reflection: What is the right level of communication for this in-between season?

___________________________________________________________

PAGE 6: LENT

The breath: A deeper inhalation than Advent. Forty days. The Church draws in more slowly, more seriously, preparing for the Triduum.

Editorial register: weighted, spiritually grounded, longer-form content allowed. The parish’s communications take on substance.

Content that fits Lent:

Stations of the Cross schedule and invitation
Fridays of Lent (abstinence, fish suppers, parish Lenten meals)
Lenten almsgiving focus (CAFOD, Trócaire, or local equivalent)
Lenten spiritual reading recommendations
RCIA progress (Rite of Election, scrutinies, approach to the Easter Vigil)
Weekly reflection on the Sunday Gospel
Invitation to the sacrament of reconciliation
Preparation for Holy Week
Parish Lenten initiative (day of recollection, mission, or similar)

Content to hold back in Lent:

Celebratory content that does not fit the season
Fundraising appeals unless spiritually framed
Parish social committee heavy promotion
Anything that competes with the spiritual weight of the season

Your parish’s Lenten plans (fill in):

Ash Wednesday: _______________________________________

Week 1: _______________________________________

Week 2: _______________________________________

Week 3: _______________________________________

Week 4: _______________________________________

Week 5 (leading to Holy Week): _______________________________________

Parish Lenten initiative: _______________________________________

Reflection: How will our parish help its people enter Lent deeply rather than observe it superficially?

___________________________________________________________

PAGE 7: HOLY WEEK AND THE TRIDUUM

The breath: The held breath at its fullest. This is the holiest week of the year. Your communications should be minimal and precise.

Editorial register: reverent, quiet, sparse. Short sentences. Plenty of white space. The visual register should signal to the reader that the Church is in a sacred week.

Content that fits Holy Week:

Triduum Mass times (published a fortnight in advance, reconfirmed the week before)
Explicit, warm invitation to the Easter Vigil
Invitation to confession (once, warmly, with times the priest is available)
A short prayer resource for the week (Stations, Triduum reflection, or simple prayer guide)
Easter Sunday Mass times

Content to hold back in Holy Week:

Any appeal for money not framed as part of the season
Hall bookings, social committee updates, non-urgent operational content
New initiative launches
Upcoming summer events (they can wait a week)
“Easter is coming” countdown content that turns the week into a marketing moment

Your parish’s Holy Week plans (fill in):

Palm Sunday: _______________________________________

Chrism Mass (if applicable): _______________________________________

Holy Thursday: _______________________________________

Good Friday: _______________________________________

Holy Saturday (Vigil): _______________________________________

Easter Sunday: _______________________________________

Communications during the Triduum itself (recommended: minimal presence): ________________

Reflection: What does our parish’s silence during Holy Week communicate that our speech could not?

___________________________________________________________

PAGE 8: EASTER AND EASTERTIDE

The breath: The breath releasing. Fifty days of it. Protestants often mark Easter for a week and move on; Catholics hold it for seven weeks, and the parish’s communications should too.

Editorial register: joyful, confident, inviting. The Alleluia is back. The content can be longer, warmer, more generous.

Content that fits Eastertide:

Easter Octave content (the first eight days treated as one extended feast)
Weekly reflection on the Resurrection appearances
Divine Mercy Sunday (Second Sunday of Easter)
RCIA neophytes (those baptised at the Vigil) welcomed and named
First Holy Communion (often falls in Eastertide)
Ascension Thursday or Sunday (depending on diocese)
Preparation for Pentecost
Month of Mary (May) content
Rogation Days (if observed in your parish)

Content to hold back:

Returning to Ordinary Time too soon; do not let Eastertide collapse after one week
Heavy operational content that breaks the register of the season

Your parish’s Eastertide plans (fill in):

Easter Octave: _______________________________________

Divine Mercy Sunday: _______________________________________

First Holy Communion: _______________________________________

Ascension: _______________________________________

Weeks leading to Pentecost: _______________________________________

Pentecost: _______________________________________

Reflection: How will our parish sustain the joy of Easter across fifty days, without it becoming routine?

___________________________________________________________

PAGE 9: PENTECOST AND ORDINARY TIME RETURNING

The breath: The settling of the breath after the great release of Easter. The Spirit has been given. The Church returns to her ordinary work, now Spirit-commissioned.

Editorial register: normal cadence resumed. The parish’s life in longer form. This is where sustained projects, appeals, and new initiatives can live.

Content that fits this early Ordinary Time:

Pentecost and its Octave where observed
Trinity Sunday
Corpus Christi (procession where possible)
Sacred Heart of Jesus
Summer catechetical offerings (Bible study, lectio divina, book groups)
Parish long-term projects (building works, pastoral planning, finance reports)
Upcoming annual events (parish trip, summer bazaar, autumn programme)

Content to hold back:

Hyperventilation; the temptation to manufacture intensity because the big seasons have ended
Trying to replicate Easter’s joy in every weekly bulletin

Your parish’s plans (fill in):

Pentecost: _______________________________________

Trinity Sunday: _______________________________________

Corpus Christi: _______________________________________

Sacred Heart: _______________________________________

Summer offerings: _______________________________________

Reflection: How will our parish settle into the long stretch of Ordinary Time with rhythm rather than exhaustion?

___________________________________________________________

PAGE 10: LATE ORDINARY TIME AND CHRIST THE KING

The breath: A slight deepening as the liturgical year draws toward its end. The Gospels turn to the last things. The Church begins, gently, to prepare for Advent.

Editorial register: reflective, slightly weighted, hopeful. The year is ending; Advent is coming.

Content that fits this season:

Month of the Holy Souls (November)
All Saints (1 November) and All Souls (2 November)
Remembrance themes where locally appropriate
Christ the King as the crown of the year
Parish annual report and year-end financial matters
Advent preparation in the final weeks
Gentle signalling that the new liturgical year is approaching

Content to hold back:

Treating this as a dead zone; it has its own character
Rushing into Advent before Christ the King has been observed

Your parish’s plans (fill in):

All Saints: _______________________________________

All Souls: _______________________________________

Other November themes: _______________________________________

Christ the King: _______________________________________

Advent preparation: _______________________________________

Reflection: How will our parish close one liturgical year well so that the next one can begin well?

___________________________________________________________

PAGE 11: PARISH-SPECIFIC FEASTS AND EVENTS

This page is for the feasts and events that belong to your parish specifically, alongside the universal calendar. These need their own planning because they cross seasons in ways that generic templates cannot anticipate.

Patronal feast

Date: _______________________________________

Liturgical season it falls in: _______________________________________

How the parish observes it: _______________________________________

Communications plan:

Lead-up (one month before): _______________________________________
Week of: _______________________________________
Day of: _______________________________________
Aftermath: _______________________________________

Parish anniversary

Date: _______________________________________

Significance (e.g., dedication, founding, patronal anniversary): _______________________________________

Communications plan: _______________________________________

Parish-chosen devotions

Does your parish have a particular devotion (Divine Mercy, Sacred Heart, Our Lady under a specific title, a local saint)? How does this intersect with the universal calendar?

_______________________________________

Major annual parish events

For each, note the liturgical season it falls in and the communications implications:

First Holy Communion: _______________________________________
Confirmation: _______________________________________
Parish retreat or mission: _______________________________________
Parish bazaar / major fundraiser: _______________________________________
Parish trip or pilgrimage: _______________________________________
Other: _______________________________________

PAGE 12: ANNUAL EDITORIAL INTENTIONS

This page is for the curator and priest to name, together, three to five intentions for the year ahead. Not goals in a corporate sense. Intentions. What the parish is hoping to serve through its communications this liturgical year.

Intentions might include pastoral emphases (reaching bereaved parishioners, welcoming newcomers, supporting young families), communications improvements (better integration with safeguarding, more consistent seasonal register, reducing bulletin length), or specific initiatives (a year-long catechetical series, a focus on a particular devotion).