The start of a new liturgical year, beginning with the first Sunday of Advent, also marks the transition from one lectionary cycle (A, B, or C) to the next.
These cycles are a result of the Second Vatican Council, which ordered a change in the Sunday readings at Mass so that Catholics would become more familiar with the text of the Bible. As a result we now have a three-year cycle of readings built around readings from the three synoptic Gospels—Matthew, Mark, and Luke.
In this section you can find information and activities related to each cycle: