RORATE CÆLI: “The Illustrated Liturgical Year Calendar”

Set 1, Poster 1: Advent

It would be impossible to put into a single place all the good news I have seen or heard since the release of the infamous motu proprio that will tarnish this pontificate forever. Yes, there has been bad news, too, and I have no intention of downplaying it. But it seems that hardly a day passes without more indications of the unintended side-effects of this attempted suppression: priests who already offer the TLM resolving more than ever to continue; priests who do not say the TLM now feeling galvanized to start learning it; lay people acquiring churches and properties and making chapels for the future; families redoubling their dedication to the local TLM parish and their catechetical efforts to pass on the traditional faith.

One very positive sign has been the continuing proliferation of outstanding traditional Catholic books and educational materials, to which we have dedicated a number of recent posts at Rorate. Today I wish to share one particularly noteworthy new product, due to be released at the end of October from Sophia Institute Press: The Illustrated Liturgical Year Calendar by Michaela Harrison.

Set 1, Poster 2: Christmas

I learned about this project first from the artist herself, who contacted me some time ago to share her vision for it and to ask for advice on certain liturgical details. To say that I was impressed when I saw her initial conceptual drafts and diagrams would be an understatement. I was positively beside myself with enthusiasm, especially when I received the first poster-sized (18 x 24 inch) calendars in the mail and had the chance to put them up on my wall for evaluation. The richly illuminated, mesmerizingly detailed presentation of the traditional Roman Rite's liturgical calendar, divided across sixteen posters for the entire year, would have been a dream come true for Dom Guéranger, Cardinal Schuster, Fr. Parsch, or any of the great figures of the Liturgical Movement, who would have seen it as an ideal reference point for living more fully the Church's Year of Grace.

It goes without saying that these posters are a must-have for homeschooling families. Each poster is a marvel of visual associations. Not only are the saints drawn with unmistakable traits and symbols, but their connections to the seasons are hinted at. The star of Epiphany's rays shine out to the days on the calendar dedicated to the Lord's Baptism and the Gospel of the wedding feast of Cana, so that the ancient link of these three mysteries can be recognized at a glance. Old Testament symbols are woven in throughout, as on a Jesse Tree. Angels appear in nooks and crannies. The famous words of Christmas carols unfurl on scrolls. The color gold permeates the Epiphany season.

The way it works is simple: you can either buy the sets of posters ad libitum, or you can sign up for a subscription so that every three months you will receive a new set of four posters. The same master design will be used from year to year, with updated calendar dates.

The remainder of the text below is courtesy of the publisher's website. Thank you, Sophia Press and Michaela Harrison, for working diligently together to bring us yet another triumphant success in the unstoppable movement to restore the TLM to its place of honor in every parish, in every home!

Set 1, Poster 3: Epiphany (First Part)

Publisher's Description

Receive four 18x24 fully colored and illustrated liturgical calendar posters each quarter!

There is a treasure trove of riches in the ancient Roman liturgy of the Church. The feasts and fasts, ember days, rogation days, and octaves make for a rising and falling as in the Gregorian Chant. Yet, we have forgotten so much, and it is difficult to recover these traditions in our age of noise and ugliness.

As a small offering to help families and children especially, to see sacred time framed in a beautiful way that calls to mind the mysteries of the faith, Michaela Harrison, her husband and two sisters have worked together to make a set of fully illustrated calendars. These calendars present time not according to the months, but according to the different periods of the liturgical year.

With these calendars, you can 'see' time after Epiphany in a new light, Lent and Advent are framed with wood to remind us of the cross, and the seven weeks of Easter form a week of weeks that you can see all at once. This unique artwork presents in composition, color, and tone the things that Our Mother desires us to meditate on during each season of the year

Each day in the calendars is fully illustrated with the Saint, feast or feria of that day. Themes from the breviary and from Dom Gueranger's The Liturgical Year are woven throughout the imagery for each week. All of the information you need to see is there, fast days, the class of feast and even the color of vestments the priest will wear in the liturgy are available at a glance. The images of the saints are taken from the medieval and classical art traditions and represented together in such a way as to show the communion of the saints in our daily lives. Little nuggets such as the three epiphanies of Our Lord can be seen clearly depicted during the season of Epiphany

These calendars are also a wonderful teaching aid to be used in homes, schools and anywhere the faith is taught.