LITURGICAL COLOURS

You may have noticed that the altar colours (and clergy vestments and choir scarves) have been changing colour quite frequently lately. Red is used at Pentecost and saints’ days; gold and white are celebratory colours and are used at Easter, Christmas and Trinity; purple represents penance and preparation and is used during Advent and Lent; and green represents ‘ordinary time’ and is worn during the spring and summer months, symbolising growth, the journey of faith, life and hope. ‘Ordinary time’ might not seem an adequate term to describe such a momentous season, but the colour green is entirely appropriate, as all around us, including hopefully our faith, grows and develops.