The Catholic Church Liturgical Year “Puzzle”

This fall I wanted to cover the liturgical year.  In the past I have used this liturgical year calendar and the participants have colored in the spaces (which represent Sundays in the liturgical year) with the color of the vestments the priest will wear.

This year I wanted to do something different — something with more active learning.  I came up with a “puzzle”. (Note: This puzzle is NOT the current liturgical year. My hope with this puzzle is to teach the general flow of the liturgical year — not the specifics for the current year. For the current liturgical year calendar, go to this post.)

This “puzzle” is easy to create and, if you are not very familiar with the liturgical year, a challenge to put together!  It was perfect for my class!  At the end of the class, parents told me that they learned so much about the liturgical year because they had to really think about what comes next in the liturgical year.

First, I had the families try to put the pieces in the correct spaces on the puzzle board.  (Each square in a puzzle piece is a Sunday of the liturgical year.)  I showed them where the puzzle begins and explained that the gray colored squares are not Sundays in the liturgical year.  The gray squares are other special days in the year that can help them figure out where the pieces go.

After they had worked for awhile at putting the pieces in the correct spaces, we went through the liturgical year — beginning with the first Sunday of Advent — talking about and finding the next pieces for the puzzle.

Once everyone had their puzzle completed, I had them take all the pieces off of the puzzle board and put it together again.  The second time went much faster and most were able to do it without help.

They then glued the pieces in place.  You could also put the pieces in an envelope or baggie so you can do the puzzle again later.

How to make the puzzle:

Print the puzzle board.  There are two options:  8.5″ x 11″ paper or 11″ x 17″ paper.

• puzzle board 8.5″ x 11″ paper
• puzzle board 11″ x 17″ paper

If you are using 8.5″ x 11″ paper, you will need to put the puzzle board together.  Trim away the inside white “border” on one of the puzzle board pages.  Line up the page with the other puzzle board page and glue or tape together.  If you are planning to glue the puzzle pieces to the board, do not tape on top of any of the puzzle squares.

Print the puzzle pieces.  You can print and color OR print on colored paper (red, purple, green, and white).

Pieces for the puzzle board made with 8.5″ x 11″ paper:

• Color the pieces — print on white paper
• Print the pieces on colored paper

Pieces for the puzzle board printed on 11″ x 17″ paper:

• Color the pieces — print on white paper
• Print the pieces on colored paper

Color the pieces, if you printed all the pieces on white paper.

Cut the pieces apart.  Leave all connected Sundays together.

You are ready to do the puzzle!  Have fun learning about our liturgical year!

The order of the pieces starting with the first Sunday of the liturgical year:

• 1st Sunday of Advent
• 2nd, 3rd, & 4th Sundays of Advent
• Feast of the Holy Family
• Epiphany, Baptism of the Lord
• 2nd, 3rd, 4th Sundays of Ordinary Time
• 5th, 6th, 7th, & 8th Sundays of Ordinary Time
• 1st Sunday of Lent
• 2nd, 3rd, 4th, & 5th Sundays of Lent
• Palm Sunday
• Easter
• Divine Mercy Sunday
• 3rd, 4th, 5th, & 6th Sundays of Easter
• Ascension
• Pentecost
• Most Holy Trinity, Body and Blood
• 13th & 14th Sundays of Ordinary Time
• 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, & 19th Sundays of Ordinary Time
• 20th, 21st, 22nd and 23rd Sundays of Ordinary Time
• 24th, 25th & 26th Sundays of Ordinary Time
• 27th, 28th, 29th, & 30th Sundays of Ordinary Time
• 31st, 32nd, & 33rd Sundays of Ordinary Time
• Christ the King