The Year

What this is: the fifty-two readings in this site’s own order, kept as a year. No outside calendar sets it. It opens on the passages about staying awake, because that is what this site is for. Then the birth, the start of the way, the road to the cross, the last days, and the rising. The rest is a long stretch of teaching that ends on his promise to come back, which puts you at week 1 again.

How to use it: each week, open the unit listed. Read its Gospel passage aloud at step 3 of the watch. Its note is a few sentences written for that passage, and “This week” is something to try before the next one. Weeks marked with a dot are the ones where watching is the subject. Join at any week; there is nothing to catch up on.

Keeping watch (weeks 1-4)

Four passages about staying awake for a door that opens without warning. The year starts here because the watch is the whole point of the site. All four watching-at-the-door readings fall together.

The birth (weeks 5-6)

God arrives with no standing and nowhere to be put. The outsiders find him before the experts do.

The start of the way (weeks 7-12)

Who he is, and how he begins. The Word made flesh, the voice at the water, the first sign, the heart of the law, and the light on the mountain just before the road turns toward the cross.

The road to the cross (weeks 13-18)

What following costs. The temptation, the hard teachings, and the forgiveness that has no ceiling.

The last days (weeks 19-21)

The towel, the garden, the crucifixion. Three heavy weeks. You may want a second hour midweek for these.

The rising (weeks 22-27)

He is risen. The appearances after it: the empty tomb, the garden, the road, the wounds, the peace.

The long stretch (weeks 28-52)

Half the year, and the bulk of what he said and did. The parables, the people he went to, the healings, and the watch kept through ordinary days. It ends on his own promise to return, which is where week 1 picks up.