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The "Skips" in the Lectionary Cycles of Ordinary Time
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An astute observer will notice that in both the Sunday cycle and the daily Mass cycle of Ordinary Time, we "skip" several days between the portions of Ordinary Time that come before and after the Lent/Triduum/Easter cycle. The length of the skips are not consistent from year to year. For example, in Ordinary Time of 2022, we omit 4 Sundays (9th through 12th) and 11 days of the daily cycle (Wednesday of the 8th Week through Monday of the 10th Week). In 2023, we omit only 3 Sundays (8th through 10th) and 5 days of the daily cycle (Wednesday of the 7th Week through Monday of the 8th Week).
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Why Is the Skip in Different Weeks Each Year?
While Christmas Day is affixed to December 25, the date of Easter Sunday can fall anywhere between March 22 and April 25, as it is the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox. Therefore, Ash Wednesday, which precedes Easter Sunday by 46 days, can fall anywhere between the 4th and 10th Weeks of Ordinary Time.
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Why Is There (Now) a Skip of At Least 5 Weekdays & 3 Sundays?
Because Lent begins on a Wednesday, we will always skip the Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday readings of Ordinary Time in whatever week Ash Wednesday falls. In 2018, Pope Francis added the Memorial of Mary, Mother of the Church on the day after Pentecost. While that memorial is considered part of Ordinary Time, it has its own proper readings, so we now skip the Monday readings of Ordinary Time in whatever week Pentecost falls. Therefore, starting in 2018, we always skip at least 5 days of the Ordinary Time cycle. The Tuesday after Pentecost falls 91 calendar days (13 weeks) after the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday.
Pentecost Sunday is the final day of the Easter season, but the rest of that same week is part of Ordinary Time. The Sunday after Pentecost is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity (a.k.a. Trinity Sunday). The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (a.k.a. Corpus Christi) is celebrated on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday in many parts of the world, but the celebration has been transferred to the Sunday after Trinity Sunday in the United States. Since Trinity Sunday and Corpus Christi are solemnities within Ordinary Time, each has different readings in Years A, B & C.
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Why Will There Often Be Skips of 11 Weekdays & 4 Sundays?
The liturgical year is typically 52 weeks long for a total of 364 days, but since the secular calendar year is 365 or 366 days, the liturgical year requires a 53rd week about once every 3 years.* We count Week 1 of Ordinary Time forward from the end of the Christmas season, and we count Week 34 of Ordinary Time backwards from the beginning of Advent of the following liturgical year. In a 52-week liturgical year, there are only 45 calendar weeks in between Weeks 1 and 34 of Ordinary Time. Subtracting out 13 weeks for the Lenten, Triduum, and Easter seasons, only 32 weeks remain for Ordinary Time. The "missing" week (1 Sunday and 6 weekdays from the Ordinary Time cycles) is included in the break from Ordinary Time for the Lenten, Triduum and Easter seasons. Since Ash Wednesday never occurs before the 4th Week or Ordinary Time (counting forward from the Christmas season), and since Pentecost never occurs after the 11th Week or Ordinary Time (counting backwards from the next year's Advent season), the "missing" week falls somewhere between the 5th and 10th Weeks of Ordinary Time.
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*In any 28-year period between 1901 and 2099, the 53rd week will be required 9 times. The 53rd week is required in all years when January 1 falls on Sunday or Monday (as in 2001, 2006, 2007, 2012, 2017, 2018, 2023, and 2024), and in leap years when January 1 falls on Saturday (as in 2028).
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