For months, I had been pestering my wife about getting a liturgical calendar for our home. You’d think that with all this Catholic talk I do, we would have a liturgical calendar in every room. After all, who cares if it’s national pancake day, I want to know who’s feast it is. More than that, I’m definitely that one guy who forgets about Holy Days of Obligation until it’s almost too late to get time off of work to go.
Luckily, I came across a liturgical calendar recently that really made sense to me. Anyone who knows me knows that I have an affinity for modern style and lots of color. I figured I would settle for one of those run-of-the-mill flipping calendars with the traditional grid-lined days and the little tiny black and white print that says what’s “important” that day. But what I really wanted was something that was a little more true to my nature; something unique, colorful, sensible, and easy to read. And I got just that, because I ended up getting a nice, big 12x18” Liturgical Calendar from TelosArt, and boy is it exactly what I had hoped for.
When it arrived, it came in a well-protected tube, sent from Telos, and was nicely rolled up in perfect condition. When I pulled it out, the quality of the paper was pretty obvious. It is a nice matte finish that perfectly captures the light in the room (you’ll know what I mean when you get one), and it doesn’t glare any light back into your eyes like some glossy papers do, so you’ll enjoy it from every angle.
The print quality is masterful. It is sharp, fine, and highly visible, and the color is on point. In fact, the only thing, I think, that matches (or exceeds) the quality of the printing is the content itself, which really brings to light what the liturgical seasons are meant to express throughout the Liturgical Year.
The genius of this calendar can’t be expressed in one or two bullets, and the liturgical year is riddled with complexities. Thus, I can only highlight a few of the most appealing features:
As I mentioned a moment ago, the calendar’s design takes after the Liturgical Year itself. In its overall structure, the
calendar you get is built in such a way that it expresses the cyclical nature of the year very well. After all, we call the Liturgical Years “cycles,” which express the rotation of the seasons and years like clockwork. In that way, the calendar is printed in a circle, starting at the beginning of the Liturgical Year –advent – and ending at that same time the following year. The impressive and deliberate modernistic approach to this design is strangely satisfying in its symmetry, which really makes the calendar, in all its complexities, come full-circle (pun intended).
Feast Days for Mary, Apostles, Martyrs, and other Saints are clearly marked at the bottom of the Calendar. Feast Days are incredibly important aspects of our Catholic heritage. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “By keeping the memorials of the saints - first of all the holy Mother of God, then the apostles, the martyrs, and other saints - on fixed days of the liturgical year, the Church on earth shows that she is united with the liturgy of heaven. She gives glory to Christ for having accomplished his salvation in his glorified members; their example encourages her on her way to the Father” (CCC 1195, my emphasis). Because our heritage extends beyond our earthly lives, the “liturgy of heaven” marries nicely with the liturgies celebrated on Earth, and thus observing those days gives homage to Christ, who has done for those people what we hope he does for us – the Church Militant.
The calendar’s color scheme is relevant to, and reflective of, the seasons, days, and celebratory attire of the Liturgical Year. There are few things despise more than looking at something with tons of colors, pictures, diagrams, and everything else, and have to try and make sense of it all. This calendar really cleans up well. The colors you see are all representative of something that actually applies to the Liturgy – go figure. This means that seasons and particularly important days are colored respectively, and it’s all based on the colors associated with that Mass. Not to mention the Martyrs’ days, which are made red.
You have buying options! When I buy something, I like to know I've got options; who doesn't like options? So, the icing on this cake was the fact that I could get this thing in a massive 18x24” Matte White finish, a perfectly sized 12x18” Textured White finish (which is what I now proudly own -- and love), and the same 12x18” on Kraft Paper. So yeah, options rock, especially when you factor in the spot you’re hanging it.
I am really excited about this Calendar, and I think TelosArt did a really great job. Their calendar is made of hearty paper that isn’t likely to tear or discolor any time soon, and the design is sure to match any décor in any home. They’ve even partnered with Well Made to bring you the same calendar with a beautiful magnetic walnut frame if you really want to tie the room together.
Because I believe in this product so much, I asked about a promo code that I could offer all of the very smart people who check out this little review. You’ll be happy to know that, after hours of deliberation and negotiation, the fine people at TelosArt are offering you $5 off your Liturgical Calendar. Just head over to their Etsy store here, or if you want to support even more Catholic business, go to Peter's Square, and use the promo code “AUG17B,” (works at both stores) and you’ll be hitting every feast day on the calendar in no time! You’ve gotta be quick, though. It’s only good through August.
TelosArt offers more than just this calendar, including jewelry made from new and repurposed metals, an 18x18” Abstract Calendar, various art and scripture prints, and coming soon, something I’m actually interested in, it their slim and slender 4x18” monthly Sacred Art calendar, which will be made available in September.
I hope you give them a look!