March: A Liturgical Guide
Welcome, March!
The world is waking, but the Church is still. March draws us deeper into the wilderness of Lent, further along the road to Jerusalem. The days grow longer and the light returns, and yet we walk in a holy quiet, a season of penitence, of prayer, of turning.
This is the month where we fast and pray and face ourselves honestly. We walk with Jesus now, through temptation and trial, toward the shadow of the cross. The Passion draws near. Holy Week waits at the end of the road.
And yet in the midst of the ache, there is a glimmer, an angel’s greeting, a “yes” spoken in Nazareth, a light that no darkness can extinguish.
We are walking through this holy month together, and I’m so glad!
Here’s an overview with helpful links:
March 15th - Laetare Sunday
March 17th - The Feast of St. Patrick
March 19th - The Feast of St. Joseph
March 25th - The Feast of the Annunciation
March 29th - Palm Sunday
Current Season: Lent
We entered Lent on Ash Wednesday, February 18th. These forty days mirror Jesus’ forty days in the wilderness, and call us into a season of fasting, prayer, and honest repentance. Here is a helpful article overviewing the season: The Season of Lent
And check out my guidebook, The Liturgical Home: Lent. It gives you everything you need to know to celebrate the season in your home, including the most important time leading to Easter, Holy Week.
March 15th - Laetare Sunday
On the Fourth Sunday of Lent, the Church exhales. Laetare Sunday, whose name comes from the Latin word for rejoice, is a brief pause in the solemnity of the season, a moment of joy lit in the middle of the fast. The liturgical color shifts from penitential purple to rose, the tone of worship softens just a little. We are past the halfway point. Easter is coming. We are not yet through the wilderness, but we can see something glimmering on the other side. Today is not an escape from Lent, it is a reminder of what Lent is for: the joy that waits at the end of the road.
March 17th - The Commemoration of St. Patrick
On St. Patrick’s Day, we celebrate the patron saint of Ireland, a man whose story is among the most extraordinary in all of Christian history. Kidnapped as a teenager, enslaved, and forced to labor in a foreign land, Patrick eventually escaped, only to feel the call of God to return, not with bitterness, but with the Gospel. He came back to the very people who had enslaved him, and through his ministry, the island was transformed.
Celebrating the Feast of St. Patrick
March 19th - The Feast of St. Joseph
On the Feast of St. Joseph, we remember the steadfast man entrusted with the care of the Holy Family. Joseph speaks no recorded words in all of Scripture, and yet his faithfulness speaks volumes. He protected Mary. He raised Jesus. He taught the Son of God to work with his hands. His is a vocation of hiddenness, steady, trustworthy love lived out in the ordinary rhythms of a carpenter’s life.
Celebrating the Feast of St. Joseph
March 25th - The Feast of the Annunciation
On the Feast of the Annunciation, we stand with Mary in the moment that changed everything. The angel Gabriel appeared to a young woman in Nazareth with an impossible invitation, and she said “yes.” Her words, “Let it be to me according to your word,” are among the most consequential ever spoken. This feast falls like a shaft of light through the middle of Lent, reminding us that even in our fasting and our turning, the story is one of grace. The Incarnation was a gift given freely, received humbly. Today we honor Mary’s courage, her faith, and her fiat, and ask where God might be inviting us to say yes.
Celebrating the Feast of the Annunciation
March 29th - Palm Sunday
On Palm Sunday, everything changes. Lent gives way to something more solemn and more tender: Holy Week. Jesus enters Jerusalem on a donkey, greeted with cloaks and branches and shouts of Hosanna, a king who comes not with armies but with tears. The crowd that cheers today will fall silent by Friday. We begin this week carrying palms and singing — and we end it standing at the foot of the cross. Walk slowly through Holy Week. Let it do its work in you.
Follow along as I share everything you’ll need to celebrate every special day this month, including the history, recipes, and traditions!
Quick reminder, we are in the heart of Lent, the Church’s great season of preparation. Keep up with every season, feast, and fast day with the 2026 Liturgical Home wall calendar! Or the 2026 Liturgical Planner.
Especially enjoyed these phrases: "through his ministry, the island was transformed" and "his faithfulness speaks volumes."