A leftover warmup question: liturgical seasons

In response to commenter Nikki's question about favorite liturgical seasons I did a poll on the bus, and here are the answers I received:

Susan Burns' favorite liturgical season is always the one we currently find ourselves in, so right now she finds herself absorbed in the season of Pentecost. She explained that after we've moved through the great cycles of Lent and Easter it's good to "get basic" and go back to the teachings of the Church through the Gospel readings, which become more challenging as the season progresses. In the late season of Pentecost the Gospels contain many of the more difficult teachings of Jesus and removes from us the delusion that the Christian life is an easy one.

Cathy Deats loves the period beginning on Passion Sunday and ending with Easter Sunday because contained within this very short period is the great story of our faith: death and resurrection.

Dan Edwards' favorite season is Advent because it is a season of hope both in the life of the Church and in our experience as individuals. There are times that things are hard and feel scarce, but that's when the hope of grace is waiting just around the corner to give us the courage to step boldly into the future.

Jeff Paul's favorite season is Lent because it is the season that leads us into the heart of our faith, the season of Easter. It is a time of tension between service and Sabbath, darkness and light, winter and spring. For this reason it is the richest season of the Church year.

Al Keeney loves the Triduum, the great three days comprising Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Vigil of Easter. This time starts with the subdued joyousness of the celebration of the institution of the Eucharist and then moves into darkness. Al loves the solemn prayers of the Good Friday liturgy because they reflect the human condition. Finally, the lighting to the Paschal candle at the Vigil service creates light in the darkness, and the chanting of the Exsultet is the great aha! of the season. In the Triduum liturgies everything comes together in one tight, flowing narrative.

Eric Funston's favorite season is Advent because it is the time when the Church is intentionally living into expectation. There is a sense of quivering, and that something new is coming. We know what has already come, and what we expect will come will be even greater: the best is yet to come and isn't it grand! Advent is also the season when we appreciate and celebrate the Incarnation even more than at Christmas. Because we observe Advent when the rest of the world is deeply enmeshed in the commercialism of Christmas, it is a time when the Church is at its most counter-cultural.