It is a rather sad sounding description isn’t it? “Ordinary Time” hmm… The Latin title for this time period isn’t all that impressive either: Tempus per annum (Time through the year). But maybe there IS some inspiration here after all. The faith is not just something reserved for extraordinary moments and seasons. It is meant to be lived in all the ordinary moments of life too, it is meant to be lived through the year.
The liturgical readings and prayers of Ordinary Time emphasize discipleship. What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus in matters such as decisions, money, use of time, priorities, etc? How to do we encounter the Kingdom of God and perceive it in our daily lives? What are the conditions of discipleship? How will we ultimately be judged? These are some of the themes of Ordinary Time.
So, encounter God in the “ordinary” in the time through the year, even on vacation this summer. There is no vacation from our vocation. Do miss what God is doing, even in the ordinary.
I am a children’s writer and I always focus on the daily, ordinary things because when you look closely, they are in fact extraordinary … I’ve always felt God is in the dishes I wash, the clothes I mend, the soil I rake. Ordinary time helps us to grow.
…and the feast of the “Saint of the Ordinary” (in the words of JP II) is coming up this month as well (on the 26th).
It stil makes me blink that the count of Sundays in Ordinary time picks up from where it left off before Lent.