Understanding our Catholic Liturgical Year After the Advent-Christmas Season, we now transition into the liturgical season of “Ordinary Time.”
The connotations of the term "ordinary" in English might have people under the wrong impression that the Church finds these weeks unimportant. Nothing could be further from the truth. The word “ordinary” comes from the Latin word ordinalis, which refers to numbers and structure, from which we get the English word order. Thus, Ordinary Time is in fact the ordered (disciplined) life of the Church and us Christians.
In the Roman Catholic Church, Ordinary Time is divided into two segments. It begins on the day following the Baptism of the Lord and continues until Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent. Since Ash Wednesday and Easter dates move according to the moon, the first part of Ordinary Time which we are now in, varies from 4-9 weeks long. After the Lent and Easter Seasons, we pick back up with Ordinary Time and it continues until Advent, the start of a new Church year.
How to ‘use’ Ordinary Time? In our Scripture readings for Ordinary Time we will get into the real ‘basics’ of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. This year, the Church focuses on the Gospel of Luke and his interpretation of what Jesus meant by discipleship. Think about some new goals and habits of discipleship you want to work on this new year.
Let us find ways to give each other encouragement in our discipleship journey together.