Ordinary Time

The weeks between the Feast of Pentecost and the first Sunday in Advent comprise a second cycle in the church year known as "ordinary time."

The church year is divided into two "halves." The first half, beginning in early December with the first Sunday in Advent and stretching till Pentecost in May or June, tells the story of the life of Christ.

The second half from Pentecost until Christ the King Sunday in Late November, is the story of the church and our call to Christlikeness.

The word ordinary is rooted in the word ordinal, to count. The Sundays of Ordinary Time are not uneventful or unimportant, but are actually time that counts, time that matters!

The promise of this season is that God is present in the midst of every daily activity of life. Our "ordinary" life can be a means of grace and growth in our relationship with God. It is fitting, therefore, that the liturgical color of Ordinary time is green, the color of growth.

 

The challenge is to "notice" and to cultivate attentiveness to the sacrament of the present moments of our lives. It's up to me to create the conditions for a more contemplative appreciation of the ordinary. For me, it is remembering that my first call is to be a contemplative. It is about being with God, seeking God.

 

It has nothing to do with introversion or extroversion.  God longs to be found in the ordinary gifts of each day. But we must seekers.

 

To walk worthy of the call.....

 

Rob+

 

P.S Photo by Jenni Palmer