"Ordinary" Time

If you look on the front of the bulletin this Sunday, you'll notice that we call it the Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. In 'church-talk' ordinary does not mean same-ol', ho-hum, plain and boring. It means 'counted', like in grade school math ordinal numbers indicate the order in which something occurs (forgive my imprecision in that definition: I'm not a math major!). So right now, when we are not in a specific season of the Church year like Advent, Christmas, Lent or Easter, or celebrating some special feast, we keep track of the rest of the Sundays in counted order.

And yet in a sense, 'ordinary time' does refer to the everyday, the regular, the routine - but a regular living that is far from boring!

Did you know that every season of the Church year has a color that is associated with it? Purple or deep blue for Advent, white or gold for Christmas and Easter, purple for Lent, and red for feasts of the Holy Spirit or of Martyrs.

Green is the color of Ordinary Time -- when you go to Mass this weekend, look around - notice how the cloth on the altar and the ambo (lectern) and the vestments that the priest and deacon wears are green. You could talk with your children about the color green - what do you and they associate with that color? (hint: look at the plants and grass ... they are all about life and growth! And after this recent rain, they are growing quickly!)

The Gospel readings during Ordinary Time mostly focus on the topic of living and growing, and we often get to hear Jesus teach us through parables (stories). For instance, a few weeks ago, he told the story of the "Good Samaritan" to help us think about how to treat others, and who to consider as our neighbor. A couple weeks ago, he was counseling Martha not to get so caught up in the details of impressing people that she missed out in being with people. The Gospel this weekend has a sobering warning not to confuse your life with your possessions.  Maybe each week in Ordinary Time, you and your child could figure out the point or moral to the Gospel together, and then see what it means for you in your life, right now!