Aquinas | The University of Scranton

As some readers may not actually be aware, the current liturgical season is called “Ordinary Time.” To be fair, it’s more exciting than it sounds. Basically, Ordinary Time could be seen as the time of the liturgical year (that is, the Church’s calendar of feasts and observances) that isn’t anything else. Unfortunately, that makes Ordinary Time sound like the plaster used to fill in the gaps of a liturgical year mostly comprised of other seasons. While that approach, or something similar, may be common, it does not do Ordinary Time even a modicum of the justice it deserves.

Ordinary Time, in the parlance of the Church, is not simply the time left over because we’ve run out of celebrations. Rather, Ordinary Time is the time dedicated in the Church to meditating on the public ministry of Jesus, His proclamation of the Kingdom of God, and the growth of that first Christian community. Whereas Advent is a preparation for Christmas, the celebration of Jesus’ birth, and Lent is a preparation for Easter, the celebration of Jesus’ death and resurrection, Ordinary Time is a celebration of Jesus’ public life, his days walking around Galilee telling parables, performing miracles, and gathering his disciples.

With that definition, one can see Ordinary Time already beginning to take on a new character, not as time left over, but as the time to celebrate the part of Jesus’ life that was not necessarily “showy,” but nevertheless important. One might consider also that most of the liturgical year is considered Ordinary Time (marked by the use of green vestments), just as most of the Gospels (that is, the majority of each Gospel) contain stories about Jesus’ public ministry and his teachings. The fact that most of the year — and most of the Gospels — takes the time to elaborate and meditate on this period in Jesus’ life should indicate that it is a time of importance and significance. But in what way?

The answer to that question is found in the use of green vestments. What does green signify, what imagery does it evoke? In the tradition of the Church and of Western culture, green is a symbol of life and growth. This has historically been the case because plants are green, and the most noticeable thing about many plants is that they grow, often requiring care and guidance to do so in the best manner possible. This is an analogy for the Church, which uses Ordinary Time to grow in faith and love of Christ, to grow in her knowledge and understanding of His message. Just as a bonsai tree needs careful guidance to grow and flourish in beauty, so too does the Church require guidance and care in her growth toward the perfection of the Gospel message.

Nevertheless, exactly how is it incorrect to say that Ordinary Time takes something of a back-seat to more “happening” liturgical seasons like Christmas and Advent. After all, couldn’t we say that the Church has placed more emphasis on these celebrations, each of which was only a one-day event when it first occurred, by giving it not only a liturgical season in its own right, but also a second, preparatory liturgical season, just to make sure that we’re ready when it comes along? After all, Christmas never just happens, the Church always has Advent first, and then the entire Christmas season afterward. Likewise, Easter doesn’t just happen, we are given Lent to prepare, and then the season of Easter afterwards.

On the other hand, Ordinary Time seems to just start whenever nothing else is going on, and without much warning. Ordinary Time does not have a single event to focus on and give it meaning. Fair enough. One might also point out the ease with which a Sunday in Ordinary Time can be “trumped,” so to speak. As an example, here in the United States, we never celebrate the “First Sunday in Ordinary Time” or the second. Rather, both of these Sundays are always displaced by the feasts of the Most Blessed Trinity and the Most Holy Body and Blood of Jesus, respectively. Additionally, any reader of the Roman Missal might point out that any weekday in Ordinary Time can be used to celebrate a votive Mass, such as the Wednesday votive Mass of St. Joseph at the Oblate Seminary in Laflin. The objection, seemingly, would be that Ordinary Time is rendered unimportant by its ability to be superseded, basically, by the will of any given priest celebrating Mass.

This objection is based in fact, as can be corroborated by the Roman Missal. So, at the heart of the matter lies the question: Is it true that the Church places a diminished significance on Ordinary Time? Unfortunately, no one can truly give a decisive and definitive “no” in response to that question. It remains the case that, even if it is not the desire of the Magisterium, likely a large number of faithful and clergy treat Ordinary Time in this way.

However, one might also take up a different train of thought, taking the matter to a deeper and more significant level. While it is true that during Christmas we celebrate the birth of Jesus and during Easter we celebrate His resurrection, it is also true that, in a certain sense, even when the Church is engaged in those celebrations, it is still Ordinary Time. How can this be the case? Well, in order to see this possibility, one must think not just temporally, but also with reference to the entire plan of salvation (that is, eschatologically). In other words, even when the Church is observing those other solemn and celebratory seasons, there is a certain sense in which she is still living out the basic and defining characteristic of Ordinary Time. In yet other words, what I mean is that, if Ordinary Time is the season dedicated to living in Christ and growing in grace, then, while the Church’s year might be divided into different seasons, the Church’s life is always Ordinary Time, until the Second Coming.

So, as this season of Ordinary Time winds to a rapid close over the next few weeks, keep two things in mind: First, that no matter what the radio stations and department stores may say to the contrary, it’s not yet Christmas. Second, that, even when it is Christmas in the sense of the Church’s year, it will always be time to live in Christ and grow in grace with regard to the Church’s life.