I spent the entire Holiday season coming up with different ideas for this blog. There are so many things to write about over the holidays: commercialism, keeping Christ in Christmas, the best sugar cookie recipe, New Year’s resolutions, really the list could go on forever!  But there is always so much said and written about these things, I just could not decide, nor did I want to.  So here we are now, back in ordinary time.

What is Ordinary Time? Simply put, it is the times during the liturgical year that are not Lent, Easter, Advent or Christmas.  Ordinary Time is when everything can get back to normal. 

Ordinary Time, however, is far from normal. It begins with the Baptism of the Lord as the First Sunday in Ordinary Time.  Then Jesus performs His first miracle at the Wedding Feast at Cana by turning water to wine.  He proceeds to gather His disciples around him telling them they will be “fishers of men”.   He then continues to proclaim and preach until the start of Lent.   These things that Jesus does, celebrated during Ordinary Time, are also the first three of the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary.  Of the two mysteries left – The Transfiguration is during Ordinary Time also, but between Easter and Advent, and the Institution of the Eucharist happens just before Easter. 

Our “Ordinary” time follows Christ’s life between His birth and death. He lived a pretty normal life, grew up in the family business, learned and matured like any human.  But it is in this normalcy that Christ emerged as our Lord and Savior.  It is during this “ordinary” time that we realize the sacrifice made by Christ for each and every one of us.  In looking at and following the life of Christ, we begin preparations for the next major event in our liturgical year. 

Knowing Christ is out there, preaching and gathering His disciples, tells us that He is preparing His kingdom. He is teaching those who will continue His work after He is gone.  He is preparing them – and us- for His ultimate sacrifice and what it means to us. 

So from now until Lent begins, celebrate Christ in His desire to become a “normal” human being and experience life as we experience it. Celebrate Jesus coming into His own destination and calling His disciples (and us) to continue preaching and serving our God.  Celebrate that we can see God through all that is ordinary and normal in our lives.  And as always, give thanks to Him who makes all things possible.  Amen