Ordinary Time - Now What?

After the anticipation of Advent and the celebration of the Christmas season, we find ourselves back in Ordinary Time, staring at the green vestments and altar cloths. Seasoned Catholics know green is the color used in Ordinary Time, which is the longest of the liturgical seasons. After awhile, we may even find ourselves bored of all the green week after week after week. We’re ready for a special holiday or a joyous season both in the liturgical and secular year. After all, wouldn’t it be more fun to have a special season all the time? So what is the point of Ordinary Time?

Like everything in the Church, Ordinary Time has a purpose. Why does the Church call it Ordinary Time? Ordinary may sound like it means the same as boring, and we know the Church is nothing but boring. The word “ordinary” means “with no special or distinctive features” or “what is commonplace, standard, or normal”. And that is exactly what Ordinary Time is in the liturgical year. We know Christmas and Easter are the seasons filled with joyous celebration; they are the “white seasons”, the color that symbolizes special feasts and solemnities in the Catholic Church. On the other side, we have the penitential or “purple” seasons of Advent and Lent, filled with prayer, fasting, and almsgiving as we “decrease” before the celebratory seasons. And of course there is the shortest season of our liturgical year, the Triduum, a time of grave remembrance of Christ’s passion and death (the red season). In Ordinary Time, we are not celebrating anything extra special like Christ’s birth or resurrection. Conversely, we are not in a time of penitence or preparation leading up to the joyous seasons like Advent and Lent. It is, in a sense, the season that lacks distinctive features.

Does that make Ordinary Time a bad season? Of course not! We cannot have celebrations all the time because then the more “fun” liturgical seasons would not be as special. After all, would steak taste as good if you had it every night? Conversely, what if we were in a constant state of repentance? We would have a much more difficult time enjoying life on Earth to its fullness as God wants us to. Thankfully, we have the season of Ordinary Time, the nice “middle ground” between feasting and fasting, and it can help us appreciate the other seasons more, both the times of penitence and praise. Furthermore, since Ordinary Time is the season that, by definition, does not have distinctive features, it makes sense it would be longer than any of the other seasons. We can think of it as the season that “sets the standard”. Even the Gospel readings are filled with Jesus’ parables and teachings during his public ministry. In these passages, Christ is “setting the standard” for what it means to be a disciple, a Christian. We should be following these teachings all year. After all, we still go to Mass during Ordinary Time, we still give alms, we still have to take care of our families, and we still pray. Ordinary Time is not “a break” from living out our faith; in fact, it can be the most important time to stay active as a Christian disciple. 

As Catholics, what are we supposed to do during Ordinary Time? Many of us are attuned to the practice of fasting, almsgiving, and praying during Lent. We are also entrenched in the celebrations of Christmas and Easter. So during the weeks of Ordinary Time, do we just sit around twiddling our thumbs until the Church tells us it is time to fast again? That is no way to live as a Christian disciple. We should still be filling ourselves with God’s Word during this time, we should still be praying and growing in our faith no matter what time of year it is, and we should still be celebrating when it is appropriate. If we think of Ordinary Time as a “middle ground”, we can fill this time with both fasting and feasting.

Wait…isn’t Lent for fasting? Why do I have to fast during Ordinary Time too? While Ordinary Time is not a season of penitence, there are somber days throughout the entire liturgical year. We remember the passions and sufferings of many of the saints, we celebrate martyrs every month. One of the more somber days of the year - All Souls Day when we remember those who have died - occurs during Ordinary Time. We remember Christ’s passion and death every Friday, not just on those during Lent. On these days, is it not appropriate that we be fasting a little? After all, who feels like being joyful on a day that reminds us of sad times? Fasting during Ordinary Time does not have to look the same as our Lenten fasts (rarely will we find a reason to fast for a 40-day period outside of Lent), but maybe we turn off our phones or the TV for part of the day or go without our favorite treat. In this time of denying ourselves, we can also consider why we’re doing it. Fasting is not for the purpose of losing weight or saving our phone battery; it is to make room for God. When we remember those who have suffered and died for the faith, we can also consider why they made the choice and learn from their example. When we remember Christ’s passion and death, we remind ourselves of our own sinfulness and need for a savior. These forms of remembrance can lead us to grow in our own faith as Christian disciples. By participating in these more “ordinary” fasts, we can also prepare ourselves for the “extraordinary” seasons of fasting.

On the other side of things, we have plenty of reasons to celebrate throughout Ordinary Time. Like how we remember Christ’s passion and death every Friday, we remember his Resurrection every Sunday. We also celebrate birthdays and feast days of the saints as well as commemorate important events throughout Church history. In our ordinary lives, we celebrate the people, things, and events that are important to us throughout the entire year. Why should we not celebrate those we are connected to in the Body of Christ? When we celebrate the feast day of a saint, we are celebrating someone who is in Heaven, someone who lived as a disciple and is now living closely with God. We celebrate Christ’s Resurrection every Sunday because we are celebrating that we can someday be united with our Father in Heaven. That sounds like a special occasion worth celebrating every week and not just during Easter. While fasting helps us to grow closer to God by following Christ’s example and denying one’s self, feasting or celebrating is in a sense a foretaste of Heaven. These feasts can remind us of the “why” - why we want to grow in faith, why we want to follow Christ’s example even though it is challenging. We do this so we can be part of an eternal celebration in Heaven with our loving Father. During Ordinary Time, we celebrate more “ordinary” feasts, but they help set the standard for how we celebrate the “extraordinary” feasts in our liturgical year.

Ordinary Time should by no means be a season of boredom or waiting around for the next thing. Ordinary Time does not mean that we are prohibited from fasting or feasting; rather, it is a time we can and should do both depending on what is appropriate for that day. Thanks to the many solemnities throughout the entire liturgical year, Ordinary Time included, we have a “place to start” or a “standard set” for the special feasts or penitential seasons when they do finally come. How many times do we do something special or kind for a close friend or family member “just because” even if it isn’t a birthday or holiday? If we were not aware of or considering kind gestures all year, how confused we would be on what to do for them when their birthday did finally roll around. Yet, celebrating the “just because” does not look the same as a special occasion. Similarly, our celebrations during Ordinary Time or our solemn remembrances would not look the same as the seasons of Advent, Christmas, Lent, or Easter.

While we enjoy plenty of reasons to fast and feast in Ordinary Time, there are still plenty of days that are nothing more than just a day in Ordinary Time. On these days where we do not have a reason to fast or feast, we can just enjoy what is “commonplace”. Let’s be honest, doing the “extra” things can be very exhausting. When we return from the best vacation imaginable, we often experience a sense of “it’s good to be home”. As St. Paul says, there is a time for everything. We have times of feasting and fasting, but we should also enjoy this Ordinary Time where we are asked to do little more than “soak in” the Word of God and allow it to form us. We can just go about our ordinary lives as Christian disciples - whatever that may look like for us - and live and grow in our faith in a normal way. This may look like serving in Mass or in ministry, volunteering in our communities, or taking care of our families on a day-to-day basis (what is ordinary for us). Whatever we do in our Christian lives, it is essential to keep doing it even outside the extraordinary seasons. Remember, Ordinary Time is when we “set the standard” for what we do during other seasons. If we do not keep up our standards of praying, serving, and attending Mass during this long liturgical season, then we are going to struggle with doing the “extraordinary” when Advent and Lent come around.