Christmas so soon?

In one of his homilies, Fr. Leny Escalada, OFM Cap., our new Spiritual Director, mentioned how we Filipinos think of Christmas once we hear ‘ber’ in a month. Like September. Yet we are still in the Ordinary Time of the Liturgical Year, and this lasts until 21 November 2021 this year, the Solemnity of Christ the King. And even before Christmas, we still go through Advent which begins in 28 November 2021, lasting until 24 December 2021. Advent begins a new liturgical year.

So what is Ordinary Time?

In a lay person’s view, Ordinary Time could well be the season opposite extraordinary time. And he’d think of the church’s special celebrations like Advent, Christmas, Lent, Paschal Triduum, Easter, and other feasts as extraordinary times.

But truth to tell, the church’s Ordinary Time which we celebrate in two parts in our liturgical calendar is never ‘ordinary’, not in the way we normally understand it.

Ordinary here means ordered or numbered. This is why we name the Sundays of Ordinary Time as the first Sunday, second, third, fourth, and so on. The longest season with 33 (like this present year) or 34 Sundays, Ordinary Time (first part) starts on the day after the Feast of the Baptism of our Lord and Ordinary time (second part) ends on the day just before the first Sunday of Advent. The liturgical color of Ordinary Time is green which signifies hope and growth.

A season of hoping, of seeking, and of choosing

It’s a season of witnessing and of living the life of a follower of Christ, of one who knows the voice of the Shepherd, one who answers the question Jesus asked Peter, “Do you love me?” in his day-to-day actions. It’s a season of hoping, of seeking, and of choosing each day to see God’s power and love in the daily grind. For He is a loving Father, the Creator of things out of nothing.

“Ordinary Time is a time for growth and maturation, a time in which the mystery of Christ is called to penetrate ever more deeply into history until all things are finally caught up in Christ. The goal, toward which all of history is directed, is represented by the final Sunday in Ordinary Time, the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe.” USCCB: Prayer And Worship-Ordinary Time: http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/liturgical-year/ordinary-time.cfm

The liturgical calendar and its seasons

What is a liturgical calendar or liturgical year? The liturgical year is the full length of time when we, the Mystical Body of Christ, celebrate Christ’s life, including the lives of Mother Mary and the saints, and celebrate likewise the mysteries of our faith.

Here are the seasons of the church’s liturgical calendar:

Advent: Begins on the First Sunday of Advent until December 24 before the Vigil Mass for the birth of Jesus
Christmas: Starts on the Vigil Mass of Dec 24 and ends on the Baptism of the Lord
Ordinary Time (1st part): Day after Baptism of the Lord until Tuesday before Ash Wednesday

Lent: Starts on Ash Wednesday until Holy Thursday before the celebration of the Lord’s Supper
Paschal Triduum: Starts on the celebration of the Last Supper of the Lord until Easter Vigil
Easter: Starts on Easter Sunday until Pentecost Sunday
Ordinary (2nd part): Begins on Monday after Pentecost Sunday until the Solemnity of Christ the King, including the following weekdays until Saturday before the 1st Sunday of Advent

What happens during the liturgical year?

The Catechism states:

“The Church, ‘in the course of the year, . . . unfolds the whole mystery of Christ from his Incarnation and Nativity through his Ascension, to Pentecost and the expectation of the blessed hope of the coming of the Lord’ (SC 102 § 2).”

What it means is that during the year, we live as Christ’s Mystical Body. We allow the Holy Spirit to draw us together in the liturgies, most especially the Eucharist, where we receive grace so that we are strong and animated to meet with open arms God’s will for us in every moment of our life, in tribulation and consolation, as we prepare with hope to meet Him at the appointed time to spend eternity with Him.

So onward march united in faith, Jesus’ followers and beloved. Ordinary Time is the season when we choose to behold Him who loves us. Let’s keep this thought in mind, the Holy Spirit is with us and in us. And we can always count on the help of the Blessed Mother who loves us as she loves Her Son. Why? Because Jesus entrusted us to her and we are the Body of Christ, Her Son.