(Photo Credit – Jane Korvemaker)
By Jane Korvemaker
When I think of the colour green, my mind springs forth thoughts of lush grass growing, the leaves on the trees swaying in the wind, and the little tendrils of my sweet peas stretching and reaching out to their wooden support as they grow taller. The vibrancy of green, which is especially poignant when immersed outside in spring and summer, lends itself particularly well to our liturgical season of Ordinary Time.
The term ‘ordinary,’ used in a liturgical context, comes from between the tenth and thirteenth century. It indicated people who lived under a particular rule or discipline together – religious communities. Ordinem indicated the routine of their day – it was ordered together. Ordinary Time indicates the routine and patterned time of the Church in her regular celebrations. Within this ordered time there are specific seasons, like Advent. The remaining celebrations are just simply ordered and are what we’ve called Ordinary Time.
What Does This Mean For Me?
In the past, I’d considered Ordinary Time to be like the boring, dull, monotonous sibling, where nothing interesting really happens. Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter were the exciting siblings! We use the term ‘ordinary’ to mean plain these days, and it is difficult to break out of this perspective.
In the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program I run, we share a liturgical colours song with children. A short phrase is spoken to explain the colour green, which is the colour in which we drape our churches during Ordinary Time: green is for the growing time. Growing time. How this phrase hits me differently than Ordinary Time! Green does remind me of growing things.
The regular and ordered season of our liturgical life has a tangible place among the regular ebb and flow of our lives and the seasons of the year. It is not something separate from our life experience but highlights and helps unfold the spiritual nature of our lives as well.
In the day-to-day experience of life, we are normalized to the small amounts of growth that occur. I think of watching my kids grow! Yet every once in a while, I stop, look, and marvel at the growth occurring within their little bodies and wonder about how much they grow within the ordinary time of life. Sometimes we need a tool to help us be jolted into a different way of looking at our own growth. Perhaps such a tool can also help us ask deeper personal questions: Can I see my own spiritual growth? How did my spiritual journey look at the beginning of Ordinary Time (all the way back in January), and how does it compare now?
How Can I Live Out Ordinary Time?
Rather than being misled as I was about this season being boring, this is a great time to nurture and feed our own spiritual growth. This growth can be beautifully intertwined and enhanced through interaction with creation and by including others along the journey, whether friends, children, the elderly, and many other ways! These can be considered tools for our spiritual journey.
With a young family, it could be praying a rosary by making dandelion chains, and offering a prayer for each flower. Perhaps your church has an outdoor Marian statue on which these can be draped.
Reading a spiritual book with your spouse or a couple of friends and discussing a chapter every week or two; spiritual discussions can help us grow in our love and understanding of God immensely. Check out Dr. Brett Salkeld’s recent book: Transubstantiation: Theology, History, and Christian Unity. Or try Fr. Harrison Ayre’s book, Mysterion. Pauline Books and Media (together with Fr. Harrison) have created wonderful videos* and a study guide resource to go along with it.
Make a pilgrimage to a shrine here in Saskatchewan. The Archdiocese of Regina has a list of annual pilgrimage sites you can choose from. The Saskatoon and Prince Albert dioceses also have lists of pilgrimages you can attend over the summer. Plan a pilgrimage with family and friends and head off on an adventure together!
As for me, I’ve recently finished planting the last of my deck pots. Growing plants for beauty and food has become a joyful endeavor over the last decade or so. I’m planning on spending many evenings among the fresh scent of tomato leaves, basil, and thyme, coupled with a strong intention to finish the tome St. Faustina left to us, and perhaps also the occasional strong drink to accompany the waning sun in this Ordinary Time.
*Pauline Books & Media have made these videos freely available through registration on this special website.
Photo Credits Jane Korvemaker
Jane Korvemaker is a B.C. transplant who lives in Saskatoon with her husband, three children, and mischievous cat. She holds a Certificate in Culinary Arts, Bachelor of Theology, Certificate in Youth Ministry Studies, and is a Level Two Catechist in Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. She hopes to one day find the perfect pairing of bacon, beer, and Balthasar. She semi-regularly writes at ajk2.ca
