"And as the people were of opinion, and all were thinking in their hearts of John, that perhaps he may be the Christ; John answered, saying unto all: I indeed baptise you with water; but there shall come one mightier than I, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to loose: He shall baptise you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire. Now it came topass, when all the people were baptised, that Jesus also being baptised and praying, heaven was opened; and the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape, as a dove upon Him; and a voice came from heaven: Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased."
✠ Luke 3:15-16, 21-22. (Douay-Rheims)
In my opinion, there are three types of Catholics: first is simply the Catholic's - those of us who attend Church regularly, live our faith as opposed to picking it up at the Church on Sunday's, then leaving it as we get on with the rest of our week. Secondly we have the Cafeteria Catholic's, those who "pick-and-choose" what doctrine to believe and follow and finally, what I would call the Annual Catholic's - the ones that make each Church packed at Christmas Mass so as extra seating is needed for the everyone to fit in... then they don't return again until the following Christmas.
We have three main seasons within The Church, starting with the Christmas season, followed by Ordinary Time and then Eastertide thrown in the middle, with Ordinary Time resuming the day after Pentecost Sunday.
Many people see the importance of Christmas and Easter, but not Ordinary Time, or as I like to call it, EXTRAOrdinary Time. There really is nothing "ordinary" about this part of the Church-year.
While the Christmas Season focuses on Christ's coming into the world, Eastertide on The Passion, Ordinary Time focuses on all the other things that make us Christians! This is the MAJORITY of Christ's life - His ministry, miracles, the way we should live! Not to mention the many Holy Days of Obligation which fall during Ordinary Time.
For me to best explain this, here is an excerpt from "Inform", a bimonthly publication on a particular topic, produced by the Catholic Adult Education Centre (CAEC).
Ordinary Time: not so ordinary
The weeks outside the seasons of Advent and Christmas, Lent and Easter, are named in Latin per annum or "Ordinary Time", which is unfortunate since it is anything but ordinary.
While the other seasons of the liturgical year commemorate events in the life of Christ, Ordinary Time presents us with Jesus' deeds and teachings during His public ministry. During this season, Catholics grow in their understanding of the Christian life; thus the liturgical colour is green, reminding us of growth.
INFORM: One Day at a Time- The Church Year, Issue 107.
Fr. Timothy Deeter: Director of the Liturgy Office of the Archdiocese of Sydney.
Published with ecclesiastical approval © 2007, CAEC.
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