From now until Advent, we are continuing in the season of Ordinary Time, the largest segment of the church calendar. “Ordinary time” comes from the term “ordinal”, meaning ‘counted time’ as we count the weeks from the first Sunday after Pentecost, until Christ the King Sunday, the last Sunday before Advent. It is an opportunity for us to focus on consistent Christian growth and maturity.
We are called in this season to a pace of life where we revel in the full and completed work of Christ; enjoying all that He has accomplished for us through His life, death, resurrection and ascension. For many of us, autumn symbolizes getting back to the ‘normal’ everyday rhythm of life; it’s a time of moving back into productiveness and work. Ordinary time invites us to live this life in all of its fullness, a life that is empowered by the Spirit.
The season culminates with our hearts and lives purposely united towards the goal in which all of history is directed, represented in the final Sunday of Ordinary Time called Christ the King Sunday. The cycle of the church liturgical calendar is completed with joyful anticipation of the coming reign of Christ as King over all. We celebrate with a secure hope that is rooted in his promises. We long to see his triumphant return and the renewal of all of creation, as he brings into fruition the fullness of the Kingdom of God. This is the Gospel of reconciliation that we both profess and cling to; that invites us to drink deeply of the mystery of Christ; that transforms our lives, our families, and our communities, until all things are finally caught up into Christ.
This fall, we hope that you will be encouraged and inspired to immerse your life more deeply into Christ, through dedication to prayer, the Holy Scriptures and communion with the Church, His Body.