Holy Cross Catholic Church
Liturgical Color:
Green
Symbolizes:
Hope and Growth
Ordinary Time is the 33 or 34 weeks of the Liturgical Calendar that do not fall within the seasons of Advent, Christmas, Lent or Easter and is divided into two periods. Ordinary Time is also known as "Tempus Per Annum", or "time throughout the year" in Latin, the language of the Church. Most agree that the "Ordinary" in Ordinary time comes from the Latin word "Ordinal", or "numbered", as Sunday's during this time are (ex. The Second Sunday in Ordinary Time).
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As mentioned earlier, Ordinary Time is divided into two periods of the same liturgical season:
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The first period of Ordinary Time runs from the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord until the Tuesday night before Ash Wednesday (following the Christmas season until Lent).
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The second period covers the time between the Monday after Pentecost and the night before the first Sunday of Advent (following the Easter season until Advent).
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All Liturgical season calls on the faithful to prayerfully meditate on the mysteries of Christ in light of His resurrection including his life, teachings and miracles. Each season has its own particular focus, however.
During Ordinary Time we are called to focus on the Paschal Mystery and our call to be disciples of Christ. Through our personal contemplation and prayer life as well as together at Mass, we are drawn to travel, or walk with, Christ on our journey towards God and our salvation.