Ordinary time after Christmas
We celebrate Ordinary Time twice during the Liturgical Year. The first part is a period of 4 to 6 weeks following the Christmas season until Fat Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. The second part of Ordinary Time occurs after the 50 days of Easter are complete, taking us from spring, through summer and into the autumn. This first part of Ordinary Time is also known as Mardi Gras or Carnival in many cultures, the celebrating goes on for several weeks, not just Fat Tuesday.
But first, why "Ordinary Time"? It's not because it's ordinary, but it's to do with how we count the weeks. From the Latin term ordinalis, meaning ‘numbered’. Each week is counted as "2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time, 3rd Sunday"...etc. You'll notice on your Catholic Calendars that there is no 1st Sunday of Ordinary Time. The season begins in the evening on the last day of the Christmas season, The Baptism of the Lord, at Vespers. Depending on how the feasts of the Christmas season fall on the calendar, the Baptism of the Lord sometimes ends up on a Monday, but either way, the first week of the season lacks a Sunday.
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Each season of the Liturgical Year has a spiritual focus for us- the color for the season of Ordinary Time gives us a clue as to the focus of this season. Green for growth. This is a season to grow in our relationship with God. We hear stories of Jesus preaching and teaching the disciples in our Mass readings- we are numbered among his disciples and should be listening closely to what he has to say. Enter into this season of growth and celebrate the different feasts and memorials of Ordinary Time.
January 21: St. Agnes
St. Agnes was martyred when she was 12 years old. To be so young and stay steadfast in her faith even when faced with death, is an inspiration to young and old alike. There are several accounts of her martyrdom; in each she proclaims her faith and devotion to God, stating Christ is her spouse and she will not marry. St. Ambrose said of her: “It is the heavenly birthday of St. Agnes, let men admire, let children take courage, let the married be astounded, let the unmarried take an example.”
Because of the similarity between her name, Agnes, and the Latin for lamb, angus, St. Agnes is often pictured holding a lamb. On her feast day, lambs are brought to the Vatican to be blessed by the Pope; during Holy Week the wool is sheared from these lambs and made into palliums that the Pope gives to newly consecrated archbishops.
Have some lamb chops for supper on St. Agnes’ feast day (not the sock puppet), a lamb shaped dessert, or make a fun craft to remember and honor her. St. Agnes is one of the virgin martyrs of the Church, and patron saint of chastity; talking about St. Agnes also opens up an opportunity to start a talk with your kids about chastity.
Have some lamb chops for supper on St. Agnes’ feast day (not the sock puppet), a lamb shaped dessert, or make a fun craft to remember and honor her. St. Agnes is one of the virgin martyrs of the Church, and patron saint of chastity; talking about St. Agnes also opens up an opportunity to start a talk with your kids about chastity.
January 25: Conversion of St. Paul
Today we celebrate that St. Paul was knocked off his high horse! ;) We are first introduced to St. Paul (then called Saul) in Acts of the Apostles (Acts 7:54-8:1) at the stoning of the first martyr, St. Stephen. As he’s dying, Stephen calls out to God, not to be saved, but “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” As we move into chapter 8 of Acts we begin to read how Saul persecuted the early Church. Chapter 9 is Saul’s conversion story- he is literally knocked to the ground and he hears the voice of Jesus “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
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Act of Contrition |
Saul’s conversion from persecuting the Church to believer in Christ and apostle is not only profound, it offers great hope. No matter how far we fall, or what we do, there is always the hope of forgiveness. If we despair over the lack of faith in our loved ones, there is always hope that they will have their “come to Jesus” moment like St. Paul.
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Read the scripture accounts in Acts of his persecution of the Church and his conversion on this feast day. Have a discussion about forgiveness and our continual call to conversion. We all stumble and fall at different times in our lives, turning away from God in sin; but God is always willing to forgive if we ask for forgiveness and repent.
Click here for some dinner and dessert ideas for this feast day. After reading about St. Paul's conversion in Acts 9, you might also want to play Blind Man's Bluff with your kids!
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Seven Sorrows & Joys of St. Joseph
The Seven Sorrows and Joys of St. Joseph is a devotion that can be prayed at any time of the year, but it is encouraged that we pray it prior to the Feast Day of St. Joseph on March 19. Instead of praying for seven or nine consecutive days like you would for a novena, you pray and mediate on a sorrow and a joy of St. Joseph for the seven consecutive Sundays prior to March 19, along with attending Mass each week and receiving the Holy Eucharist. Count backwards from the Sunday prior to March 19 to find your start date each year (2022 Novena starts January 30).
february 1: St. Brigid of Ireland
St. Patrick is perhaps the most famous Irish saint, and he wasn’t even Irish! But St. Brigid was! She was born in Ireland in 451, during St. Patrick’s ministry to the Irish people. Some of the stories of Brigid say she was born into slavery; she tended cows, milking them and making butter. She often got into trouble for giving the butter away to the poor. One day her butter churn was empty because of her generosity; she prayed to God, the way she had heard St. Patrick taught people to do, and her churn was miraculously filled with butter before the steward saw she had emptied it again. This miracle led her to become a Christian and devote her life to God.
St. Brigid became a nun, and with seven other women, established the first order of nuns in Ireland. She also established a convent in Kildare and is the patron saint of Ireland, dairymaids, cattle, midwives, Irish nuns, and newborn babies. If you love dairy- this is definitely a feast day you should celebrate! Try some homemade ice cream, a shamrock shake or make some butter (easier than it sounds!) to top an Irish scone or soda bread.
february 2: presentation of the Lord
This feast marks the day that Joseph and Mary brought the baby Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem (Lk 2:22-38). Even though Mary was pure and without sin (Immaculate Conception) and Jesus, who is both fully human and fully divine, didn’t need to be consecrated to God; Mary and Joseph show obedience to God’s law and bring him to the Temple 40 days after his birth (Lk 2:23 “as it is written in the law of the Lord…") Jewish women were also to submit to a ritual purification 40 days after giving birth, involving a sacrificial offering- which is why Joseph and Mary offer “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons”- the offering of the poor.
From the events that this feast commemorates and their Jewish roots, several traditions sprung up in the Church over the centuries. One is “churching”, the blessing of a woman forty days after childbirth. In recognition of the difficulty of childbirth and new motherhood, it was mandated that women have this period of 40 days to rest after giving birth. This tradition has disappeared over the years and now the blessing of the mother takes place as part of the child’s baptism ceremony.
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PRAYER FOR MOTHERS |
Another name for February 2 in the Church is “Candlemas Day,” this is the day that people would bring their candles to church to be blessed. In Luke 2:30-32, Simeon says “For my eyes have seen your salvation which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for the glory of your people Israel.” Candles are symbolic of Christ, the Light of the World- at baptism we are presented with a lighted candle (lit from the large Paschal Candle) and told to keep the light of Christ burning brightly.
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Before the revision of the Liturgical Calendar, the Presentation of the Lord/Candlemas Day marked the end of the Christmas season. So if you still have your Christmas Tree or a few decorations up, that’s perfectly fine! To mark the day in a special way at home, pray the Rosary by candlelight (the Joyful Mysteries- the Presentation of the Lord is #4). If you wish to have candles blessed for use at home, contact the parish priest ahead of time to make arrangements for a blessing.
february 3: St. Blaise
The feast of St. Blaise is one that I remember always being celebrated at our parish growing up. If February 3 didn’t fall on a Sunday, we’d have the Blessing of the Throats on the Sunday closest to St. Blaise’s feast day. I can remember practically everyone in the church lining up after Mass to have their throat blessed. The blessing is done with 2 crossed candles tied together with ribbon, held over the person’s throat as the blessing is prayed.
How did St. Blaise become the patron of throat illnesses? The story goes that as St. Blaise was being arrested for being a Christian (which was illegal in 316) a mother laid her son, who was choking on a fishbone at St. Blaise’s feet and the boy was cured- but this miracle didn’t save Blaise from being martyred. Before the fishbone incident, he’d already had a reputation for healing and for taming wild beasts. St. Blaise is also the patron saint of animals, wool combers, and wool trading.
How did St. Blaise become the patron of throat illnesses? The story goes that as St. Blaise was being arrested for being a Christian (which was illegal in 316) a mother laid her son, who was choking on a fishbone at St. Blaise’s feet and the boy was cured- but this miracle didn’t save Blaise from being martyred. Before the fishbone incident, he’d already had a reputation for healing and for taming wild beasts. St. Blaise is also the patron saint of animals, wool combers, and wool trading.
As we get closer to Ash Wednesday, start to talk about Lent with your kids. Make Mardi Gras masks or research how other cultures celebrate the season and adapt it for your family celebration. The colors of Mardi Gras- green, purple and white/gold, come from the Liturgical colors of the Church- green for Ordinary Time, purple for Lent which comes next, and white/gold for the celebration of the Resurrection during Easter.
Before the modern convenience of freezers, the dietary restrictions of Lent meant that before it began, people would eat and drink what they would have to abstain from during the season in the weeks preceding it. Fat Tuesday was the last ditch effort to eat everything that they couldn't have again until Easter. Have a party on Fat Tuesday with your kids- a crazy mish-mosh of favorite foods at dinner that they may choose to abstain from during Lent.
Before the modern convenience of freezers, the dietary restrictions of Lent meant that before it began, people would eat and drink what they would have to abstain from during the season in the weeks preceding it. Fat Tuesday was the last ditch effort to eat everything that they couldn't have again until Easter. Have a party on Fat Tuesday with your kids- a crazy mish-mosh of favorite foods at dinner that they may choose to abstain from during Lent.