Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
“Ordinary Time” is that time of the Church Year that is neither Lent and Easter nor Advent and Christmas. It is time which is “devoted to the mystery of Christ in all its aspects”.*
In our culture, the word “ordinary” has connotations of “nothing special”, “so-so”, or “humdrum”. In that sense of the word, nothing could be further from the truth! No part of a believing Christian’s life can ever be “ordinary”.
We enter this mystery at our Baptism, and continue to live it out for the rest of our lives. If we fail to do this, we are missing the point for which we are living. So, each year, the Church presents us with the “Liturgical Year” which puts before our minds the complete mystery of our Salvation, beginning with the prophets of the Old Testament during Advent, and continuing to the feast of Christ the King in November.
If, each year, we are faithful to celebrating the Mass each week and listening to the readings, how can we fail to become more familiar with this mystery of Jesus and our Salvation? Consider how well you would know the story of a book if you read it as many times as your adult years! Do you know the story of Jesus and Salvation that well?
*General Norms for the Liturgical Year and the Calendar