Dear Parishioners and Friends of St. Mary’s of the Lake:

 This Sunday we celebrate the FEAST OF THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD, which marks a formal ending of our Christmas Season and the beginning of the Church’s ORDINARY TIME. As a matter of fact, oftentimes the Baptism of the Lord falls on Sunday. Thus, the Baptism of the Lord is seen as the First

Sunday in the Ordinary Time. Because the term ordinary in

English most often means something that's not special or distinctive, we may tend to think that Ordinary Time refers to parts of the Calendar that are unimportant. In addition, the fact that Ordinary Time falls outside

the major liturgical seasons may reinforce this impression. However, ORDINARY TIME is far from unimportant. It is calledordinary not because it is common but simply because the weeks in this period are numbered. The Latin word ordinalis refers to numbers in order. In other words, weeks in the Ordinary Time are numbered in order, totaling 33 or 34 in a given year and representing the weeks from the Baptism of the Lord until Ash Wednesday; and again from Pentecost until Advent. During these 33-34 weeks, the Church invites her children to meditate upon the whole mystery of Christ – His life & miracles, teachings & healings– in the light of His Nativity and Resurrection. It is to be noted: The segment of the Ordinary Time from the Baptism of the Lord till Ash Wednesday is called the ‘SEASON OF DISCIPLESHIP,’ because the Gospel Readings mostly cover the early ministry of Jesus and the calling of His first disciples. The ‘Season of Discipleship’ should remind us that we are disciples of Jesus in today’s world. The 4 aspects of discipleship are: To Discover Jesus, to Follow Jesus, to Worship Jesus and to Share Jesus. May each of us be a faith-filled disciple of Jesus!

To explain the meaning of the Ordinary Time, the website of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has this to say: ‘Christmas Time and Easter Time highlight the central mysteries of the Paschal Mystery, namely, the incarnation, death on the cross, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ, and the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. The Sundays and weeks of ORDINARY TIME, on the other hand, take us through the life of Christ. This is the time of conversion. This is living the life of Christ. Ordinary Time is a time for growth and maturation, a time in which the mystery of Christ is called to penetrate ever more deeply into history until all things are finally caught up in Christ. The goal, toward which all of history is directed, is represented by the final Sunday in Ordinary Time, the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe.’

 

Fr. Philip