We find ourselves at the beginning of Ordinary Time.  Last Sunday—the Baptism of the Lord—serves both as the closing Sunday for the Christmas Season and the First Sunday of the Ordinary Season in our Church Year.  And so, this Sunday, we return to the Green of Ordinary Time.

Sundays of Ordinary Time are the numbered Sundays in our worship.  The word ordinary here is related to ordinal number.  In describing our Sundays, we NEVER mean it in the sense of customary, usual, regular, or normal! 

While it may sometimes seem that we do the same thing Sunday after Sunday, we are doing something that is anything but normal.  Every time we gather around the altar, we are joining in the sacrifice of Jesus—that unmerited act of love to the Father and to us.  We hear extraordinary Scriptures and share in worship around the table from which we receive the very presence of God. 

This gathering of our community is extraordinary!  The message we receive and the food which nourishes our souls call us to go forth and witness to the world.  We have and extraordinary gift to share with our family, friends, and all the world.  I encourage us all to realize how extraordinary every Sunday in Ordinary Time is!