ORDINARY TIME: The name “ordinary’ in this context comes from the word “ordinal” as in ordinal numbers – “first”, “second” “third” etc. Each Sunday of Ordinary time is therefore numbered in order and the season is split into two segments. The first starts after the feast of the Baptism of the Jesus (ending Christmas) and goes to Ash Wednesday (beginning of Lent); the second segment stretches from after Pentecost Sunday to the First Sunday of Advent. The length of the first segment of Ordinary Time depends on when Lent starts which in turn depends on when Easter is celebrated. The second segment is much longer, ending with the 34th week of Ordinary Time. Where seasons like Easter and Christmas have a specific and unified focus in the prayers and readings, the Sundays in Ordinary Time do not. Instead, over a three-year cycle we are presented with a particular gospel on the life of Jesus read progressively over the course of a year. 

​What is the significance of Ordinary Time for us? Against the backdrop of Christ’s birth, death and resurrection - the major pillars of our faith, Ordinary Time gives us the chance to reflect more deeply on the life of Jesus and what it means to follow him. With the help of three different gospel accounts of Jesus’ life, we have the time to take it all in: to contemplate the connection, week after week, between the life of Jesus and our own.

​Ordinary Time is also the main season for honouring Mary and the company of saints whose lives have been beacons of inspiration and hope to countless Christians. There are far more days devoted to the saints in Ordinary Time than in all the other seasons put together. 

The Church Year, 2025