Dear Parishioners,

This week begins the next liturgical season in the Church: Ordinary Time. It is distinct from the other seasons because we wear green which is a symbol of life and hope. This season is unusual because it is interrupted between Ash Wednesday and Pentecost, which is when we celebrate the seasons of Lent and Easter. It is called Ordinary Time because our days are ordered towards the Solemnity of Christ the King which is the end of our liturgical year. It does not mean, “unimportant” or “common” because nothing is unimportant to God.

During Ordinary Time, we should be striving to live out the good habits we have achieved in Advent and Lent. During times of intense activity for the Lord (the feasting of holy days and the fasting of days of penance), we might have sudden insights and conversion experiences and these are good and beautiful things. However, they need to be incorporated into our lives. We need to grow in maturity in faith, not looking for religious highs but just striving to follow the Lord at all times. Striving for holiness takes one’s whole life and a lot of it will go unnoticed by ourselves and others.

God is always preparing us for heaven. I hope we can allow Him to work on us and that we can grow to be more aware of His presence in our lives. We do that by living our lives ordered toward Him. We should pray to God when we wake up in the morning and when we go asleep. But, most importantly we should pray to Him on Sunday, the day we are called to worship Him in Holy Mass. We do not fit time for God into our busy lives. We should center our busy lives on God and let Him order it all to His purpose.
God bless!

Fr. Carter

P.S. Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day tomorrow and God bless everyone going to the March for Life this Friday!