During the month of July, we have been learning and reflecting about “ordinary time to grow in our spiritual life”. Ordinary Time is our usual way of life that we go forward, working for God. Sometimes we are tested, sometimes it can be tiring, but we always are nourished and never alone. The concluding prayers of the Mass call us to “Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life” is our work especially in Ordinary Time.

Ordinary Time is a period for such careful retuning, a return to a correct ordering of our lives. From the very first book of the Bible, God shows a divine order to the natural world. As humans, men and women, we fit well into that order and do well to know our place. We are created beings, created by God. In our own lives, we find joy in keeping His order in our souls, our actions, our words, but also daily areas, such as our homes, our closets, cars and monthly financial budgets. And what a peace we can experience when we follow God’s commandments and celebrate the Sunday as a day of rest and recreation, instead of commercial trade and work.

Finally we can learn a wonderful harmony between the mystery of Christ and the celebration of the Saints. Ordinary Time is a great time to explore the lives of the saints on their feast days. As we follow the saints feast days and share their stories with our children, we can find significance in their lives that can be related to our own.

With prayers,
Father Raju Macherla