We are back to Ordinary Time…in the Church and in our lives. Christmas and New Year’s festivities are over, decorations are packed away and those lovely extra days off are but a distant memory. But doesn’t ordinary mean - the usual…the same old same old? And might one become complacent with the ordinary? Of course, that is not the meaning, nor the intent in a liturgical sense, and never should we regard our spiritual lives as ordinary either. So how do we handle ordinary time in the grind of our daily lives?
We are on a spiritual journey and we can speed along like we’re traveling the 401 on cruise control, or we can take the less traveled route, keeping our eyes, ears, hearts and minds open. These days, between feasts and fasts, between joyful celebrations and penitential practices, are the perfect time to plan out, (or maybe revise?) our road map for the journey. In what ways can we improve our prayer life? How can we become more receptive to the sacraments; the Masses offered to us?
One of the wonderful things that happen when we pay close attention, on our journey, is that we become open to the extraordinary…I came upon this prayer that truly made me stop and think:
God our father, you have a plan for each one of us. You hold out to us a future full of hope. Give us the wisdom of your Spirit so that we can see the shape of your plan in the gifts you have given us, and in the circumstances of our daily lives.
Amen to that! Let’s pay attention on our journey, and try our hardest not to be ordinary.
Margery Frisch