The days after the Feast of Pentecost are often called “Ordinary time” or the “Green Season.” Every Sunday the clergy wear green vestments, with the exception of Trinity Sunday and special baptisms, if we have any; then, we wear white.
This long green season takes us past the Easter celebration and slowly leads us to Advent in December. With the celebration of the Feast of Pentecost we embrace the role of the Holy Spirit to recreate us and empower us to be the Church.
This season of wearing green as the liturgical color reminds us of life and growth. We move into a routine of liturgical practice and readings that call us to the day-to-day life of faith. This is the case for most of us in our daily lives. While the summer seems different because school is out and people are away on vacation, we do know and understand the rhythm of daily life. We develop a pattern that is anticipated and understood.
The life of the Church and our daily life can seem a bit routine and predictable. For some this is a comfort, for others it is not. But ordinary in the kingdom of God is not the same ordinary that the world creates.
Ordinary in the Church means that it is ordinary to experience God’s love every day. It is ordinary to forgive and be forgiven. It is ordinary to join our brothers and sisters in receiving the Sacrament and worshiping our God together. It is ordinary to seek to heal the wounds of others, to celebrate their joys, and to welcome the stranger into our midst.
Ordinary in the Kingdom of God means a taste of heaven each day, each week, and in each moment of life. The long green season is a time to embrace the life we have been given and to look for the grace and beauty found in it.
Even ordinary time is sacred time when you walk in the Kingdom of God.