How to Celebrate Ordinary Time in Daily Life
Let’s celebrate Ordinary Time! It’s the liturgical period in between the more illustrious seasons of Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter, and offers Catholics a unique opportunity to grow in faith and holiness through the ordinary rhythms of daily life. This periods are times where we can deepen our relationship with God and integrate our faith more fully into every aspect of our lives. These simple and seasonal day-to-day routines below can serve as motivation to make the most of Ordinary Time.
Embrace Daily Prayer and Reflection
1. Start and End with Prayer: Begin each day with a morning prayer and end each day with a reflection of conscience. As stated many times elsewhere, I recommend the Magnificat devotional – a monthly subscription where you receive a hand-size booklet with daily morning, mass, and evening prayers as well as monthly themes, editorials, and meditations. Another easy and quick way to fit in regular prayer is to follow a Novena (there are several every month). A novena is only nine days, and often come with specific prayers towards a specific request.
2. Utilize the Liturgy of the Hours: Also known as the Divine Office, this set of prayers recited at specific times throughout the day connects you with the universal Church. Traditionally, the Divine Office as followed by several monasteries is as as follows: Lauds (3am), Prime (6am), Terce (9am), Sext (noon), None (3pm), Vespers (evening), Compline (before going to bed), and Matins (Midnight). Quite a lot!
For common daily life, I recommend morning, afternoon, and evening. The Magnificat devotional also has an app, which makes it easy to access. There are several other apps that can help here, such as iBreviary – one of the most popular prayer apps in the world!
3. Lectio Divina: This ancient practice of reading, meditating, praying, and contemplating scripture can be a powerful way to immerse yourself in God’s Word. Choose passages from the daily Mass readings to guide your reflection. I like to play meditative music while doing so, and have found that Ascension Press app combines both music and passage reflection very well.
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Seasonal Living during Ordinary Time
1. Celebrate Feast Days: Ordinary Time includes many significant feast days of saints and other leaders in Catholic tradition. If you have spent any time around my website, you know that I have a deep connection to celebrating these feast days. It is like remembering family members that came before you, providing you with a life experience for you to learn from and reflect on. You can incorporate these celebrations into your home by learning about the saints, cooking special meals (my favorite!), or engaging in acts of service inspired by their lives.
2. Liturgical Colors and Decorations: Use green, the liturgical color of Ordinary Time, in your home decor to remind you of growth and hope. Simple touches like green tablecloths, candles, or plants can create a prayerful atmosphere. I love to change up my fireplace mantel according to both seasons of nature and liturgical seasons. For Ordinary Time, I place an olive leaf garland that adorns the fireplace. I have recently seen this beautiful Green Pom Pom Felt Garland from Etsy Seller Your Everyday Faith – there are wall rosaries and other liturgical season garlands available for purchase.
Your Daily Activities during Ordinary Time
1. Practice Stewardship: Ordinary Time is ideal for embracing a spirit of stewardship – for neighbors, for nature, for service, for pretty much anyone or anything that can do with a bit of care! Engage in acts of charity, volunteer work, or environmental service as ways to serve God and others. Simple acts like picking up litter in your local park or helping a neighbor can make a significant impact. In today’s world where genuine care and assistance seems to be lacking, we can model these behaviors ourselves and set the tone for those around us.
2. Develop a Routine: During times where there isn’t a major feast or event to prepare for, it can be easy to settle into complacency. And my, how time flies when we do so! A consistent daily routine that includes time for prayer, work, rest, and leisure can bring a sense of order and peace. This structure allows for intentional living and helps you prioritize spiritual and physical well-being. Every day is a gift, and we can make the most of each day that comes!
3. Mindful Meals: Dialy meals can be just as special as those we prepare for on Sundays or major holiday. Being grateful for the food you have, making healthy choices, and sharing meals with our loved ones can occur regularly. A great place to start is bringing back the Family Dinner, and if you already have it in place, think of ways to make it more meaningful. Put away the phones, turn off the TV, and have conversation. It doesn’t have to be anything grand – talking about our days is a great place to start, and usually takes up the entire meal time anyway!
Cultivating Relationships and Community during Ordinary Time
1. Foster Family Prayer Time: Set aside regular times for family prayer, such as saying grace before meals, praying the rosary together, or attending mass as a unit. When we think about everything that calls our attention, from extra-curricular activities to virtual meetings, it is easy to fall into a routine where each individual member is “elsewhere.” It does take effort to be present as a family unit together, even for a few minutes, and we can ensure those minutes carry meaning while we celebrate Ordinary Time.
2. Join Parish Activities: Many parishes are striving for more ministries and volunteers outside of Christmas and Easter. Ordinary time is a perfect time to get involved in parish life by participating in parish service project, supporting parish events, or reaching out to your rectory and offering to lead one of your own! All of us have the potential for leadership or, at the very least, talents to share.
3. Hospitality: Open your home to friends, family, and those in need. I fondly remember a time when family, friends, and neighbors would ring a doorbell on a random weeknight, unannounced, just for a visit. We loved these moments! Nowadays, it seems taboo to do so. As Catholics, we are often called to lead, and practicing hospitality through invitation can be a way to live out the Gospel message of love and service. We can host simple gatherings, offering a warm and welcoming space for others. We can be brave and ring a doorbell, offering a homemade dish or fresh vegetables from the garden, for no other reason than to do just that!
Simple Living during Ordinary Time
1. Spend Time in Nature: There are two seasons of Ordinary Time: a shorter one in between Christmas and Lent, and a longer one after Easter. In my area, Ordinary Time spans the winter season as well as the spring/summer season. In each of these seasons, we can celebrate and nurture God’s creation. Celebrate Ordinary Time by taking time to enjoy and care for the natural world, whether through gardening at home, hiking, or simply sitting outside. These practices can be a form of active prayer themselves!
2. Simplify Your Life: Ordinary Time is a reminder to focus on what truly matters. Without a large event or feast to focus on, we have the opportunity to turn inward. Ideas that come to mind: declutter your home, make do with what you have, and live more simply. It can be rewarding to find out that we usually have a lot more than what we need! For extra motivation, we can use these times to pare down our lives in preparation for more festive seasons to come.
3. Celebrate the Seasons: Lastly, it’s so enjoyable to plan our days according to the natural seasons around us. There is a deep history between the liturgical calendar and the agricultural calendar, and so it makes sense to be intentional about enjoying the seasons! Summer can be a time for picnics and outdoor prayer, while autumn can be a season of harvest and thanksgiving. These seasonal practices can ground us all in the present moment while deepening our connection to our faith.
How do you celebrate Ordinary Time?
Ordinary Time is anything but ordinary when approached with intentionality and faith. By following these simple and seasonal living tips, we can transform our daily lives into a continuous act of worship and devotion. Embracing prayer, community, personal growth, and creation, we can find holiness in the ordinary and deepen our relationship with God throughout the year.
