The term “Ordinary Time” is primarily used in the Anglican/Episcopal Church, to describe the periods of the liturgical year that are not part of the major seasons like Advent, Christmas, Lent, or Easter. In the Protestant liturgical calendar, particularly within the Anglican Communion, the term is sometimes used similarly to refer to the time after Pentecost and before Advent, often called the “green season” due to the liturgical color green. However, the term “Ordinary Time” is not universally used across all Protestant denominations, and many Protestant churches do not have a formal liturgical calendar with this designation.
The period known as Ordinary Time begins on the Monday following the Sunday after January 6 (the Feast of the Epiphany) and continues until Ash Wednesday, and then resumes on the Monday after Pentecost Sunday until the Saturday before the First Sunday of Advent. This season is considered the longest part of the liturgical year, lasting 33 or 34 weeks, and is dedicated to reflecting on the life, teachings, and ministry of Jesus Christ in the everyday realities of life. While some Protestant traditions may observe similar seasonal patterns, they often use different terminology and structures, and the concept of “Ordinary Time” as a formal liturgical season is not standard across most Protestant denominations.
Welcome to Ordinary Time! Now, if you’re like me, you might hear “Ordinary Time” as “boring time.” But that’s not the case! Let me explain. The Church Year revolves around two cycles:
- The Christmas cycle (Advent, Christmas, Epiphany)
- The Easter cycle (Lent, Holy Week, Easter, Pentecost)
The rest of the year is Ordinary Time. Technically, Ordinary Time includes the Epiphany Season, but in this article we will focus on the Season after Trinity, the long run of weeks in summer and fall until the beginning of another Advent.
What is “Ordinary Time”?
Beginning with Trinity Sunday
The first Sunday in Ordinary Time is Trinity Sunday. This comes immediately after Pentecost, which is fitting, because Pentecost completes the revelation of the Trinity in salvation history.
When we say Trinity, we refer to the revealed truth that there is one God in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. As a mathematical equation, three in one can be difficult to understand. But as a relational truth, the eternal love of this three-in-one is beautiful and deeply moving. Our life in God is a participation in the eternal love of the Father for the Son in the Spirit.
The Ordinary Sundays
After Trinity Sunday, each Sunday is numbered, and this use of the ordinal numbers is the origin of the phrase “Ordinary Time.” This is also why the season is sometimes called the Season After Trinity or Trinitytide.
When most people hear the phrase “Ordinary Time,” they think it means nothing special is going on. And in one sense, they are right. There aren’t nearly as many major feasts, and for those who love the feasts, this can seem like a long run of shapeless or even boring weeks.
But there is another way to look at it. A season without many special occasions is also a season without many distractions. It is a season for developing good rhythms for spiritual life. And because there is less focus on what God has done in the past, there is time to focus on our relationship with God in the present.
What do we do during Ordinary Time?
The activities of ordinary time are therefore less about special occasions and more about regular rhythms that contribute to spiritual growth.
Green is for Growth
The liturgical color for Ordinary Time is green. This represents growth, both numerically as the church expands, and also spiritually as each member of the church becomes more like Christ. In his article on green and ordinary time, Peter Johnston writes:
The point of the color green in ordinary time is not to pursue numerical growth alone, but rather a balance of quantitative and qualitative growth, numerical and spiritual, of green shoots and deeper roots. For most Christians, the best use of Ordinary Time may, in fact, be internal cultivation focused on pursuing holiness and practicing the spiritual disciplines.
Rhythms of Spiritual Life
During Ordinary Time, we can develop spiritual habits and disciplines that strengthen our normal relationship with God and our daily walk with the Lord.
A helpful approach is to find patterns that can be practiced daily, weekly, or monthly.
For example, consider beginning a prayer practice with the Daily Office. We provide a helpful guide on getting started and individual articles on Morning Prayer, Midday Prayer, Evening Prayer, and Compline. We also have a Daily Office Booklet, a streamlined and easily printable resource for your use.
Not Exciting, But Essential
Ashley Wallace explains that Ordinary Time is actually the most essential in the development of our spiritual lives and our faith. In her book on Ordinary Time, Ashley Wallace describes the season this way:
Ordinary Time might not have the excitement of Advent calendars or Lenten disciplines, but in many ways, it is the most essential part of the Christian year. This is the long green stretch of days where our faith takes root and begins to grow. Ordinary Time invites us not into preparation, but into formation. It’s the season for building spiritual habits, shaping the quiet, consistent ways our families walk with the Lord.The Liturgical Home: Ordinary Time, 27
Living Our Vocation
Ordinary Time is a time for the Church to live out her vocation in the midst of the world, recalling that every Sunday is a celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
I like the way that the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops puts it:
Ordinary Time is a time for growth and maturation, a time in which the mystery of Christ is called to penetrate ever more deeply into history until all things are finally caught up in Christ. The goal, toward which all of history is directed, is represented by the final Sunday in Ordinary Time, the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe.
“Ordinary” Time might well refer to living out our “ordinary” lives as Christians. But, since we follow the risen Lord of the Universe, there’s nothing “ordinary” about it!
