Dear friends,
As we enter the month of June this year, the church enters into a new phase in the liturgical calendar, which is the Ordinary Time. The term "Ordinary Time" may be misleading. In the context of the liturgical year the term "ordinary" does not mean "usual or average." Ordinary here means "not seasonal." Ordinary Time is that part of the Liturgical Year that lies outside the seasons of Lent-Easter and Advent-Christmas. In Ordinary Time, the Church celebrates the mystery of Christ not in one specific aspect but in all its aspects. The readings during the liturgies of Ordinary Time help to instruct us on how to live out our Christian faith in our daily lives.
The Easter Season is now finished. But does it mean that our life is now just ordinary? Far from it. Ordinary Time does not mean that our life is ordinary. Rather, our life must be a life of witness, as we have been energized by the celebrations that took place during the Easter Season. During this time, we experienced God’s boundless love for us as we commemorated the suffering, death, and glorious resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have been filled with hope as we celebrate Jesus’ ascension into heaven showing us that there is more than just this temporary world. We know that there is a heaven, our final home, our true home awaiting for us. And Jesus has gone ahead to prepare a place for us as he promised. "If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:3). And finally, we have received the gift of the Holy Spirit that Jesus promised us so that we can be led and guided by the Spirit of Truth. The Holy Spirit comes with abundant gifts and fruits that are meant for us to receive to help our faith life, so that we can be affirmed of the will of God in our lives. In addition, they are given to us to use for the benefit of all, so that we can build up the Body of Christ to be stronger, more faithful, more loving and more just.
As we enter into the Ordinary Time of the Liturgical Year, let us remember that our lives are far from ordinary. We cannot be ordinary people when we are filled with the Holy Spirit of God, which impels us to go out to preach the Good News to the poor, proclaim release to the captives, recover the sight of the blind, and set free those who are oppressed (Luke 4:18). This is the mission set aside for every Christian each and everyday. Thus, there are various seasons throughout the year, but for a true Christian, there is no ordinary day when we are doing the work of the Lord.
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