Ordinary Time refers to two periods of time in the Christian liturgical year that are found in the calendar of the ordinary form of the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, as well as some other churches of Western Christianity, including those that use the Revised Common Lectionary: the Anglican Communion, Methodist churches, Lutheran churches, Old Catholic churches and Reformed churches. In Latin, the name of this time is Tempus per annum translated as time during the year.
Contents
- Events of Ordinary Time
- Baptism of the Lord
- Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
- Feast of the Holy Child Jesus
- Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
- Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
- Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
- Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
- Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
- Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
- Weeks in a year
- Solemnities and feasts in Ordinary Time
- Use of the term
- Kingdomtide exception
- References
Ordinary Time comprises two periods: the first period begins on Epiphany Day (in the Anglican Communion and Methodist churches) or the day after the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord (in the Catholic Church) and ends on the day before Ash Wednesday; the second period begins on the Monday after Pentecost, the conclusion of the Easter season, and continues until the Saturday before the First Sunday of Advent. In some traditions, the first period is celebrated as Epiphanytide, and the latter of these periods is observed as Trinitytide. Both of these periods of time, combined, are the longest time in the liturgical year.
The weeks of Ordinary Time are numbered. Several Sundays bear the name of feasts or solemnities celebrated on those days, including Trinity Sunday and the Feast of Christ the King.
The liturgical color normally assigned to Ordinary Time is green.
Events of Ordinary Time
In the Catholic Church, Ordinary Time begins on the day after the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. The church normally celebrates this feast on the Sunday after the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord (6 January). However, some dioceses, including those in the United States, always celebrate Epiphany on the Sunday after the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God (1 January); in years when this Sunday celebration of the Epiphany of the Lord falls on January 7 or 8, the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord is moved to the following day, the second Monday of the year.
Therefore, Ordinary Time starts on the second Monday or Tuesday of the year (January 9 or 10) in those years and dioceses. The Christmas season includes the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, so Ordinary Time begins the next day, Monday or Tuesday, not on Sunday. However, the Sunday after the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord is always counted as the "Second Sunday of Ordinary Time".
Ordinary Time continues through the day before Ash Wednesday, which falls between 4 February and 10 March (inclusive), and marks the beginning of the Season of Lent. Thus, for Roman Catholics, the period of Ordinary Time between Christmas and Lent may end amid the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, or ninth week of Ordinary Time. Ash Wednesday is a moveable feast which occurs on the 40th day (excluding Sundays) before the Solemnity of the Resurrection of the Lord (Easter Sunday).
Ordinary Time resumes on the Monday following Solemnity of Pentecost, which is the Sunday between 10 May and 13 June that marks the 50th day of Easter. Ordinary Time concludes with the Saturday afternoon before the first Sunday of Advent (27 November to 3 December). Ordinary Time thus always includes the entire months of July, August, September and October and most or all of June and November. In some years, Ordinary Time includes a portion of May, or a day or two in early December, or both. The Catholic Church substitutes the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ the King of the Universe in the place of the 34th Sunday in Ordinary Time, the last Sunday of the season.
Baptism of the Lord
Every second Sunday of the calendar year, unless the Sunday celebration of the Epiphany of the Lord falls on January 7 or 8, in which case the Baptism is observed on the following day, the second Monday of the year.
Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Feast of the Holy Child Jesus
Every third Sunday of the calendar year.
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Weeks in a year
The actual number of complete or partial weeks of Ordinary Time in any given year can total 33 or 34. In most years, Ordinary Time comprises only 33 weeks, so the Church omits one week that otherwise would precede the resumption of Ordinary Time following Pentecost Sunday. For example, in 2011, the Sunday before Ash Wednesday was the Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, but the day after Pentecost Sunday began the 11th Week in Ordinary Time.
In the Church of England, a similar situation arises with "Sundays after Trinity", as Sundays in the second period of Ordinary Time are termed (until the final four, which are termed "Sundays before Advent"). The total number of Sundays varies according to the date of Easter and can range anything from 18 to 23. When there are 23, the Collect and Post-Communion for the 22nd Sunday are taken from the provision for the Third Sunday before Lent.
In the Episcopal Church (United States), it is normal to refer to Sundays after Epiphany and Sundays after Pentecost. The use of Ordinary Time is not common.
In the Orthodox Church and the Eastern Catholic churches, Sundays are all numbered after Pentecost which runs through the following year. The Orthodox do not distinguish Ordinary Time.
Solemnities and feasts in Ordinary Time
In addition, certain solemnities and feasts that fall on Sundays during Ordinary Time preempt the observance of an ordinarily numbered Sunday. On preempted Sundays, the liturgical color of the feast or solemnity replaces the liturgical color green. These feast days include, in the Roman Catholic calendar, any holy day of obligation, any other solemnity, any feast of the Lord, and the Commemoration of All Faithful Departed Souls.
On the universal calendar, these include:
The following observances always preempt a Sunday in Ordinary Time:
Other solemnities which outrank Sundays of Ordinary Time vary from parish to parish and diocese to diocese; they may include the feast of the patron saint of a parish and the feast of the dedication of the parish church.
In addition, if a solemnity or feast that outranks a Sunday of Ordinary Time, such as those mentioned above, should occur during the week, a priest celebrating Mass with a congregation may observe the solemnity on a nearby Sunday. Such a celebration is traditionally called an "external solemnity," even if the feast in question is not ranked as a solemnity. If an external solemnity is celebrated on a Sunday, the color of that celebration is used rather than green.
Use of the term
In the extraordinary form there are two distinct seasons in the Roman Breviary and Roman Missal, known as the season after Epiphany and the season after Pentecost, respectively. Liturgical days in these times are referred to as the - nth Sunday after Epiphany or Pentecost, or Feria II, III, IV, V or VI after the - nth Sunday.
With the reforms of 1970 came the introduction of four liturgical weeks - the 6th through 9th weeks of Ordinary Time - which could fall either after Epiphany or after Pentecost, making the old numbering scheme unusable, and the term tempus per annum was used to describe both of these seasons. Before the reforms until the present, the term tempus per annum has been used to describe the season of the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary that is not part of Advent or Christmastide, and so tempus per annum extends from Matins on 3 February through None on the last Saturday before Advent.
Following the lead of the liturgical reforms of the Roman Rite, many Protestant churches also adopted the concept of Ordinary Time alongside the Revised Common Lectionary.
Kingdomtide exception
Some Protestant denominations (most notably the United Methodist Church) set off the last 13 or 14 weeks of Ordinary Time into a separate season, known as Kingdomtide.