The Solemnity of the Baptism of the Lord is soon approaching and therefore brings to a close the Christmas season and begins the season of Ordinary Time.  One of the questions that confuses so many is "Why is is called Ordinary Time?"  Many people have said to me that they think that name is unfair because it makes it seem as though this time of year is unimportant -- that its just ordinary.

Its important to understand the meaning of why the Church calls this time of year "Ordinary."  I have heard some say the reason it is called Ordinary Time is because the season is a succession of weeks and therefore is numbered with ordinal number and hence the name ordinary time.  This isn't an accurate explanation because other seasons of the Church year are numbered ordinally, such as Advent and Lent and the Sundays after Pentecost in the old Roman Calendar.  We have to look at the meaning of the word Ordinary in the context of his the Church uses it.

The Ordinary, in ecclesiastical language, is anyone who possesses what is called "ordinary" jurisdiction.  Normally this includes such individuals as the diocesan bishop, the Vicar General, and Episcopal Vicars.  In the case of monasteries this also applies to Abbots.  Often times we hear this phrase whenever someone says "He is our Ordinary." 

It is precisely in this use of the term that we find the origin of the term "Ordinary Time."  In every other season of the Church liturgical year we find the Church celebrating a major feast or a preparation for a feast.

In Advent, the universal Church prepares for the Nativity of our Lord.  During the Christmas season we celebrate that coming of Christ among us.  Next, we celebrate the Lenten season, a time of penitential preparation for the Triduum, the next liturgical season, which internalizes Christ's pasch -- his death, dying, and rising to new life.  During the Easter season we celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord.  It is during those times in which the Universal Church isn't celebrating a time of universal importance that we have Ordinary time.

The season is termed Ordinary time because it is the time of the Local Church, the time that belongs to the Ordinary.  It is often during this time that diocesan wide celebrations are held or major events in the local Church.  This is the time that the Church, in her wisdom, has dedicated to the local bishop.  In this perspective, it makes a great deal of sense what the Church means by Ordinary Time.  This is actually a time of great importance as it focuses on the local diocese and is anything but ordinary!