The long lazy days of Summer have a way of making us "tune out" a lot of the noise of our regular lives. For those who are students or parents, school is out. The days get longer and the call of the pool, the beach, or nature captures our attention. We enjoy relaxed moments with friends and family, and perhaps even take a proper vacation - perhaps to a familiar spot, or someplace previously unexplored. Even many of our parishes, especially those with schools, go into shut-down mode where even our pastors are away on vacation, and various ministries take some time off to recharge. And if we're being honest with ourselves, many will also take a break from attending weekly Mass, as collections and attendance is noticeably reduced.
For many years I too took time off from my usual weekly reflections on the readings. After all, it's only Ordinary Time and no one is actually reading this stuff anyway, right? But several years ago I took up the challenge of spending some serious time with the Sunday readings. Just as I did when our Adult Faith Formation sessions were in session, I took upon myself the task of preparing summaries for all those weeks we were on a break. I expected the task to be arduous, but I was hoping to gain some satisfaction from accomplishing the task - to finish the collection. What I did not expect was to fall in love with the journey.
Maybe it was because I had never spent so much time studying these readings before, or maybe it was because I didn't have a lot of expectations for the process, but I found myself being drawn deeper into the story than I had ever been before. My journey through Ordinary Time (actually, three separate journeys if you consider all three Lectionary cycles) provided me with a shining example of the model we've built for our Adult Faith Formation & RCIA process. A process that, by following the National Statutes says that the catechumenate should take at least one full year, or the General Instructions that state the catechumenate could take many years.
While many parishes still try to rush through the RCIA process using an academic approach stuffed into a more or less academic year (that is, 8 or 9 months), the RCIA was specifically designed to play the long game, giving catechumens a chance to slow down and smell the roses. Giving them a chance to really walk with Christ. My journey through the cycles of Ordinary Time gave me the chance to see the road as our catechumens should see it - side by side with the Apostles as they follow Jesus from town to town. Witnessing they did the "slow reveal," of Jesus, from teacher to master to the Christ. By following these Ordinary Time readings, we are literally walking with them (with many of the Gospels picking up where the left off from the prior week). Here we see what they see, hear what they hear, and in the process becoming Apostles ourselves.
It is an unfortunate happenstance of translation that we call this "Ordinary" time. To our modern American English ears, it sounds, well, boring. Not really worth our attention. It is "extraordinary." And to be fair, even in the Latin, meaning "ordinal" or "number" the Church was just counting the days to the next big celebration. But Ordinary Time is anything but. It is, in fact, a 32 week retreat with Jesus and the Apostles. So I urge you, take the journey.
For many years I too took time off from my usual weekly reflections on the readings. After all, it's only Ordinary Time and no one is actually reading this stuff anyway, right? But several years ago I took up the challenge of spending some serious time with the Sunday readings. Just as I did when our Adult Faith Formation sessions were in session, I took upon myself the task of preparing summaries for all those weeks we were on a break. I expected the task to be arduous, but I was hoping to gain some satisfaction from accomplishing the task - to finish the collection. What I did not expect was to fall in love with the journey.
Maybe it was because I had never spent so much time studying these readings before, or maybe it was because I didn't have a lot of expectations for the process, but I found myself being drawn deeper into the story than I had ever been before. My journey through Ordinary Time (actually, three separate journeys if you consider all three Lectionary cycles) provided me with a shining example of the model we've built for our Adult Faith Formation & RCIA process. A process that, by following the National Statutes says that the catechumenate should take at least one full year, or the General Instructions that state the catechumenate could take many years.
While many parishes still try to rush through the RCIA process using an academic approach stuffed into a more or less academic year (that is, 8 or 9 months), the RCIA was specifically designed to play the long game, giving catechumens a chance to slow down and smell the roses. Giving them a chance to really walk with Christ. My journey through the cycles of Ordinary Time gave me the chance to see the road as our catechumens should see it - side by side with the Apostles as they follow Jesus from town to town. Witnessing they did the "slow reveal," of Jesus, from teacher to master to the Christ. By following these Ordinary Time readings, we are literally walking with them (with many of the Gospels picking up where the left off from the prior week). Here we see what they see, hear what they hear, and in the process becoming Apostles ourselves.
It is an unfortunate happenstance of translation that we call this "Ordinary" time. To our modern American English ears, it sounds, well, boring. Not really worth our attention. It is "extraordinary." And to be fair, even in the Latin, meaning "ordinal" or "number" the Church was just counting the days to the next big celebration. But Ordinary Time is anything but. It is, in fact, a 32 week retreat with Jesus and the Apostles. So I urge you, take the journey.
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