Ordinary Time (Green)
During the season between Christmas and Lent, the readings focus
on Jesus’ early ministry of teaching, and healing, and the gathering
of disciples. Shrove Tuesday (Pancake Tuesday) celebrations often
mark the end of this season. Ordinary Time resumes later in the
year.
The word "ordinary" in Ordinary Time comes from the word
ordinal. “Counted Time” would be a better translation. The occurrence of Easter determines the
length of this counted time. Easter falls on the 1st Sunday after the first full moon after the spring
equinox. (when the tilt of the Earth's axis is inclined neither away from nor towards the Sun, the centre
of the Sun being in the same plane as the Earth's equator.) The timing falls between March 22 and
April 25.
The Sundays and weeks of Ordinary Time are days of growth and harvest -- days of hope and time to
mature in one's faith. Green is the colour of on-going life in nature: the renewal of spring grass,
flowers and trees. Green signifies hope and growth. The green weeks, 1 to 34, provide time to be
refreshed with the Sunday Scriptures, sequentially following the life and works of Jesus in his public
ministry. The longest liturgical season is that of the weeks following Easter. The last Sunday of the
liturgical year is the celebration of the Feast of Christ the King.
During the season between Christmas and Lent, the readings focus
on Jesus’ early ministry of teaching, and healing, and the gathering
of disciples. Shrove Tuesday (Pancake Tuesday) celebrations often
mark the end of this season. Ordinary Time resumes later in the
year.
The word "ordinary" in Ordinary Time comes from the word
ordinal. “Counted Time” would be a better translation. The occurrence of Easter determines the
length of this counted time. Easter falls on the 1st Sunday after the first full moon after the spring
equinox. (when the tilt of the Earth's axis is inclined neither away from nor towards the Sun, the centre
of the Sun being in the same plane as the Earth's equator.) The timing falls between March 22 and
April 25.
The Sundays and weeks of Ordinary Time are days of growth and harvest -- days of hope and time to
mature in one's faith. Green is the colour of on-going life in nature: the renewal of spring grass,
flowers and trees. Green signifies hope and growth. The green weeks, 1 to 34, provide time to be
refreshed with the Sunday Scriptures, sequentially following the life and works of Jesus in his public
ministry. The longest liturgical season is that of the weeks following Easter. The last Sunday of the
liturgical year is the celebration of the Feast of Christ the King.