Dear Parishioners:   

With the celebration of the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord this weekend, we mark the end of the Christmas season. This week, the Christmas lights, trees, and Creche will be put away for the year.    Traditionally, Christmas is celebrated until Candlemas or the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord on February 2.  On this day, many Catholics bring candles to the Church to be blessed. They can then light these candles at home during prayer or difficult times to symbolize Jesus Christ, the Light of the World.

Candlemas is the last day the Alma Redemptoris Mater, the Marian antiphon in the Divine Office, is sung. It is sung from the beginning of Advent through February 2. So, Candlemas was associated with the close of the Christmas season. Now, we enter the Season of Ordinary Time. Christmas Time and Easter Time highlight the central mysteries of the Paschal Mystery, namely, the incarnation, death on the cross, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ, and the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

The Baptism of Christ by Andrea del Verrocchio and Leonardo da Vinci, C. 1472–1475

On the other hand, the Sundays and weeks of Ordinary Time take us through Christ's life. 'Ordinary' comes from the word ordinal, which means 'counted.' Each week is known by a number, e.g., the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time.  Ordinary Time is when the mystery of Christ is called to penetrate ever more deeply into history until all things are finally caught up in Christ. The goal toward which all of history is directed is represented by the final Sunday in Ordinary Time, the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe.

Green vestments are worn during the Season of Ordinary Time.

Ordinary Time is the longest season in the Church's year. The thirty-three weeks of Ordinary Time is divided into two sections; one short and the other very long. The weeks between the Christmas and Lenten seasons are the shorter part of Ordinary Time. In contrast, the weeks between Pentecost and the Advent season form the longer part. Now the bright and festive decorations of Christmas and the gold vestments are put away.  We decorate the Church more simply and wear plain green vestments.  Green, the color of Ordinary Time, tells us much about its significance in the Church's life. It is the rich color of growth and new life.

Ordinary Time deserves to be lived extraordinarily—in the depths of our hearts, families, and the parish community. We need to immerse ourselves deeply in the spirituality of Ordinary Time because it contains the essence of who we are in the 'everydayness' of our Christian lives. The thirty-three weeks of Ordinary Time gives us time to reflect on how we live as Christians. We have thirty-three weeks to examine and 'order' our lives. At the same time, we focus on a particular Gospel and enter it deeply. 

The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord is a good time to begin Ordinary Time.  As we recall Jesus' Baptism in the Jordan River by John the Baptist, we likewise recall our own Baptism.  St. Ambrose said: "The Lord was Baptized, not to be cleansed Himself, but to cleanse the waters, so that those waters, cleansed by the flesh of Christ which knew no sin, might have the power of Baptism.”

A newborn infant is baptized.

On the day of our own Baptism, our parents and godparents made promises on our behalf because, as infants, we could not. The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord is a good time to personally renew with fervor and vigor, living out our Baptismal Promises. Let us again promise to renounce evil, reject Satan and his works, serve God faithfully in the Catholic Church, reject sin, obey Christ, and be ruled by his precepts.

We promise again to believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth, believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, who was born of the Virgin Mary, suffered death, rose again from the dead, and is seated at the right hand of the Father, and believe in the Holy Spirit. We also promise again to believe in the Holy Catholic Church, in the communion of saints, in the forgiveness of sins, in the resurrection of the body, and in life everlasting.    Today, on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, remember those promises and strive to live them daily in word and deed’

Christmas has ended, so make one final visit to the Christ Child in the Creche this weekend before it is taken down. Be well. Do good. God Bless