Living Ordinary Time as a Family

Between the seasons of Advent and Lent, the Church's liturgical season is known as Ordinary Time. As the Church's readings focus on the public ministry of Christ, we realize this time is anything but ordinary.

Here's one way to make the most of Ordinary Time as a family.

Finding the Extraordinary in the Ordinary

The time between big liturgical seasons, the time we're in now can often seem to pale in comparison to the great feasts and fasts of the Church. Ordinary time can seem so - well, ordinary.

The truth is, Jesus is just as present and active today as He is on memorable days like Christmas and Easter. The amazing gift of the Lord, His birth into this world and miraculous life, His sacrificial death and joyous Resurrection - this extraordinary gift is ours every single day. There's nothing ordinary about that.

It might also sometimes seem like the daily life of the family is just too ordinary, that there's nothing too special about it. That's why it's such a beautiful thing to focus on the life of Jesus, during Ordinary Time. We get to see how Jesus takes the ordinary and transforms it into the extraordinary, and He wants to do the same thing with your family.

One simple way to focus on Christ this season is to read the Daily Readings, together. Set aside just 5 minutes each day to read from the daily Scripture, especially the Gospel.

Click the button below to view the readings for each day of February.

Daily Readings

Family Challenge:

Make this a daily question at dinner, on the drive home from school, or before bed:

What extraordinary way did you see the Lord working on this ordinary day?

Model simple answers for your kids from your own day to help them begin to recognize how God is present in the little joys and struggles of everyday life... and that's extraordinary!

Here are some examples that might be helpful as you get started:

"I was having a hard time at work, so I asked God to give me patience and suddenly I felt so much calmer and I got all my work done!"
"I heard some good news from a friend so I thanked God for blessing them and remembered how blessed I am too."
"I was tired and a little cranky, so I stopped for a few minutes to ask Jesus to give me strength, and He did!"
"The snow on the tree branches just looks so beautiful today, it reminds me of the beauty of God's creation!"

“The most extraordinary thing in the world is an ordinary man, an ordinary woman, and their ordinary children.”

G.K. Chesterton