Ordinary Time gets its name from the word ordinal, meaning "numbered," since the Sundays of Ordinary Time are expressed numerically. Ordinary Time occurs outside of other liturgical time periods. Essentially then Ordinary Time is that part of the year that does not fall within the seasons of Advent, Christmas, Lent, or Easter. The Catholic Church celebrates two periods of the year as Ordinary Time. In the United States, the first period begins after the Masses have been said on the evening of the Feast of the Baptism of The Lord (the Sunday after The Epiphany), meaning that the feast itself falls within Christmastide, but the whole day does not. The next Sunday is still reckoned "The Second Sunday in Ordinary Time," because it is the Sunday of the second week in Ordinary Time. The reckoning can be confusing, and has many asking "what happened to the first Sunday in Ordinary Time?" The Catholic Church and other Western liturgical Churches recognize the period after Pentecost until Advent (including Christ the King Sunday) as Ordinary Time, although in some denominations they are often still numbered "Sundays After Pentecost."

Ordinary time does not need to be "ordinary," and is not meant to mean that somehow we get a break from the Liturgical Year. The opposite is true: everything that does not fit into Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter is celebrated during ordinary time, including the feasts of the Trinity, Corpus Christi, All Saints, the Assumption of Mary, and Christ the King. In addition, the Church continues to celebrate Saints days and other events such as The Octave of Christian Unity. The major feasts, when occurring on a Sunday, trump the regular Ordinary Time Sunday lessons and liturgy. In the American Catholic Church, Corpus Christi is celebrated as a Sunday feast, so often there are fewer than the 34 Sundays of Ordinary time that may possibly occur. We also may remember and celebrate the parts of Jesus' life that were ordinary, much like our own lives. The color of green is appropriate because it is the most ordinary color in our natural environment.

The use of the term "Ordinary Time" was used before the Second Vatican Council, but it was not until after the council that the term was officially used to designate the period between Epiphany and Lent, and the period between Pentecost and Advent. Rather than being called the "Season of Ordinary Time," the times were called "Season After Epiphany" and "Season After Pentecost" After the new Catholic Calendar took effect in 1969, these older designations were no longer used. However, some groups (including some Anglicans) still use the older designations. Interestingly, the Church in the Patristic period never seemed to effectively and concisely classify or label Ordinary Time, even though the time certainly existed.

From ChurchYear.Net

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