Ordinary Time

The life of the Church follows two cycles: in the Temporal cycle, the life of Christ is relived in liturgical time; in the Sanctoral cycle, the emphasis is on Mary, the Mother of God and then the saints and martyrs of the Church. The year is divided in season: Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter (finishing after the Octave of Pentecost) and Ordinary Time.

Following the seasons of the Church and the Temporal and Sanctoral cycle is a great way to enrich life and faith in the domestic church. The life of the domestic church should not be limited to the great Feasts of Christmas and Easter! Actually, by living each season well, we will appreciate them with even more depth.

We are right now in Ordinary Time, the longest season, the season of growth and maturity, symbolised by the color green. Basking in the Glory of the Resurrection, strenghtened by the Holy Spirit, we are ready to grow in holiness. It is then a wonderful time to practice the truths of the Faith in daily life.

Here are some suggestions to live Ordinary Time in your home:

- I love to put candles on the table at dinner time and I choose the color according to the season, to honor a Our Lady or a saint. Right now the color is green. Children really like changing the colored candles with the season or a special feast.

- It is a great time to establish a regular pattern of prayer in personal and family life and persevere in it.

- Celebrate the solemnity or feast day of the saints and Our Lady, for they are bountiful during the summer. In July: St. Thomas the Apostle, St. Maria Goretti, St. Benedict, Bl. Kateri Tekakwitha, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, St. James, St. Bridget,....

- Meditate on the Luminous Mysteries when saying the Rosary.

- There is more leasure time during summer, so why not start a good spiritual book, Sacramentum caritatis for example (the cover is green, so you can keep the color scheme going).

- Planting a garden and having the little ones help is a wonderful way to introduce them to the first chapters of Genesis as well as having fresh food for the summer.

Hymn on Paradise

St. Ephrem was born in a christian family in Nisibis, a town located in the eastern part of the Roman Empire. There, he was a deacon and a teacher. In 363, the town was handed over to the Persians and the christians from the city had to leave. St. Ephrem took refuge in Edessa where he lived until his death in 373, porbably on June 9th (although alternative dates have been recorded, including June 18th). He fought against the heresies of Marcion, Arius and others and most of his works were written during his time in Edessa. He wrote beautiful hymns and is called the "Harp of the Holy Spirit". None other than St. Jerome and St. Basil were impressed by his erudition. In the year before his death, the land being subject to a severe famine, he took care of the starving people.

He is honored as a Doctor of the Church.

Since we are now in the season of Ordinary time and on the brink of summer, I like to think about everything green. This morning reading from the Liturgy of the Hours (Psalm 1, Sirach 15: 14-17) bring to mind the Garden of Eden. St. Ephrem wrotes 15 Hymns on Paradise, they are well worth our attention and meditation.

Note the similarities between Psalm 1 and this second hymn:

Hymn on Paradise II

1. Blessed is he for whom Paradise yearns.

but, Paradise yearns for the man whose goodness makes him beautiful;

it engulfs him at its gateway, it embraces him in its bosom, it caresses him in its very womb; for it splits open and receives him into its inmost parts.

But if there is someone it abhors, it removes him and casts him out;

this is the gate of testing that belongs to Him who loves mankind.

Response: Blessed is He who was pierced and so removed the sword from the entry to Paradise.

Translation by Sebastien Brock. Hymns on Paradise. St Vladimir's Seminary Press. 1990