The Gospel needs to be heard today!
Stand with us in this mission.
Immediately following the Christmas season, the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church celebrates what is now called, "Ordinary Time." However, it can be confusing as many Catholics come to Mass on the first Sunday after the conclusion of the Christmas season and the priest will explain how it is the "2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time"!
Wait, what happened to the "1st Sunday"? Did I miss something?
Ordinary Time begins on a Weekday
In January, the Church celebrates the feast of Epiphany on January 6 and in most places in the world this feast is transferred to the nearest Sunday.
The Baptism of the Lord is then celebrated on the next available Sunday, which is still within the Christmas season (in some cases the Baptism of the Lord is celebrated on the Monday after Epiphany Sunday).
The confusing part is that the liturgical season of Christmas ends on the feast of the Baptism of the Lord. This means that the next day that follows (typically Monday or sometimes a Tuesday), is the beginning of Ordinary Time.
Since the Sunday celebration has already happened, the only possible choice is to begin the 1st "week" of Ordinary Time on a Monday (or Tuesday). The remaining days of that week continue the 1st week of Ordinary Time.
This means the first Sunday in the season of Ordinary Time is actually the 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time!
Talk about confusing!
After that the rest of the year is "normal," but it's interesting to note that Ordinary Time is the one of the only liturgical seasons in the Roman Rite to begin on a week day. Lent is a similar situation, except Ash Wednesday does not start the 1st week of Lent, as the 1st Sunday of Lent occurs after Ash Wednesday.
