Not So Ordinary Time- July 10, 2026
Happy weekend!
I was recently reflecting on the seasons of the Church Calendar and realized that perhaps I should explain a couple of things regarding Ordinary Time, because it’s interesting! Or at least I think it’s interesting. Since we are a little less than halfway through Ordinary Time, here’s how this works:
Ordinary Time is not called ordinary simply because we are going through the daily happenings of Jesus’ life, which cannot be called ordinary by any stretch of the imagination. It is true that we are contemplating the ordinary activity of Jesus during this time, but even more so Ordinary Time acts as a countdown. Ordinary Time is called ordinary because it follows the ordinal numbers system (1, 2, 3, 4, etc.). There are 34 weeks in Ordinary time, which is roughly 66% of the year. Despite being the majority of the liturgical year, it acts as a preparation for the principle seasons of the year, namely Advent/Christmas and Lent/Easter.
Ordinary Time counts the weeks between these seasons. This weekend is the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time, meaning that we have 19 weeks until the end of the liturgical year and the beginning of Advent. Advent is itself a countdown to Christmas, but is considered a principle season. After the Christmas Season, we roll through the first 6-8 weeks of Ordinary time until Lent begins, which is itself a countdown to the Easter Season. After Easter, we go through the next 26-28 weeks of Ordinary Time. And the cycle repeats! Through the weeks of Ordinary Time there are various celebrations like feasts and solemnities to remind us where we are going, sanctifying the year even outside the principle seasons of the year.
To confuse us even more, the Sunday Cycle is a 3-year Cycle (A, B, C) and the Weekday Cycle is a 2-year Cycle (I, II). The cycles renew every First Sunday of Advent. Right now, we are in year A-II, meaning that we read the A readings on Sundays and the II readings during the week. On the First Sunday of Advent we will change to B-I. The following year is C-II, then A-I, etc.
So there you go! More than you ever thought you would need to know about the Liturgical Year! I hope you enjoyed it!
God Bless!
Fr. Stoley
