Ordinary Time, my foot.
This month, the 30 days before Ash Wednesday, is filled with much preparation. I’m slated for preparations for the following throughout Lent: a retreat, an alternative spring break, a social justice campus project, continued after-mass programming and a parish mission of sorts. Plus I’m working on the parish’s web redesign and podcasts.
It’s anything but ordinary.
But perhaps that’s where I’m called to be, in this preparation phase so that things will go well and that Lent will be a fruitful time for our parishioners and the students.
What do I have to die to this year? What ordinary behavior might I need to change so that I might be a bit of a better version of myself. What might I need to stay a bit more open to this ordinary time that might lead me to think about my Lenten renewal this year?
Lent doesn’t just spring upon us. We know exactly when it’s coming. In this month may we prepare for Lent and think about the ordinariness of our lives. How might we turn the ordinary into the extraordinary? What might we consider changing?
I’m trying to get more sleep lately and am finding I’m more awake during the peek hours that I need to be attentive to the needs of the day. I waste less time and find more avenues to clear. Sometimes we need not simply wake up to something new but may more relax into rest that leads us to refreshment.
So in this ordinariness, let us pray