We begin the Lenten Season by receiving ashes: “You are dust, and to dust you shall return (cf. Gen 3:19). The dust sprinkled on our heads brings us back to earth; it reminds us that we are dust and to dust we shall return. We are weak, frail and mortal. Centuries and millennia pass and we come and go; before the immensity of galaxies and space, we are nothing. We are dust in the universe. Yet we are dust loved by God. It pleased the Lord to gather that dust in his hands and to breathe into it the breath of life (cf. Gen 2:7). We are thus a dust that is precious, destined for eternal life. We are the dust of the earth, upon which God has poured out his heaven, the dust that contains his dreams. We are God’s hope, his treasure and his glory.

     Ashes are thus a reminder of the direction of our existence: a passage from dust to life. We are dust, earth, clay, but if we allow ourselves to be shaped by the hands of God, we become something wondrous. More often than not, though, especially at times of difficulty and loneliness, we only see our dust! But the Lord encourages us: in his eyes, our littleness is of infinite value. So let us take heart: we were born to be loved; we were born to be children of God.

~ HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS
 Basilica of Santa Sabina, Ash Wednesday, 26 February 2020

The winter portion of Ordinary Time is but a few weeks. We may think that this time is ordinary in the sense of "run of the mill." However, the term ordinary derives from the word "ordinal," or numbered, as the Sundays in Ordinary time are numerically ordered. The time between the close of Christmas Time with the Baptism of the Lord and Ash Wednesday's introduction to Lent does not have to be fallow; it can be a time in which our faith can flourish and grow, "greening" in the spirit of this season's liturgical color. Perhaps one of the great opportunities of Ordinary Time - whether in winter or summer - is to make our discipleship visible not only through our words but also through our deeds. In this way, Ordinary Time becomes anything but ordinary.

The seasons of the Church reflect the rhythms of our lives, with peak moments and times of quiet growth. The liturgical color of Ordinary Time reminds us that this is still a season of growth in our discipleship, a time to continue maturing into the followers of Jesus Christ we are meant to be.  

 -- 2018 Sourcebook for Sundays, Seasons, and Weekdays - Liturgy Training Publications
Ordinary Time During Winter - The Meaning p. 51
Summer and Fall - The Meaning pp. 208-209

This Bulletin Shorts Series began in 2016 during the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy. It still aims to help the faithful and catechumens delve into the Sunday Scriptures and wrestle with Christian life. The hope is to rest more and more in God’s grace and act in more merciful ways.

Winter Ordinary Time (pdf)

Lent (pdf)

Easter (pdf)

Early Summer Ordinary Time-June/July (PDF)

Late Summer Ordinary Time-August/September (PDF)

Fall (PDF)

This Bulletin Shorts Series began in 2016 during the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy. It still aims to help the faithful and catechumens delve into the Sunday Scriptures and wrestle with Christian life. The hope is to rest more and more in God’s grace and act in more merciful ways.

Lent

Easter

Ordinary Time June-July