So, although we are keeping the spirit of Christmas alive and the hope and joy that brings us, we are now back officially in Ordinary Time… Some fun trivia for us here: the origin of this idea of “ordinary” refers to the numbering system employed. When it comes to numbers there are “Cardinal” as well as “Ordinal” numbers. Cardinal numbers show quantity: 1, 2, 3, etc. “I have 2 apples…” On the other hand, Ordinal Numbers show position: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc. “I came in 3rd place!” The distinction between quantity and quality comes to mind.
Now, in the old calendar, everything revolved around Easter, and we referenced where we were on our calendar, using ordinal numbers, to note that we are in the 7th week before Easter or we are in the 15th week after Easter. Well, we have since simplified the Church’s calendar by looking at the year as a whole, and we say of this time outside of Easter (or other seasons like Lent, Advent, Christmas), using ordinal numbers still, we are in the 2nd Week of Ordinary Time or the 27th Week of Ordinary Time. So now you know!