Monday, June 8, 2009

ORDINARY TIME

By Tim Claubaugh

Ordinary Time. What is "Ordinary Time?" Simply put, Ordinary Time is the time during the Liturgical Year (Advent - the Feast of Christ the King at the end of November) that does not celebrate the mysteries of the other liturgical seasons (Advent, Christmas, Lent, or Easter). Where Advent focuses on Christ's coming for Christmas as well as his second coming, Christmas focuses on Christ's nativity, Lent focuses on reconciliation, and Easter focuses on his Resurrection; Ordinary Time focuses on the many other aspects of Christ and our faith and salvation journey. Considering all the areas that this encompasses, there really is nothing "ordinary" about Ordinary Time.

What are some of the things that we do during Ordinary Time this summer?

Here at St. Mary's Church, we use Mass Parts (or Service Music) which is known throughout the country during specific times of the year when we may get more than the usual amount of visitors to our parish. For example, during the Advent and Christmas seasons we will use the "Mass of Light" by David Haas and during the Easter season we will use "Mass of Creation" by Marty Haugen. These 2 Mass settings are known by about 95% of the Catholic population in the United States. So people that are visiting during those holiday seasons will feel "at home" by knowing and singing those Mass parts.

The same is true during the summer since we get a very large number of visitors who are vacationing in the area. For that reason, during the summer we use the "People's Mass" and the "Danish Amen" Eucharistic Acclamations as well as the Gloria from the "New Mass for Congregation" by Carroll T. Andrews and the Lamb of God from the "Holy Cross Mass" by David Clark Isele. Again, these Mass parts are known by a very large number of Catholics across the country, so when we sing them during the summer, our visitors will feel "at home" by knowing and singing these Mass parts.

We will also sing some hymns this summer using the "Cross Tune" technique. But more on that in a later article in our upcoming "Hymnody Series."

I pray that everyone has a relaxing, enjoyable, and safe summer. And don't forget to worship God and give Him thanks for all your many blessings at Sunday Mass; even during the summer!

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