Fighting HEAT in the Season of Ordinary Time
Heat is sneaky. It makes us happy, up to a point. Then saps life away from us, without notice or understanding, as we exponentially over heat. A price paid when life is not lived intentionally.
As the summer heat becomes oppressive, we survive by noticing our discomfort and taking action. Whether that means walking through a cool, air-conditioned mall or soaking our feet in a bathtub of ice-cold water, these simple acts rely on the awareness of a problem and an intentional choice to participate in our own relief. Today, the heat of climate change serves as a powerful metaphor for our daily lives. Multiple crises are boiling over all at once, needing a similar vital mix of awareness and action.
We are overheating everywhere in our daily struggles. Consider the environmental whiplash: recent forest fires near Yellowknife and Lytton, rain flooding Edmonton one day and then the choking smell of wildfire smoke blocking out the sun the next. At the same time, global wars simmer over into the neighborhood harmony of cities like Vancouver, as protesters pick sides. Even the local grocery store brings a different kind of burn. Skyrocketing prices leave families struggling to pay for dinner in the face of crop failures and beef shortages, compounding a growing cost-of-living crisis that includes relentless rent and mortgage pressures. These everyday problems are the direct, painful impacts of a world operating at a dangerous maximum, where pressure keeps building while old safety valves no longer react fast enough.
Surviving this universal simmer points to the danger of being a passive bystander. Heat sneaks in to take the lives of those who fall asleep. Survival only comes with situational awareness and intentional participation.
Awareness recognizes not just the drought and flames, but the winds that fuel them. Understanding the interconnectedness of our crises so we are not blindsided by how they feed into one another is key. But awareness alone is just watching the thermometer rise. We must couple it with intentional participation by refusing to succumb to apathy or isolation. Active engagement builds community resilience, holding institutions accountable, and making conscious consumption choices provide proven paths to cooling down the heat. While the best route forward isn’t always obvious, working with and supporting our communities, as we look toward the horizon, is a proven way to manage natural fear and greed. It’s a kind of personal growth that leads to community change, which ripples outward. Fortunately, living the gospel at all times and when necessary using words, are a fundamental part of our community prospering down our path forward together.
The church season of Ordinary Time focuses steady, quiet growth in faith and love. It’s a time to deepening relationships; not necessarily with grand gestures, but through consistency, listening, and presence. Open your heart to those around you. Trust that small connections can grow into meaningful bonds.
We are in this together !
Finding Connection in Ordinary Time;
What Would Jesus Do ?
Loneliness may feel heavier during Ordinary Time, a religious season that seems quiet compared to the celebrations of Christmas or Easter. Yet, this quieter stretch in the Church calendar offers a period for healing and connection. When we feel isolated, asking the simple question; “What would Jesus do?” guides us toward deeper relationships and renewed purpose.
Jesus constantly reached out to others, especially those on the margins. He noticed the lonely, the forgotten, and the overlooked. When feeling alone, think of Jesus: perhaps by taking the first step to greet someone new, sending a message to an old friend, or offering a small act of kindness to a neighbour.
Ordinary Time helps steady, quiet growth in faith and love. It’s a time to deepen relationships; not necessarily through grand gestures, but through consistency, listening, and presence. Open your heart to those around you. Trust that small connections can grow into meaningful bonds.
Loneliness is real. Ordinary Time is an opportunity to consider “What would Jesus do?” while leading you to reach out, welcome others, and discover God’s love.
“As we head into summer, remember — you are not forgotten.
Even in the quiet months, even when you are away, you matter.
Your faith, your presence, your kindness — they leave a mark.
And the One who watches over you never sleeps.
So wherever you go, carry this truth:
You are seen, you are known, you are loved. Always.”
Amen!
A Prayer for Ordinary Time
Lord,
You are the fullness of life, of holiness, and of joy.
Fill our days and nights with the love of your wisdom,
that we may bear fruit in the beauty of holiness,
like a tree watered by running streams.
~ Chaplain Mike (Michael Spenser)
The church has its own calendar of seasons, which have nothing to do with the weather! Most people know the significant Christmas holidays, but the church calendar is made up of weeks that help us prepare and then live out the meaning of those holy days. The basic structure of the liturgical year is the four holy seasons: Advent, Christmas, Lent and Easter. Outside of these holy seasons is what is called Ordinary Time .
In Latin, the name of this season is Tempus per annum (literally time during the year). This does not mean “boring time where nothing interesting happens.” The term derives from the word “ordinal,” as in “numbered”—and, indeed, the Sundays that fall within Ordinary Time are often designated like The Third Sunday After Pentecost, or The Second Sunday Before Lent. Ordinary Time refers to any period of time that falls outside the major seasons of the liturgical year.
Ordinary Time celebrates “the mystery of Christ in all its aspects.” The color of green is appropriate because it is the most ordinary color in our natural environment. In many ways it does feel ordinary. After busy seasons filled with special church services and events it feels ordinary without ‘special’ focus.
Ordinary Time emphasizes that we are called to live out the Gospel ,day by day, one day at a time, not only in the notable experiences of life, but also in the mundane. “These Sundays remind us of a simple truth—”most time is ordinary time, neither crisis nor climax, tragedy nor comedy, just ordinary.”
A time to bring together what we say, do and think as we share experiences with the new people we meet on holidays, at work and in the neighbourhood. From small considerations with strangers to deepening relationships with friends and family, a time to build thought into action and joy, we share with others.