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January 16, 2022Ordinary Time (Latin: Tempus per annum) is the part of the liturgical year in the liturgy of the Roman Rite, as revised in 1969, which falls outside the two great seasons of Christmastide and Eastertide, or their respective preparatory seasons of Advent and Lent. The word "ordinary" as used here comes from the ordinal numerals by which the weeks are identified or counted, from the 1st week of Ordinary Time in January to the 34th week that begins toward the end of November.
This Sunday we celebrate the Second Sunday of Ordinary time and the Gospel is from John about the wedding feast at Cana, the first public miracle of Jesus. In all cultures, weddings are “big deals” and there’s a lot of family emotion and pressure rolled into the hosting of a wonderful day and event. Wedding planners will tell you that when some goes wrong at a wedding, just watch the mother of the bride and the way she handles it—it might tell you a little something about how the marriage may go.
Today’s gospel story has many interpretations to it, and one that is powerful is given by a priest who asks us to focus on the actions of Jesus at Cana—he won’t let this party fail; He invites the people to remain at the feast, with the choicest wines, and asks us even today about our participation at Mass—if the Mass isn’t celebrated the way we’d like, if the music or the homily isn’t what we would have chosen—don’t leave the “party” but rather come to Jesus Himself: be more active in the faith, go to the Sacrament of Reconciliation, read more deeply and frequently the Bible, come to know Christ by a lived expression of the Faith, and then your connection to the Christ, “the party,” will enable you to get through the hick-ups of the Faith by not focusing on the minor points, but rather on the real meaning of the Mass and the Faith: Jesus Christ Himself. Amen!
