Poetry for Ordinary Time

In the cycle of the Liturgical calendar, Ordinary Time refers to the days of the year that are not Advent, Christmas, Lent, or Easter. Ordinary Time is the longest period of the year.

The term "ordinary" should not be viewed as the opposite of special or "extraordinary," rather it is that time which is ordained for the everyday living of the Christian life. This becomes clearer in the Latin title, tempus ordinarium, which means "measured time."

For the Church, all of Ordinary Time is "ordained for" the purpose of sanctifying the everyday life of Christians. It helps prepare us for the other liturgical seasons of the Church year.

There are two distinct periods in Ordinary Time. The first is the five to eight weeks between Epiphany and Ash Wednesday. The second is the twenty-three to twenty-seven weeks following the feast of Pentecost and concluding with the Solemnity of Christ the King. The liturgical color for days in Ordinary Time is green.*

*From the University of Dayton, "Marian Poetry in Ordinary Time (2003)" 

We are in the last of those 27 weeks between Pentecost and Advent.  Periodically there will appear on this weblog a piece of poetry for your enjoyment and reflection...at least once a month between now and the Reign of Christ (Feast of Christ the King) on Sunday, November 23.

Our first offering is from Mary Oliver:

Look and See*

This morning, at waterside, a sparrow few
to a water rock and landed, by error, on the back
of  an eider duck; lightly it  fluttered off, amused.
The duck, too, was not provoked, but, you might say, was
laughing.

This afternoon a gull sailing over
our house was casually scratching
its stomach of  white feathers with one
pink foot as it flew.

Oh Lord, how shining and festive is your gift to us, if we
only look, and see. 

 *From Why I Wake Early: New Poems - Mary Oliver, Beacon Press, Boston, MA, USA, 2004

Alix Lake - Autumn 2010