Living the Resurrection in Ordinary Time
As we enter Ordinary Time, after the celebration of the Resurrection and Pentecost, the Church continues to invite reflection on renewal, grounding, and resurrection in daily life—especially at this moment, as the whole world faces challenges of the chaos unfolding in real time.
Ordinary Time is the major season after Easter. During this season, green is the proper liturgical color symbolizing hope, life, growth, and anticipation. With this theme, the Church calls us not only to rejoice but also to rebuild—to stabilize before we rise again. Resurrection is not merely a moment in history; it is a way of being. The risen Christ shows us that new life is not born from panic or haste, but from rootedness in God’s love. “Stabilize to Rise” becomes a call to cultivate foundations of faith, peace, and balance before seeking transformation. Just as Christ spent forty days grounding the disciples in hope and mission, so too are we asked to steady our inner life before setting out in renewal.
Therefore, we must finish what we started. This deeply resonates with the Gospel of Luke 9:62: “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” This statement by Jesus emphasizes that true discipleship requires total, undivided commitment. Saint Paul also exhorts believers to run their race to completion—not with anxiety, but with discipline. The Christian life is not a sprint toward perfection; it is a faithful return to the commitments we already made—our commitment to prayer, mercy, and community. To finish what we start is to honor God’s ongoing creation within us, allowing grace to complete what human effort begins.
This means we must live our “Consciousness.” Living intentionally mirrors the Christian call to examen—the daily practice of awareness, contemplation, and discernment. Before rushing to act, the soul listens. Christ Himself withdrew to pray, teaching that awareness of the Father’s presence guides every meaningful action. Grounding and alignment, then, must flow naturally from this inner stillness—a peace that does not ignore the turbulence of the world but meets it with calm, anchored response rather than fearful reaction.
Thus, our beginning of Ordinary Time must be new yet gentle. This captures the kindness at the heart of resurrection faith. Easter is not a demand to change instantly, but an invitation to rise gently into grace. We let go of what burdens us—the guilt, the hurry, the old self—and trust that God’s mercy creates space for new growth. Here, the imagery of spring speaks powerfully: a time of renewed purpose, inner cultivation, and sacred tending of the “new garden of Eden,” where God dwells within.
Christian spirituality and discipline echo the virtues of perseverance and gratitude. Jesus’ counsel of detachment echoes the autumn symbolism and recalls storing up treasure in heaven; while winter’s humility teaches surrender, which must lead us to say with Mary, “Be it done unto me.” This mirrors the Christian pilgrimage, taking one steady step in grace—guided by love, patience, and providence, rather than haste.
Finally, tenacity and unconditional love speak profoundly to the post‑Resurrection Church: to resist despair, injustice, or indifference with steadfast compassion and to live the Gospel in action. We must live in community, with neighbors helping neighbors, parishes accompanying the weary, so that the Body of Christ again becomes visible in the world.
Our Easter spirituality, then, invites balance: an inner energy managed through prayer, steady growth nourished by grace, and resistance transformed into love. To stabilize is not to be stagnant but to prepare the ground for God’s new creation. For the risen Christ calls us to rise—not in anxious striving, but in the deep peace of those who know the tomb is already empty and life has begun anew. May the grass be greener for all during this season. Welcome to Ordinary Time.
Remain Blessed,
Rev. Fr. Matthew Abu B. Cole, SMA
Parochial Vicar