I've been reading your articles off and on for a while now and find them so peaceful and encouraging. I too am one who craves a quiet rhythm immersed in God's word in the midst of a busy world and often feel I was born in the wrong era. I'm often looking for beautiful devotionals to share with my three teenagers but struggle with something that is the right length and depth for all of us. These look ideal. Thanks for sharing!
Oh Sarah, I'm so delighted to hear that you've found some peace and encouragement in my ramblings! Thank you for being a part of this special space. I do feel like these books would be a great fit for teens and adults alike - we just have one teen right now, so I'm still figuring out that world!
I love the name “ordinary time” - it is new to me, and it’s a comforting thought in some ways to have a title, book and devotions for the regular life between the celebrations and official holy times. It’s just as important as the bigger events, holy in itself. Every day is a day to be lived unto the Lord.
The way you describe your struggle to hold consistent devotional rhythms is so familiar to me. So many beautiful prayer books, and so much disjointedness in my own practice. I love Ordinary Time for it's coincidence with my own return to the land. Gardening, canning... All of this is Ordinary Time and it feels to me like a return to the Garden, to the work of witnessing generosity and abundance unfathomable. How much of the world did God imagine as garden that he saw fit for a single tomato seed to produce so many tomatoes, each of them filled with so many seeds?! That's a prodigal love I can barely grasp, but when I do it is Ordinary Time.
A prodigal love!! Thank you for sharing this beauty, Elizabeth. And what a wonderful connection to the Garden during Ordinary Time...I love that. Have you read Vigen Guroian? He's an Armenian Orthodox theologian, and he's written some beautiful theological books about gardening.
You're reminding me to dust off my canner, which (like alllll those beautiful-but-forgotten prayerbooks on my shelf) needs to see some light again. I'm sorry you struggle with a consistent devotional practice, too - but just know you're not alone! I'm in it with ya.
Ooo such a fun question! I love the seasonal introductions a lot. And honestly, so many of the daily reflections have been impactful, all in different ways!
Oh how I can relate to the "collect-'em-all" book approach!
What are your favorite feast days during this next season of Ordinary Time, and how can we anchor ourselves and our families in liturgical living during these summer months of less routine?
I'm glad I'm not alone in the 'collect-em-all' approach, haha!!
Ooooo I have SO many favorite feasts during this chunk of Ordinary Time - St. John's Day, Bartlemas, Marymas, Michaelmas, and ALL HALLOWS (in all caps because I love it so much).
What a wonderful question about anchoring ourselves liturgically during the summer...I think really leaning into simple, local celebration - grafting these Church traditions and sacred Scripture into the daily bits and bobs of life - is the way to go, especially in the summer when our days are fluctuating all the time. I think about it like prayer: in my imagination, my prayer time is always candlelit, quiet, and calm...and though I sometimes can get a bit of that, I've also had to embrace "quick prayers" in the midst of our daily chaos. Same idea with summertime liturgical living: it's always fun to go all-out and make a big celebration, but even a simple feast-day prayer at dinner, going for a local hike on St. James' Day, etc can be just as impactful.
Here are a few link roundups for ya! But I DO plan to specifically write more about leaning into Ordinary Time...it's such a big season to wrap our heads around!
Such a wonderful idea for a devotional! Ordinary time to me feels almost more elusive than Easter or Christmastide because it’s so wide open with how much time is there and how to set it up. Also the fact it’s called ordinary but feels anything but.
Ordinary Time can definitely feel like an untethered, huge chunk of time - I totally get it! There are some surprising, impactful anchors hidden in it that I think were once more obvious than they are nowadays - thank you for sharing about this, as I feel a nudge to wrestle with it in a post!
Hello, my Australian friend! I *really* connect with this: I'd say it's all of the above for me...children, laziness, and distractin all make for a potent combo when I'm trying to parse out prayer in my days. (I've had to really mull over what prayer truly is, too).
I hope you're enoying a lovely, slow, calm winter!
Thank you Kristin, add to the mix, grandchildren🤣🥰
Many years ago, an old Italian priest, who was one of 11 children taught me how to pray as a mother, I certainly haven’t kept his advice not sure if it’s modern living or just my laziness!
He said to me, to pray for the grace you need for that day!
Wow, I thought that’s easy! He then went on to describe his mothers prayer life… his mother was an example of prayer, a woman who sitting happened only at the evening meal, a woman who owned a prayer book, but had no time to engross her mind in lovely formed prayers, let alone scripture time and yet he insisted she was a woman of deep prayer.
(It is because of this that he became a priest, as his 4 brothers did also, his sisters, 3 of them entered religious life)
I asked him how then did she pray? He responded - my mother’s day began with her kneeling against her warm bed, asking only for the grace to meet the day.
He went on and described how her laundry was her sacristy, where she prepared herself, (morning offering) he would see her struggle (can you imagine the washing loads?) yet her heart he could tell was with God.
Her kitchen sink was an altar where she continually voiced her Yes,
her children her joy, (thanksgiving) as she washed them, clothed and changed their nappies. Her stove was her gospel, as she remembered Sunday Mass readings, to feed her brood, he remembered how she would share her thoughts about the gospel …
She hardly stopped working or tending children all day, by evening they sat to say the rosary, and he noticed that she would smile through it all….again thanking God for the day.
He then told me that once the children were asleep her time was given to her spouse. Which she cherished. By the time she climbed into bed….. her day had consisted of, “making a daily offering, “remembering and “understanding scripture & a sermon” and gladly said Fiat to whatever came her way!
A remarkable woman, though not without her shortcomings! She too visibly found life a distraction, and probably was tired and annoyed at times too!
But the simplicity of her prayer life does leave us, or me, rather with a surety that God does not look at how much we pray or even with what method we pray, He just wants us to talk to Him, entrust our deepest desires and feelings to Him, laugh and smile with Him, even wink at Him- I know I’ve done that many times, when I’ve abandoned him for other ‘work’ in my day!
So I’ve always opted for simplicity, I’ve stopped feeling guilty and damned myself because I’ve had “no” time to pray… I take comfort in words of St. Thérèse of Lisieux , she describes, prayer as a simple glance towards heaven, a surge of the heart, and a cry of love and gratitude, both in joy and sorrow.”
With a newborn in the house, my “ordinary time” (of every season) is having to shift dramatically. Perhaps this is the season to think about how I can learn from that.
Another thought: a favorite band, Ordinary Time Music.
Ooo, newborns definitely have a way of reordering everything in our season, with new surprises cropping up all the time! Figuring out that sweet spot of flexibility/habit is a tough one. Our youngest is 5, and every time I think we have a routine settled, life's demands change! (Congrats on your sweet new addition, Sara!!)
What a beautiful set and testimonial. I am also looking for something to reconnect me to the rhythms of creation instead of being driven by the 9-to-5 drudge. Definitely going to check out this series.
Getting caught in the 9-5 drudge is such a struggle! Even living on a farm fulltime, it's easy to get into a mindset of complacency. Ordinary Time is so great at shaking that up!
Growth and renewal and a focus on the life of Jesus. What a special time.
Amen, Dianne!
I've been reading your articles off and on for a while now and find them so peaceful and encouraging. I too am one who craves a quiet rhythm immersed in God's word in the midst of a busy world and often feel I was born in the wrong era. I'm often looking for beautiful devotionals to share with my three teenagers but struggle with something that is the right length and depth for all of us. These look ideal. Thanks for sharing!
Oh Sarah, I'm so delighted to hear that you've found some peace and encouragement in my ramblings! Thank you for being a part of this special space. I do feel like these books would be a great fit for teens and adults alike - we just have one teen right now, so I'm still figuring out that world!
I love the name “ordinary time” - it is new to me, and it’s a comforting thought in some ways to have a title, book and devotions for the regular life between the celebrations and official holy times. It’s just as important as the bigger events, holy in itself. Every day is a day to be lived unto the Lord.
Amen, Keriann!!
The way you describe your struggle to hold consistent devotional rhythms is so familiar to me. So many beautiful prayer books, and so much disjointedness in my own practice. I love Ordinary Time for it's coincidence with my own return to the land. Gardening, canning... All of this is Ordinary Time and it feels to me like a return to the Garden, to the work of witnessing generosity and abundance unfathomable. How much of the world did God imagine as garden that he saw fit for a single tomato seed to produce so many tomatoes, each of them filled with so many seeds?! That's a prodigal love I can barely grasp, but when I do it is Ordinary Time.
A prodigal love!! Thank you for sharing this beauty, Elizabeth. And what a wonderful connection to the Garden during Ordinary Time...I love that. Have you read Vigen Guroian? He's an Armenian Orthodox theologian, and he's written some beautiful theological books about gardening.
You're reminding me to dust off my canner, which (like alllll those beautiful-but-forgotten prayerbooks on my shelf) needs to see some light again. I'm sorry you struggle with a consistent devotional practice, too - but just know you're not alone! I'm in it with ya.
I love Vigen Guroian's Inheriting Paradise! Any others you would recommend of his on gardening?
Ooo I haven't read that one! Fragrance of God is wonderful.
The time may be ordinary,
but it has its own rhythm,
its feasts and fasts,
its ceremonies and small wonders.
Beautiful, Rachael - thank you!
Sounds awesome! What was your favourite part to read?
Ooo such a fun question! I love the seasonal introductions a lot. And honestly, so many of the daily reflections have been impactful, all in different ways!
Oh how I can relate to the "collect-'em-all" book approach!
What are your favorite feast days during this next season of Ordinary Time, and how can we anchor ourselves and our families in liturgical living during these summer months of less routine?
I'm glad I'm not alone in the 'collect-em-all' approach, haha!!
Ooooo I have SO many favorite feasts during this chunk of Ordinary Time - St. John's Day, Bartlemas, Marymas, Michaelmas, and ALL HALLOWS (in all caps because I love it so much).
What a wonderful question about anchoring ourselves liturgically during the summer...I think really leaning into simple, local celebration - grafting these Church traditions and sacred Scripture into the daily bits and bobs of life - is the way to go, especially in the summer when our days are fluctuating all the time. I think about it like prayer: in my imagination, my prayer time is always candlelit, quiet, and calm...and though I sometimes can get a bit of that, I've also had to embrace "quick prayers" in the midst of our daily chaos. Same idea with summertime liturgical living: it's always fun to go all-out and make a big celebration, but even a simple feast-day prayer at dinner, going for a local hike on St. James' Day, etc can be just as impactful.
Here are a few link roundups for ya! But I DO plan to specifically write more about leaning into Ordinary Time...it's such a big season to wrap our heads around!
https://www.hearthstonefables.com/t/season-after-pentecost
https://www.hearthstonefables.com/t/liturgical-gathering
These books sound great. I’ll have to check them out. Thanks!
Ordinary time for me is a time of “growing” in and up toward God. Thanks for sharing!
I love the ability to focus on the rhythm of scripture over a longer period of time during Ordinary Time. Thanks for offering this giveaway!
Such a wonderful idea for a devotional! Ordinary time to me feels almost more elusive than Easter or Christmastide because it’s so wide open with how much time is there and how to set it up. Also the fact it’s called ordinary but feels anything but.
Ordinary Time can definitely feel like an untethered, huge chunk of time - I totally get it! There are some surprising, impactful anchors hidden in it that I think were once more obvious than they are nowadays - thank you for sharing about this, as I feel a nudge to wrestle with it in a post!
Like you, Kristin I’m not so good at keeping up with a rhythm of prayer! Call it children, laziness or distraction!
This book sounds amazing. My Ordinary Time embraces winter, (Australia) a time of slowing down… what a blessing this book would be!
Hello, my Australian friend! I *really* connect with this: I'd say it's all of the above for me...children, laziness, and distractin all make for a potent combo when I'm trying to parse out prayer in my days. (I've had to really mull over what prayer truly is, too).
I hope you're enoying a lovely, slow, calm winter!
Thank you Kristin, add to the mix, grandchildren🤣🥰
Many years ago, an old Italian priest, who was one of 11 children taught me how to pray as a mother, I certainly haven’t kept his advice not sure if it’s modern living or just my laziness!
He said to me, to pray for the grace you need for that day!
Wow, I thought that’s easy! He then went on to describe his mothers prayer life… his mother was an example of prayer, a woman who sitting happened only at the evening meal, a woman who owned a prayer book, but had no time to engross her mind in lovely formed prayers, let alone scripture time and yet he insisted she was a woman of deep prayer.
(It is because of this that he became a priest, as his 4 brothers did also, his sisters, 3 of them entered religious life)
I asked him how then did she pray? He responded - my mother’s day began with her kneeling against her warm bed, asking only for the grace to meet the day.
He went on and described how her laundry was her sacristy, where she prepared herself, (morning offering) he would see her struggle (can you imagine the washing loads?) yet her heart he could tell was with God.
Her kitchen sink was an altar where she continually voiced her Yes,
her children her joy, (thanksgiving) as she washed them, clothed and changed their nappies. Her stove was her gospel, as she remembered Sunday Mass readings, to feed her brood, he remembered how she would share her thoughts about the gospel …
She hardly stopped working or tending children all day, by evening they sat to say the rosary, and he noticed that she would smile through it all….again thanking God for the day.
He then told me that once the children were asleep her time was given to her spouse. Which she cherished. By the time she climbed into bed….. her day had consisted of, “making a daily offering, “remembering and “understanding scripture & a sermon” and gladly said Fiat to whatever came her way!
A remarkable woman, though not without her shortcomings! She too visibly found life a distraction, and probably was tired and annoyed at times too!
But the simplicity of her prayer life does leave us, or me, rather with a surety that God does not look at how much we pray or even with what method we pray, He just wants us to talk to Him, entrust our deepest desires and feelings to Him, laugh and smile with Him, even wink at Him- I know I’ve done that many times, when I’ve abandoned him for other ‘work’ in my day!
So I’ve always opted for simplicity, I’ve stopped feeling guilty and damned myself because I’ve had “no” time to pray… I take comfort in words of St. Thérèse of Lisieux , she describes, prayer as a simple glance towards heaven, a surge of the heart, and a cry of love and gratitude, both in joy and sorrow.”
With a newborn in the house, my “ordinary time” (of every season) is having to shift dramatically. Perhaps this is the season to think about how I can learn from that.
Another thought: a favorite band, Ordinary Time Music.
Ooo, newborns definitely have a way of reordering everything in our season, with new surprises cropping up all the time! Figuring out that sweet spot of flexibility/habit is a tough one. Our youngest is 5, and every time I think we have a routine settled, life's demands change! (Congrats on your sweet new addition, Sara!!)
Also, GREAT rec for Ordinary Time Music!!
I love ordinary time. A time to focus on the simple things of life. To see the holy.
These books look great!
What a beautiful set and testimonial. I am also looking for something to reconnect me to the rhythms of creation instead of being driven by the 9-to-5 drudge. Definitely going to check out this series.
Getting caught in the 9-5 drudge is such a struggle! Even living on a farm fulltime, it's easy to get into a mindset of complacency. Ordinary Time is so great at shaking that up!