We all sense the reality of what has just happened: The liturgical rollercoaster has taken us to a new place in our lives.
In the last three months, we plunged into the 40-day desert with our Lord and went with Him to Gethsemane, to His betrayal, and crucifixion. For 50 days, we soared to dizzying heights as we celebrated His resurrection and the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.
This week—with the return of Ordinary Time all the way until the 1st Sunday of Advent—it almost feels like the rollercoaster has coasted to a stop.
But let’s not get the wrong idea. Our re-entry into Ordinary Time is no time to stop or even coast. In fact, it’s the perfect time to retrench, refocus on the mission ahead, and “sweat the small stuff” of daily life.
“Ordinary Time,” the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops notes, “is a time for growth and maturation, a time in which the mystery of Christ is called to penetrate ever more deeply into history until all things are finally caught up in Christ.”
In the fourth week of each month, we turn to Level 4 of a Trinity House—Family Culture. As we share in our Heaven in Your Home Workshop, the “doorway” or single most important regular (dare we say, “ordinary”) discipline of Level 4 is the family meal.
So much “growth and maturation” in our families can take place around the table, as we turn to the Lord in daily dependence. “Give us this day our daily bread,” we pray in the Our Father. And we can live out this daily dependence together, as we put aside our phones and screens, actually make eye contact, and actually have a conversation about an edifying or uplifting topic.
“Ordinary” comes from the Latin word “ordo,” meaning “order.” The antonym for ordinary is “negligent,” meaning “careless, heedless, culpably careless,” and “showing lack of attention.”
The coming 26 weeks of Ordinary Time—far from being a time for coasting or careless absence of order—offer us, as individuals and as families, a phenomenal opportunity for quiet, steady growth in the ordering of daily life. These are precisely the weeks and months to double down, cultivate a vibrant and joy-filled family culture, and invite the mystery of Christ to penetrate every level of our Trinity House.
“The future of humanity passes by way of the family,” said St. John Paul II. Renewed by the graces of Lent, Easter and Pentecost, perhaps we can take the liberty of building on St. John Paul II’s thought: The future of the family passes by way of Ordinary Time.
Heaven In Your Home Toolkit
“Sixth to 12th-grade students who ate 5-7 family dinners per week had significantly lower odds of engaging in a number of high-risk behavior patterns such as alcohol, drugs and tobacco use, depression-suicide, violence, antisocial behavior and school problems compared to those who typically ate 0-1 (family) dinners,” notes Evan Boudreau in “The Last Supper and the Ritual of Family Meals“ (Catholic Register).
“10 Tips to Make Family Dinner a Priority“ (Blessed Catholic Mom) includes a few favorite ideas of ours, such as “put all the devices away” and “tell stories.”
As we head back into Ordinary Time, are you being spiritually fed by the daily readings? We love praying the Magnificat together as a family, but there are many ways to access the daily readings, including this free USCCB daily email.
Looking for other ideas to build your Trinity House’s Family Culture? Check out our compilation of other practical ideas, stories, and strategies.
Heads up! This coming Sunday is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, a beautiful day to reflect on what our identity in God’s Trinitarian image means for each of us. To that end, we’re planning to send you a special edition of the Heaven in Your Home Letter this Sunday.
Please Join Us in Prayer
That renewed by Pentecost, we would continue to open ourselves to the transforming power of the Holy Spirit;
That our families might develop the Fruits of the Spirit, and act with love, kindness, and peace, and work together for the good of all;
That as we prepare to celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, we might more faithfully reflect the divine image we bear;
For an end to the pandemic; for safety and healing for all those impacted by COVID-19, and for all medical personnel;
For the ministry of Trinity House Community, including the staff of Trinity House Café, and all individuals and families who are seeking to reflect the life of the Trinity in their homes.
In Christ,
Soren & Ever Johnson
Founders & Directors
Trinity House Community
Making Home a Little Taste of Heaven
