Simply Ordinary - New Evangelizers

A few days ago we had a book talk at Church. Our Priest was taken by a crime novel and the more he read it, the more he realized that it had many layers and messages that would be perfect for a “spiritual discussion”. It was a great afternoon and like all sessions that are really good, it left us with more things to think about than solutions! The book is entitled “Ordinary Grace” by William Kent Krueger. It follows the summer of a young man, coming of age, his handicapped brother, the craziness of their family and a couple of murders thrown in for good measure.

It reads a little like a Russian novel with a plethora of other characters, side plots and moments that somehow seem to be askew. In all this confusion, howeverm, the author still manages to have situations consistently arise where we are confronted with the choice to recognize that God’s grace still operates despite our human attempts to interfere. The book is rife with opportunities for “saving grace”, a blatant miracle or a heavenly apparition to materialize and fix things, but that doesn’t happen. Rather there are moments when “ordinary grace” appears and people go on as if God’s intervention wasn’t there at all. As a final act, one of the main characters comes to a place that is a high point of restoration in his family because he volunteers to say grace at a community gathering. It is indeed a very “no frills” grace but his action turns out to be a monumental moment of healing in the family and church community.

If you take a closer look at the seasons of the Church/faith year you might recall that the major portion of our liturgical cycle is labeled “Ordinary Time”. So what’s the link between these concepts of ordinariness? Both scenario’s offer us a similar contemplation. The Priest who was leading our discussion mentioned this odd co-incidence and his further comment was that the name of this portion of our liturgical calendar didn’t happen by mistake.

The official explanation of Ordinary Time tells us that because the weeks are labeled by ordinals, the time period is called Ordinary Time. If you have ever experienced the rollercoaster of relationships, family dynamics, community relationships I bet you could have a more expanded concept of the ordinary. In the book, an act that appeared to be simple was actually the lynchpin that opened a flood of healing for many people. As we go through the year, the Lord is more than busy during our Ordinary Time. God’s action is never ordinary but it might not be spectacular or eye-catching.

The reality is to learn how to look past the ordinary and not label things as insignificant. God operates constantly. If you are mistakenly looking for high drama solutions it may very well be that you have completely missed some of the choicer blessings that he has for you. As far as God is concerned, no grace is ordinary. Remember a simple peasant girl who said yes, or a young carpenter who put his stock in a dream?  God does some of his best work in the ordinary!   Maybe we should learn how to pay attention in a different way?

Copyright© 2015, Kathryn M. Cunningham

Kathryn M. Cunningham

Kathryn holds a Master’s in Education from Saint Xavier University. Most recently she completed Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies from The Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. This recent degree was part of a “retirement project” after teaching for 35 years. She has also worked as a spiritual director, music minister,council member and prayer team warrior. Kathryn has a deep interest in catechesis for the people in the pews. As a “sort of” convert she finds the wisdom of the Church a source for encouragement, joy and survival in a world not sure of anything. Her writing has appeared in diocesan publications and on-line sites, most recently for Zenit. To learn more about Kathryn check out her thinking at: www.atravelersview.org">ATravelersView.org.