After Pentecost we enter Ordinary Time, which carries a double connotation. Ordinary comes from ordinal (numbers), a system for counting the weeks after Pentecost. The longest season in the church calendar, Ordinary Time can extend to “the thirty-fourth week after Pentecost”! To modern ears, the word ordinary also conveys a sense of non-specialness, which is appropriate to the meaning of this season: the church’s ordinary life is characterized by the mission of God in the fullness of the Spirit.
The liturgical color for Ordinary Time is green. This reminds us of growing things, and of the world that God is making new. Our prayer during this season is that we would continue to grow up “in every way into Him…Christ” (Eph. 4:15).