Every year the sight of footpaths lined with shrivelling Christmas trees, lying stripped
of the last remnants of the season, gives me a tinge of sadness at the realisation that
the Church enters once again ‘ordinary time.’ In reality, ‘Ordinary Time’ is far from a
literal description, but a new season and opportunity to more deeply contemplate the
mystery of Christ present in our ordinary every days.
wool, silk From the Morris Co. Displayed in the South Australian Gallery
It is fitting that the Christmas season ends with the feast of the Epiphany. Epiphany means ‘manifestation’ or a ‘revealing’. Until now, the tiny baby’s humble birth has been known only to Mary and Joseph and a handful of others. The arrival of the Magi, who represent us all, publicly reveals the Divinity of Christ as they kneel to adore the baby lying in the Manger. Mary’s fiat has overcome the sin of our first parents and sets in motion the salvation of the whole world.
Pope Benedict spoke of “the unity in the Magi of intelligence and faith.” They were learned men of science, but far from claiming to be self- sufficient they were open to Divine revelation and the work of the Holy Spirit, as they followed the Star. So too, as we enter ‘Ordinary time’,
we are called like the Magi, to use our intellect and faith to continue to search for the
truth of our own lives. This season becomes extraordinary for us when we live in daily
communion with the God, Emmanuel, allowing Him toshow us the answer to our
eternal question: ‘what must I do?’
As we begin this new year we will often ask or be asked, ‘what are you New Year’s
resolutions?’ There is something significant in this question on the feast of the
Epiphany. The Magi show us that the life of faith on earth is a pilgrimage towards our
heavenly destination. Their journey over 2000 years ago, is still equally relevant for
us today. We too are pilgrims who seek the face of Christ. Our journey therefore is
not stagnant, but involves movement, process and transformation. Pope Francis’s
reminds us that the Magi’s example: “helps us to lift our gaze to the star and to follow
the great desires of our hearts. They teach us not to content ourselves with a
mediocre life, with “coasting it, playing it safe”, but to let ourselves always be
fascinated by what is good, true and beautiful…” What then will we choose to do this
year, this month, to take steps towards the direction we want to take?
The Church in her wisdom never leaves us to take these steps alone but offers many
opportunities for grace and mercy to grow in holiness and love. Significantly, as you
may have heard this year, 2025 has been proclaimed a year of great Jubilee, a Holy
Year of Hope. Pope Francis in his 2024 Christmas Homily, stated:
“Hope is not a cinematic “happy ending” which we passively await, but rather, a promise, the Lord’s promise, to be welcomed here and now in our world of suffering and sighs. It is a summons not to tarry, to be kept back by our old habits, or to wallow in mediocrity or laziness. Hope calls us – as Saint Augustine would say – to be upset with things that are wrong and to find the courage to change them. Hope calls us to become pilgrims in search of truth, dreamers who never tire, women and men open to being challenged by God’s dream, which is of a new world where peace and justice reign.”
As the Christmas lights dim and all we have ‘put off’ for the new year becomes reality, I remind myself to trust that the Lord has great plans for my ordinary days. In these Ordinary days of our lives, we also follow the example of Mary who goes, ‘without haste’ to fulfill the mission that the Lord invites of her. She is the perfect model of Hope, the true Star that leads us to Christ. As we begin another year, what gratitude we must have in our hearts for the blessings received and those to come – the gift of ordinary days.
~ Anne Maree Quinn
Anne-Maree Quinn is a graduate of the John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family Melbourne Campus with a Masters in Bioethics. She also has Pontifical Licentiate in Moral Philosophy from Milltown Institute in Ireland.
Anne-Maree currently works as an Occupational Therapist in Melbourne.
All ideas expressed are her own.
As Our Lady is the perfect example of Hope, we have chosen her as our model in this Jubilee year of Hope for our Anima reflections. Over the course of this year, we will share different reflections on the various devotions to Our Lady. We know that Our Blessed Mother Mary, awaits on all the prayers of our hearts to bring ‘without haste’ to Jesus her Son.
