The Founder of the Brigidine Congregation in Ireland in 1807 was Bishop Daniel Delany. One of the sayings for which he and other wise leaders are remembered is: “Do ordinary things extra-ordinarily well”.
Most of our lives are made of very ordinary moments. Each week is marked by ordinary days in which we know our best and our worst self and everything in-between.
We all have the days when we’re able to bring patience, joy and gratitude to others, and other days when we need hope, trust, and a forgiving heart to keep going. It is in these ordinary days that the extraordinary mystery of God’s faithful love animates fresh possibilities in and among us.
Daily news makes the extraordinary a part of our ordinary days. Acts of violence to women, men and children, as well as acts heroic selflessness of so many ordinary people.
May we keep remembering that each and every ordinary day is infused with God’s love.
As we enter the weeks of Ordinary Time in the Church’s year, let’s take to heart the wisdom of Daniel Delany and pray for the transformation of ourselves and our world. The wisdom of this time again reminds us that our ordinary lives are holy because it is here that we daily experience who we are and who our God is.
