An email message from Father J. Haley.
[We usually redact names for anonymity’s sake.]
EAR CCW TEAM: In the first paragraph of this article, Jeff Ostrowski provided a screenshot from the USCCB website which he claimed was false. However, I believe (though I could be wrong) the USCCB website is correct. Sunday would be the First Sunday in Ordinary Time, however it is superseded by the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. I think that’s why it’s set off in parentheses. The following day is Monday of the First Week in Ordinary Time. The prayers of the Mass for the first Sunday in Ordinary Time are used on ferias during the week.
The following is Jeff Ostrowski’s response:
[This response was posted on 11 January 2025.]
The Word “After” • My understanding is that “Ordinary Time” begins once the feast of the BAPTISM OF THE LORD has concluded. In the 1970 calendar, Epiphanytide is a subset of Christmastide (“Tempus Nativitatis”). The official rubrics say: A feria II post hanc dominicam usque ad feriam III ante Quadragesimam decurrit tempus «per annum». Translated into English, that means:
The «per annum» season runs from the Monday after the Baptism of the Lord until the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday.
In terms of whether the 1st Sunday of Ordinary Time is “replaced” by the feast of the BAPTISM OF THE LORD, my understanding is that’s technically incorrect or imprecise. The season of «per annum» begins after the BAPTISM OF THE LORD. Indeed, the “Ordinary Time” headers of the Sacramentary only begin after the feast of the BAPTISM OF THE LORD.
They Were Confused • Father Louis Bouyer (the one responsible for coming up with EUCHARISTIC PRAYER NO. 2) famously wrote as follows about the changes made to the calendar:
“I prefer to say nothing, or little, about the new calendar, the handiwork of a trio of maniacs who suppressed, with no good reason, Septuagesima and the Octave of Pentecost and who scattered three quarters of the Saints higgledy-piggledy, all based on notions of their own devising! Because these three hotheads obstinately refused to change anything in their work and because the pope wanted to finish up quickly to avoid letting the chaos get out of hand, their project, however insane, was accepted!”
Lauren Pristas, in her excellent book published by BLOOMSBURY in 2013, confirms that the reformers themselves were confused about when the season of Christmas should end:
The Correct Answer • So when does the Christmas season really end? Various people online have different theories. Perhaps the most common answer is 2 February—the feast of Candlemas—but that theory has problems; e.g. the season of SEPTUAGESIMA (if memory serves) can begin before 2 February. If one were to invent a time machine and travel back to the Middle Ages, our ancestors would most likely laugh at the question of when the Christmas season “ends.” That’s not how they thought about such matters. They didn’t delineate seasons in a rigid way—as if such matters were “black and white.” However, the church musician is responsible for choosing (some) music, and it’s important for us to realize the feast of the BAPTISM OF THE LORD is part of the Christmas season. Ordinary time begins after the BAPTISM OF THE LORD has ended.
