A Little Bit of Common Day

Yesterday at mass, Fr. Duane Roy noted that we were celebrating the 19th Sunday in common time. The phrase “common time” caught my attention; according to the dictionary, common can mean relating to everyone (as in the common good), known by everyone (as a common nuisance), belonging to or shared by everyone (a common friend), occurring or appearing frequently (a common sight), widespread or general (common knowledge), or characterized by a lack of privilege or special status (a common laborer). Thus when time is common it relates to everyone, is known by everyone, is shared by everyone, and is widespread, and those who have it lack special privilege. It almost sounds like a definition of Christ!

Time is humbling, the great equalizer, because it is common to all of us; no one has more minutes in an hour than anyone else. As with most things, we make judgments about the value of time—for example, I viewed the time I spent with my friend Louise last week as precious, whereas the two hours I spent in mandatory training to be a prison volunteer felt like a waste of time. However, when are part of the body of Christ, all time becomes extraordinary because we are always encountering Christ in everything and everyone we encounter and in all that we do.

As Sr. Mary Faith Schuster said with characteristic wisdom in her poem Pre-Dawn, “I’ll have a little bit / of common day, / please.” Having a little bit of common day is reason to celebrate, indeed.