Dear Friends,
We hope that you are safe and well.
Today's Meditation celebrates Celtic Prayer Cycle: Mabon/Autumnal Equinox, September 22, 2021. Part of the reflection invites you to listen to Jenna Greene singing The Harvest Song:
The words are printed below in saddle brown. We received this meditation from Mercy by the Sea Retreat House. I was struck by the line: we are moving "toward the fallow period of regeneration, of going within and plumbing the recesses of our creative souls." We join you in plumbing.
We invite you to join us as we commit ourselves to working tirelessly to end systemic and structural racism in our society, in the church, in healthcare, in the workplace--wherever it shows up so that everyone may come to have more abundant life. May this meditation nourish our contemplative-active hearts and sustain all of us in action.
In the spirit of our philosophy of co-creating community and our awareness that the Spirit speaks through each of us, we invite you to share your meditations with us as well. We truly believe that it is God's economy of abundance: when we share our blessings, our thoughts, our feelings, we are all made richer.
We hope and pray that you find peace, healing, hope and the infusion of joy in your life!
With our love and care,
Ron and Jean
MEDITATION 470: Celtic Prayer Circle: Mabon/Autumnal Equinox, September 22, 2021
The summer ends, and it is time to look another way. —Wendell Berry
Mabon is a Fire Festival and one of the Lesser Sabbats, celebrated on September 20, 21, or 22, depending on when the Autumn Equinox falls. We celebrate the abundance of the Earth. Mabon marks the 2nd harvest, and light and dark are in balance for a brief moment. It acknowledges the waning power of the sun and the coming, once again, of the darkness. Mabon marks the last spoke in the Wheel of the Year.
In the Northern Hemisphere we’re turning toward the fallow period of regeneration, of going within and plumbing the recesses of our creative souls. From this day forward our nights will grow longer, with the incremental difference growing larger each day until Solstice.
This harvest and transition to Autumn comes in the midst of the ongoing pandemic, racial disparities and climate disasters of floods and fires. We are invited, called to restore balance in an unbalanced world.
Celebrate the turning colors, the deepening colors of the berries, the ripening seeds. Pick up a few treasures while you are out walking to bring some bits of nature into your home – some leaves, a few acorns, some dried berries perhaps. Set up your own home prayer space to honor the seasonal shift.
Settle into a time of quiet, light a candle
Harvest Song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Tb6AlPNKKk by Jenna Greene
https://youtu.be/2Tb6AlPNKKk
The Sun King embraces the Mother in her fullness
The fruits of labor she now bears Dance in celebration for the harvest time is here
Feast and mirth are ours to share
Now is the time to bring magic to fruition
Now is the time of thanks and gratitude
We turn the seasons wheel and the darkness closes in
Listen as the Crone whispers to you...
She sings of the seeds worked upon the field
She sings of the harvest that it gives
She sings of the crops that have fallen to the ground
And the seeds of life yet to live
And she says, Rest in my darkness.
Turn your spirit inward.
Dwell upon the seed and your own spark of life.
Think of all you've conquered.
Think of all you've done.
Transform within the magic of the darkening time.
Reading Reflection on Autumn Days from Out of the Ordinary by Joyce Rupp
A new season is moving in. We can sense its presence in the coolness of the breeze and the quick gusts of wind that wrap themselves around browning lawns and fading forest leaves.
This time of transition belongs to more than just earth. Inside of us there are also quiet changes sending their signals to let go.
Trees of radiant green say goodbye to another’s year’s growth. Their leaves break away, sailing to the ground. They tell us that in the deepest part of who we are, there is always a call to continue our transformation process.
Across the land truckloads of harvested fruits, vegetables and grains make their way to market. Gardens and fields give of their gifts. Growers fill their baskets and wagons. Sometimes it is only when produce is gathered or grain is caught into the wagons that the harvest is seen in its bounty. We, too, are meant to count our blessings even when the reaping at first looks sparse and lean.
Frost shakes the warmth out of autumn weather and shapes itself into the first hues of winter. We begrudgingly see the signs of future cold and emptiness, knowing full well that our hearts are not immune to this seasonal direction.
We wake up to misty mornings full of dampness, covered by clouds that hang low. Wetness rests on what remains of summer’s beauty and fog tries to hide the road before us. We walk once more into the mystery part of life, recognizing that the inner journey also has its clouded, foggy pathways.
Color enriches autumn days with the last laughs of lovely marigolds and the visual flavors of rusted oaks and yellowed maples. A blessing called beauty kisses the sadness in their dying and makes of the ache a tender thing. When our own pain is great we look for beauty and know its soothing respite.
Geese are going south, as are all flocks of birds whose hearts lean toward the sun. They are in tune with the inside timing. We need that same gift of inner sensing so that we can be aware of our leaning toward the divine and follow what is being called forth in the depths of ourselves.
Beyond us, in distant places, there are other seasons of earth and of the spirit. Wars with weapons are mixed with struggles of greed and power. Little children yearn to be fed and old people dream of days when there was peace enough for all.
We are autumn people. We are always called to be in the process of growing and changing. May our minds and hearts be open to this inner season which is a part of us. May we trust in you, Autumn God, who calls us to grow. May we find hope as we enter willingly into the dying that is needed for our transformation.
Questions for Reflection
As a new season moves in, what “quiet changes” or stirrings are sending their signals to you to let go?
How are you being called to continue to evolve/grow/transform during this “inner season?”
What might you harvest from the plenitude and fruits your life holds?
Intentions During the Season of Creation https://seasonofcreation.org/about/
We renew our relationship with our Creator and all creation through celebration, conversion, and commitment together, recognizing that the current climate crisis is accelerating ecological instability, which results in the loss of habitats that are homes for millions of species, including humans whose homes are at risk due to climate conflict, loss and damage.
We recall our faith commitment which compels us to till and keep God’s creation for future generations and we participate in the renewal of the whole inhabited Earth, so that life may flourish and all may have a just and sustainable home.
We pray for our neighbors in California as multiple fires rage causing loss of lives and property.
We pray for the people still grappling with the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, which destroyed homes and knocked out power to more than 1 million people in Louisiana and neighboring states and which resulted in flooding on the East Coast that killed 71 people in eight states.
We pray that raging fires and storms opened our country’s eyes and hearts and get people to heed the urgent warnings from scientists to change our ways and destructive patterns and restore our Earth to her optimal health so future generations can benefit from what we take for granted.
Sing A Gentle Love Song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Sq1K3emMYc by Kathy Sherman
Sing a gentle love song, sing to Earth,
Fill the air with music for her healing;
Then be still and you will hear her love song
Forever sung to you.
Closing Prayer
Maker of the Seasons, thank you for all that autumn teaches me.
Change my focus so that I see not only what I am leaving behind, but also the harvest and the plenitude that my life holds.
May my heart grow freer and my life more peaceful as I resonate with, and respond to, the many teachings this season offers to me.
The Circle of Life by Joyce Rupp & Macrina Wiederkehr To view the Celtic Calendar’s eight seasons, each with its own qualities, energies, gifts, symbols and significance, visit https://www.mercybythesea.org/programs-and-retreats/celtic-prayer-circle/
Upcoming Events
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Can the Catholic Church Free Itself from Clericalism?
COR welcomes you to an evening of dialogue with James P. Carroll, Richard R. Gaillardetz, and Andrea Johnson on the topic, “Can the priesthood save itself of clericalism?” The event will be held on Zoom on September 22nd from 7-8:30 pm EDT. Registration below.
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Many Catholics are concerned about the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ plan to draft a letter that may limit the ability Catholic politicians from receiving Communion. We do not believe that the Eucharist should be used to punish anyone from following their consciences, even if that leads them to believe differently from what the bishops teach.
In the weeks leading up to the bishops’ vote on this letter in November, we are inviting Catholics to reflect on what Communion means to us. Your input will help shape a peaceful, faith-filled witness during the bishops’ meeting this Fall, and will help inform them about what Catholics think about this controversial letter.
Add your voice
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ANNUAL LECTURE IN HONOR OF RICHARD J. CLIFFORD, S.J.
THE BIBLE AND HUMAN RIGHTS
Thursday, September 23, 5:30-7:00 p.m. ET
New Location: TML Auditorium, Theology and Ministry Library, Brighton Campus
Attend in person (space is limited, masks required)
or virtually!
Register here
The Bible does not have a discourse of human rights, but it contributed to the development of such a discourse insofar as it shows a concern for the weaker members of society that is grounded in common humanity. Dr. John J. Collins discusses some of the ramifications of the biblical idea of justice, the love commandment in Leviticus and the New Testament, and the Pauline pronouncement that there is no longer Jew or Greek, slave or free, or male and female.
Sponsored by and generously supported by the Kitz Family.
Please join Anne Marie Kitz and the STM community as we celebrate a special announcement in honor of Richard J. Clifford, S.J.
Speaker:
John J. Collins, Ph.D.
Holmes Professor of Old Testament Criticism and Interpretation
Yale University
Register here