Dear Friends in Christ,
Blue. Wide blue skies. That is what I see while I write this note. A hot cup of coffee keeps me company. The earth is brown and rich. Gardens remain colorful and attractive. The air is crisp and invigorating. Yet, a new fragrance is on its way. Autumn has fallen upon us. Change is on the move. Autumn has a way to come to the trees and strip them down. But the wind will not scatter the leaves until they have delighted and amused us with their many colors.
Autumn is my favorite time of the year. It is time for football, baseball post-season, and hockey pre-season. It is about collecting bright colored leaves, carving pumpkins, bobbing for apples and celebrating. The season for Halloween decor and Thanksgiving meals.
There is something very graceful in the rhythm of autumn. As the days pass, God helps us to grapple with change. God calls us to relinquish control and to surrender. As things quickly change, we adjust to conventional and everyday tasks. As days grow cold outside, we learn to channel our inner creativity. As leaves change and fall, we hit the books and turn their pages. As colors fade and things decay, we create, play games and exchange ideas over a cup of hot cocoa or a pumpkin spiced something. As we walk and take it all in, God widens our horizons, transforms our imagination, and invites us to prayer.
Autumn is the perfect time to let every ordinary activity teach us to love extraordinarily. Beauty has a soothing way to invite us to serve the most vulnerable in our communities. We ought to let her. Things will soon wither and fade. As days grow cold, let us huddle around those with bleak outlooks and frosty hearts. Let us warm the lives of the lonely and the outcast. In this autumn, let us seek and find God in all things. Let us be God’s soothing presence and audacious love to all peoples. As Beauty falls upon us, let us share it with the world.
Yours in Christ,
Padre Santi+