The Season of Autumn
by Fr. Kevin Canty, CM (National Director), published in AMM Bulletin Autumn 2024
I was fortunate to have been given the opportunity of spending two years –1984-5 in Boston in the US. It was good to have had the opportunity of experiencing the seasons of the year in the northern hemisphere, especially Autumn. And I remember how a group of us travelled north into the state of Maine, where the Autumn colours were in a grand display. In the back yard of our house here in Ashfield, we have a beautiful tree that provides something of the Autumn colours that we can enjoy in parts of Australia. I have taken photos of the tree in each season. I believe the Blue Mountains are presently well worth visiting. I remember a Spiritual Director’s Conference I attended in Hobart a few years ago. Someone from the Tasmanian group, who lead the prayers and liturgies each day, provided in our opening prayer on the first day, a reflection entitled Listening to Autumn, from a book “The Circle of Life”. I found it an excellent reflection and was struck by the following few lines.
[Read more…]I am listening to the song of transformation, to the wisdom of the season, to the losses and the grieving, to the turning loose and letting go. I am listening to the surrender of autumn.
from “The Circle of Life” by Joyce Rupp and Macrina Wierderkeh