Reflecting on the Biblical words in Ecclesiastes 3:1-13, especially the beginning sentence, “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven” people certainly ponder how their life changes from one time of year to the next and one year to the next. As Dr. Jeff Mirus wrote in 2004 for Catholic Culture, “Man was made for seasons, and seasons for man. This is true of all kinds of seasons, but the crackling clarity of Fall has brought it once again to mind. The changing of the seasons reminds us of the passing of our lives.”
The Vicar of the Catholic Schools of Brooklyn and Queens wrote in a school paper in 2021 that “Every true season is made by God. This first lesson of nature, which speaks so eloquently of a Creator, is by no means the least important. It ought to lead us to wonder whether God does not somehow create and orchestrate the seasons of our lives as He does the seasons of the year.”
He added that life changes happen obviously with the changing seasons. For example, he cited that people make definitive plans for the upcoming days and months, but a job loss, divorce, family death, or an unexpected infirmity are unplanned. And when such changes happen, people must make life choices and decisions to benefit from these changes.
His writing continued with these words of wisdom and advice:“Energy in our surroundings shifts with the changing seasons. And since we are spiritual creatures, we reverberate that change. What makes you happy in the winter will deplete your energy in the summer. Springtime activities will not depress you in the fall, similarly. It’s critical to be open to new ideas. As long as it keeps us moving, we’ll be alive and present. The only thing you can count on is change, so get used to it.”
As a final summation of how we change with changing seasons, Linda Cherek wrote this commentary for the Loyola Spiritual Center in September 2021: “The change of seasons is an invitation to regroup, remember, review, recall and reinvest in a spiritual practice that has meaning for you, supports you in noticing where God is in your everyday life and expressing gratitude. The more opportunities we have for noticing God in the everyday, the deeper is our relationship with God, the Divine, and the Spirit….Your inner landscape is ready for the gifts of Autumn. Are you ready to let go, notice, explore and refresh? As summer fades, the invitation from Ignatius is to notice with gratitude God’s presence in all things.”
And for Catholic Rural Life, Linda Cherek entered this opening prayer; “Let us pray: O Lord, you mark the journey of life with change. Once again we witness your creation moving from one season to the other. Change is your instrument of growth that brings us to a deeper relationship with you. May your Word be the lantern that guides the roads of change in our lives. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.”
