‘I have come that you may have life and
have it to the full.’ Jn 10: 10
As we enter the month of November every year we are invited to ponder two feasts, All Saints and All Souls. Through these feasts in particular and indeed during the whole of November we are invited to remember our deceased brothers and sisters.
This year we have been conscious that many sisters have been bereaved with the loss of family members and we have also to date this year experienced the deaths of nine of our sisters, some expected and some that have sent us into shock, all of whom we miss deeply. We are mindful too of all who have died in the many conflicts around the world, in acts of violence, in famine, in accidents and natural disasters.
In faith we know that our deceased family members and our sisters are still very much with us and part of us yet we are caught into a profound mystery. As autumn is letting go to winter in the Northern hemisphere we have spring opening up to summer in the Southern hemisphere. We also know that in some countries there are only two seasons, wet and dry. This is the mystery of life.
Death confronts us with mystery, it challenges our assumptions and precipitates us into a new place every time we meet it. We can think of death as our final freedom or it can imprison us in fear. Loss through the death of a loved one can take us into a desert space. It is like being in a familiar place but it is, as if, someone has sneaked in overnight and changed all the signposts. We can feel disorientated because we have not been given the new map. Somehow we have to navigate our way around and find new ways of making the journey through life. In faith we know that God will not abandon us even if we must live with uncertainty and unknowing.
When we listen carefully to our restless hearts, we may start to sense that in the midst of sadness there is joy, in the midst of our fears there is peace, in the midst of our longings there is compassion and that in the midst of our loneliness there is the beginning of quiet solitude.
So fall in love with living
Wrestling with the pain and the chaos
Within yourself and within the world
Join the experience of life
Dancing with the angels and the clowns
And may the God of peace and joy
Who is continually making all things new
Embrace you as a partner in the Divine Creating.
We bless ourselves with love
We bless one another with strength
We bless the world with joy
Let us go forward on the journey, rejoicing in all that we have and open in trust and faithfulness to all that is to come. In the film ‘Shadowlands’ based on the life of CS Lewis, there is a line in the script which says: “We read to know we are not alone.” During this month of November let accompany one another, reach out to one another and support one another in prayer and in person.
We believe that death is the gateway to new life and grief too can open us up to new horizons, we can discover hidden resources: A little reflection called Transformation may connect you to your inner possibilities:
“As I passed the old cherry tree in February, it had a bare and forlorn look about it. It contained no shred of beauty. In fact, it required no small act of faith to believe it was still alive. I passed the tree again in April. When I looked at it I could scarcely believe my eyes so great was the transformation. It was now decked out in a robe of brilliant blossoms, which filled the air with fragrance and caused the surrounding scene to explode with colour. Two months ago it was lifeless, now it is an elegant witness to life.
From where has all this beauty come, I ask myself.
Could it by chance have fallen out of the sky and alighted on the tree? Or has someone waved a magic wand over it? Nothing of the kind. All this newness, freshness and fragrance; all these buds, blossoms, shoots had come from within the tree itself! On looking at it back in February, when it was still in the grip of winter, who could have believed it contained all this?”
Let’s always be open to life and to newness and possibility!
The above reflection has sparked many thoughts, thank you. Death was not unknown in our family. While not quite a frequent visitor it changed us into a family where the living and the ‘dead’ became one active and living family, the ‘dead’ were very much part of who we were. As a child I ‘knew’ that my Dad was at the end of my bed every night. The prayer ‘Blessed St Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, bless this bed that I lie on’ was the catalyst for this. Not surprisingly November 2nd was the most significant day in the year and a special day of bonding. Maybe because of this death has never been frightening. Other ‘deaths’ may be really difficult.
‘Death’ may come many times in life, providing opportunity or ‘time out’ for reflection and transformation. For some this may be quite painful. We are constantly in a state of becoming. Dare I suggest these transformative events may be preparing us for our final dying.
The following was written in response to a Winter scene which connected deeply when in one such death. It had to be addressed.
Winter.
Fallow time, Winter
Trees barren and lonely
No sign of life
Empty branches reach heavenward
In all their nakedness.
No adornment, no luster,
grey, cold and crusty
dormant stand, awaiting Spring.
Life’s mystery, giving birth
from dormant fallow.
And what of my winter?
Barren, broken, naked
Signs of life beyond the human eye
Intensely, intangible fallow time
Filled with emptiness and pain.
Winter of the soul – Spirit filled.
Blessed fallow,
The quiet dark
in which new life is born.
Invisible Spirit at work
birthing the God in me.
This reflection brings to mind the Batswana belief in the living dead. As long as someone alive remembers a dead person they are alive among us and all around us and very powerful. They continue to be with us and look after us . .
A really lovely reflection, thank you so much!
In spite of the beautiful autumnal colours I fond this time of year sad , quite depressing .
Thank you for the reflection on the cherry tree & for reminding me that wonderful things are happening in the darkness of the earth .
I am reminded of a little piece I read in Horizons of Hope by Daniel O’Leary where he says ‘God is one name we have for the completing and fulfilling of our journey from birth and for the inevitable evolution of everyone and everything into wholeness.. Speak to us of God, the almond tree was asked. And the almond tree blossomed.’
Let’s fall in love with life and feel Him. Thank you for your lovely reflection.
Thank you for this deep reflection.
The actual work of transformation is so slow and almost invisible as it happens. Its often only in retrospect that we become conscious of this movement.
Thank you for this. It is inspirational and so related to the current situations surrounding us. God is good all the time!
Many thanks for your lovely reflection, Sr Dominic Savio CP.