To everything there is a season,
and a time for every purpose under heaven.
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance. (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8)
God of all seasons,
We turn to you in these Autum days as we move towards year’s end,
transitioning from the long, warm, lazy days of summer
to the shorter, fresher days of Autumn.
We, children of Earth, participate in our planet’s cyclical movement
as she orbits around our life-giving star.
We journey through seasons of birth, growth, death, resurrection and renewal
in harmony with the natural world around us.
With Mother Earth we now enter a time of letting go,
In the words of the poet Rumi: “we let the dead leaves drop”.
We rejoice and give thanks for all that has come to life and maturity in us
throughout the past year.
We find joy in knowing that we have our unique place in the interconnected web of life,
forming one interdependent family with the whole of creation.
We mourn lost opportunities for giving birth to something new,
the times when we chose death over life,
when we held onto what was no longer life-giving,
when we were silent when it was time to make our voices heard.
Holy One, may we learn during this season, that change, renewal and transformation are your gifts to us when we have the courage to open ourselves to receive them.
As the landscape changes from lush greenery to a vibrant tapestry of yellow, gold and red may we be reminded of the beauty and inevitability of change – the only constant.
May we, like the trees, know how to shed outdated beliefs, habits or attachments that no longer serve us.
May we know that this letting go is not a loss, but the creation of vital space for new possibilities and growth.
May we embrace the beauty of surrendering to life’s natural cycles in trust and peace, convinced that there is freedom in letting go and trusting that this will lead to new life in abundance.
Sr. Gemma Corbett