A time to remember the beauty of
the natural world
Celebrating the Summer Solstice, June 21st in the Northern Hemisphere, involves connecting with nature, enjoying the long days, and engaging in community celebrations. Many cultures have unique traditions associated with the solstice, often centred around the sun’s power and the abundance of the season.
The summer solstice is a way of celebrating warmth and light. It is a time of fullness. We are full of gratitude, and we have time for long summer nights with times of stargazing. We have a faith that is alive, and fresh eyes can see such beauty as we gaze in wonder at all of Creation.
This time marks a peak time of year, when the sun lingers over the earth for longer hours. It contains the deepest heart of summer. It is the crescendo in a year full of desires, challenges, heartaches and jubilations. It is also the moment when sunlight begins to slowly wane. However, just now we live in the present and concentrate on the warmth and delight and joy that has brought us to this moment.
One can celebrate the solstice in whatever way one choses. Some have festivals and events. Local traditions and customs are celebrated and this can foster a sense of gratitude and joy. Bonfires are still lit in Ireland on St. John’s Feast 24th June. People still gather as they did thousands of years ago to watch the midsummer sun rise at Stonehenge or Brú na Bóinne in Co. Meath.
Activities closely connected to the sun include gatherings featuring music, food and companionship. Others take time to appreciate the beauty of nature and the abundance of the season. Some simply gaze in wonder.
While we witness all the loveliness, lushness, fertility and fruitfulness of the season, our thoughts fly to the ‘Grandeur of God’, so beautifully described by our Jesuit poet, Gerard Manley Hopkins. Let us reflect on a few lines of his great poem showing us that the world has the responsibility to recognise the magnificence of God.
“The world is charged with the grandeur of God,
It will flame out like shining like shook foil.
It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil crushed”.
In Psalm 19, we celebrate God’s creative action.
“You hold the sun on its path and the moon on its course.
You keep the planets in their orbits,
Like a radiant bride
The sun rises in the morning
And like a royal athlete
It races across the sky.
Nothing is hidden in its light”.
As the earth blooms and flourishes in this season, may we all respect and appreciate the beauty of nature. May this time of year bring us together with loved ones and community so that we can celebrate together in deeper connection with each other.
Sr. Carmel Bateson