I just love autumn days. As I type this, I am looking out my back slider door watching the gold and brown leaves flutter and float in the breeze. Every now and then a gust blows more leaves from their tender hold on the branches of the trees, causing them to swirl around and then land on the garage roof or the deck. (My husband will just love having all these leaves in the yard!)
It is fitting that as we enjoy these days of autumn we also draw to a close our Church year. As the trees shed their leaves, becoming ready for the winds and snows of winter, we draw near to the end of a year long journey through the liturgical year, becoming ready for a new year that will begin with the first Sunday of Advent. It is also fitting that as we end our Church year, we celebrate the national feast of Thanksgiving. What better way to end a year than to give thanks to God for all of the blessings he has bestowed on us over these last twelve months.
I pray that as we go through these last weeks of our Church year that we look back fondly over the past year, liturgically, remembering the celebrations, the Eucharistic liturgies, the prayers, the Scriptures from the Gospel of Matthew with fondness and joy. Do you remember the Easter Vigil, its service of light, the readings of salvation history, the baptisms of the new faithful and welcoming them into our community? Do you recall all of the infant baptisms celebrated in and around our Eucharistic liturgies? What Scriptures do you recall and what did God speak to you through them?
Let us give thanks to God for all of the blessings of this past year of liturgical celebrations, lessons learned about God, hope, faith, and love.
