September 23, 2022

Dear Friends, 

         Is there an opposite to writer’s block? As I was sitting down to write today’s letter, I was overwhelmed with a multitude of ideas. Sadly, they were all fractured enough that even my weird mind could not weave them all together into one cohesive thought. I will point at that I am aware that most of these letters are barely cohesive, and it is only with a giant shoehorn and tons of editing by MaryAnn, that it even comes close.

         With an opening paragraph like that, I am sure you are now sitting at the edge of your couch or car seat (do not read email while driving) curious as to what I am going to say next. As you are aware, last week I touched briefly on fall. It is amazing how one week will cement the season into what it should be. Sure, we may have an Indian Summer, and that is the hope for the weekend of our parish picnic, but this week has shown that fall has started officially. To celebrate, I lit my Apple Cinnamon Pumpkin candle and enjoyed what yesterday had to bring. 

         Fall is a season of opportunities as we see the shift of seasons. For those of you who have young kids, we have our sports. It used to be we had fall sports. Now, most sports run throughout the course of the year, but we spice them up with names like Fall Ball. It is also a chance of change. Fall gets the raw end of the deal when we talk seasons. No one likes to rake leaves or clean sticks from their yards. Mums, while nice plants, are not the same thing as our spring flowers. The leaves that fall disintegrate and help our ecosystem. They nourish the trees throughout the winter and prepare the ground for the next year. This is an oversimplification of what happens, but you get the idea. 

         Just as there is a circle of life in our own ecosystem, so too is it the same for our plants and trees. We see the inconvenience of having to rake the leaves. We hear our neighbor who does not understand that some people like to sleep, and the leaf blowers really don’t need to start as the sun rises. The fall tangent aside, this season of change is a season for us to change as well. We can continue the same thing or drop our leaves and do something new. Go to our Matthew’s Men, Bible Study, Marthas and Marys, Eucharistic Adoration, or join rosary group. Come to the parish picnic. If you have an animal, join us for the Blessing of Animals which will be held on the Feast of St. Francis, Tuesday October 4 from 4:30 pm – 6:00 pm.

         We can make this fall something unique if we are open to the change needed in our own lives. It is not just pumpkins and apples; it is new life within us.

God Bless, 

Fr. Brian 

P.S. If the changing of the seasons stresses you out, know that I beLEAF in you.