Autumn is a
rather schizophrenic season. It is filled with activities, such as church and
school fundraisers, sporting events, leaf raking, Halloween parties, and Thanksgiving
gatherings. At the same time, it also calls us to contemplation as daylight
lessens, gardens peter out, we commemorate All Saints and All Souls day, and
Advent beckons us to prayer. Typically, our activities crowd out contemplation.
Contemplation might even be considered the shadow of the season of autumn,
summarized by St. Benedict in the following line from the Rule: “Day by day,
remind yourself that you are going to die.” Most of us aren’t ready to face
that, but it pops up nonetheless in our Halloween costumes and Day of the Dead
decorations: skeletons, mummies, ghosts, decaying zombies, and the like.
If we want to
ensure that contemplation doesn’t get swallowed up by autumn activities and
holiday celebrations, we need to literally make
time for it by putting it on our calendar. On the Feast of All Souls,
schedule a contemplative walk in a cemetery. Create an altar in your prayer
space with pictures and mementos of your loved ones who have died, and offer a
prayer there daily. Keep one Sunday in your calendar blank each month for a Sabbath
day of rest and holy leisure. Make a reservation now for an Advent retreat.
As with
creativity, we tend to have romantic notions about contemplation, believing
that it can’t be planned or scheduled. Although we cannot command creativity or
a spirit of contemplation to appear at will, we can honor its significance and
invite it to grace our lives by giving it our most precious gift—our time and
attention.
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