4
COMMUNITY
April 4, 2017 | The Valley Catholic
Joy in the gift of the Seasons
By The Most Reverend Thomas Daly,
Bishop of Spokane, Washington,
and Mary Quilici Aumack,
Executive Director,
The Catholic Community Foundation
of Santa Clara County
Note: I wrote this article four years ago
with Bishop Daly, when he was the Aux-
iliary Bishop in the Diocese of San Jose. I
have always felt that the change of seasons
is a gift. In the Easter season we recall the
great gift of peace that Jesus left us through
his Apostles. I pray for peace. -Mary
There is a season for everything, a
time for every occupation under heaven
(Ecclesiastes 3:1)
The seasons are great gifts from
God. As we change from one interval
to the next, we enjoy the obvious and
subtle changes. As one season wanes
we await with anticipation, the next.
At the end of winter we long for the
warm sun on our faces, short-sleeved
shirts, and water sports. At the end of
summer we look forward to changing
colors, hot tea by the fi re, and snow
sports.
This is the joyful cycle of the sea-
sons in our human experience:
• Await with anticipation
• Experience
• Demonstrate gratitude
• Repeat
None of this is accidental. The lack
of “sameness” keeps things fresh, and
allows us to focus on various aspects
of life in diff erent seasons.
The seasons of the Church are also
a gift.
The Church’s liturgical calendar
celebrates God’s time, that is eternal
and timeless. We do this by remem-
bering the past, celebrating the pres-
ent, and looking toward the future.
Our liturgical year is built around
important historical events–such as
Jesus’ birth, death and Resurrection.
The liturgical year begins on the fi rst
Sunday of Advent in late November
or early December and concludes on
the Feast of Christ the King, the last
Sunday of the following November. In
between, we celebrate the seasons of
Christmas, Ordinary time, Lent, Eas-
ter and return to Ordinary time prior
to the start of a new season of Advent.
The liturgies we celebrate during each
In the Eucharistic prayer we
ask God to change the bread
and wine into the body and
blood of Jesus, and to change
US, as we are commissioned
to go forth and be Christ’s
body, the Church.
of these periods of prayer and refl ec-
tion help us recall God’s saving power
made real in historical events. Yet, the
liturgy and the sacraments are not
just celebrations of past events. They
allow us to encounter Jesus Christ
just as the early disciples and twelve
apostles did two thousand years ago.
Recall the words of Jesus: “And behold,
I am with you always, until the end of
time.” (MT 28:20)
From Lent, where we seek a change
of mind and heart, we now emerge in
the season of Easter.
We fi nd joy in the ineff able gift of
the Eucharist and the salvation from
the Crucifi xion and Resurrection.
We didn’t earn the great gift of
the Eucharist, just as we didn’t earn
the gift of the seasons. The human
response is gratitude. In fact, the word
Eucharist comes from the Latin for
giving thanks.
In the Eucharistic prayer we ask
God to change the bread and wine
into the body and blood of Jesus, and
to change US, as we are commissioned
to go forth and be Christ’s body, the
Church.
As we enjoy Spring and anticipate
Summer. …as we celebrate the Easter
season and all of our gifts, we joyfully
share our gifts with others, as the true
Body of Christ.
For more information regarding
the Catholic Community Foundation
of Santa Clara County please visit,
cfoscc.org.
resurrection
“I am the
and
the
life.
Those who
believe inme,
even though they die,
will live,
and everyone who lives and
believes inme
will never die.”
(John 11:25-26)
408.995.5219 | www.cfoscc.org | [email protected]
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