Dear All,
I have heard several people say that they find November a particularly long & hard month – it isn’t difficult to understand that. In the northern hemisphere it is downhill all the way into winter & the dark & the cold. And in this particular week we are especially mindful of loss & remembrance. We have chosen varied reflections & hope that you will find hints of resurrection in one or other of them. I am thinking, of course, of the ‘war dead’ but not exclusively – these last two years have brought loss & grief to so many of us. I am thinking of all the names on our Prayer Tapestry – & they represent so many more. And with those names come all those for whom the death brought such sadness. We pray that, as this year draws to a close, there will be much healing, & remembrance will become less painful allowing more space for that Resurrection hope.
Our blessing is ‘Repose Blessing’ from New Dawn & we hope it will bring some hope & peace to all who mourn.
With our love & prayer
Our Chrysalis Moment
Anodea Judith
This is our chrysalis moment
Where the transformation begins.
Every caterpillar must do it eventually;
Or die,
Never to sprout their colourful wings in the air
And fly.
So like the caterpillar,
We may as well surrender.
Cocooning in our homes
Our world turned upside down.
Inside, we can no longer spread
our vicious disease of consumption
No longer run mindlessly toward our destruction.
Inside there is stillness
Inside, there is rest.
Outside, the air is clearing,
The rains are falling.
You can feel the peace,
Settling on the land at last.
And Yes, there is death.
For there’s always a dissolution.
Old systems falling away,
That were already pretty slimy.
It may be frightening
All the uncertainty and loss.
But even in the darkness
Imaginal cells are awakening
Weaving a new web.
Recognizing that this is finally
Our time.
Our time to be heard
Our time to make new sense
Our time to do things differently
And when at last the dream awakens
To its nascent beginnings,
The chrysalis melts away.
A caterpillar no longer,
We spread our tender wings
And fly.
From ‘While the Leaves Fall’
Daniel O’Leary
November winds carry echoes of loss. It is the month of All Saints, All Souls, & commemoration of the war dead when memories that bless & burn come back to haunt us. We sense anew the absence of the loves of our lives. But by now we have learned that love & loss go together. If you love, you are sure to suffer; if you do not love, you will suffer even more………..
………. Those who have already loved & lost, & grown through it all, have already tasted death & resurrection. They have followed their passion, they have risked for love; they have been devastated by loss. And because they loved & trusted life once, the final death will never be a fearful stranger.
Is there a leaf upon the tree
The Father does not see.
Leaves fall, so do we all
Return to earth, to sod.
Sparrows and Kings,
And all manner of things
Fall, fall into the hands
Of the living God.
Prayer for those who mourn:
Bless those who mourn, eternal God, with the comfort of your love that they may face each new day with hope and the certainty that nothing can destroy the good that has been given.
May their memories become joyful, their days enriched with friendship, and their lives encircled by your love. Amen.
God of our longing, hear our prayers, protect our dreams, and listen to our silent hopes. Deal gently with our pain, speak to our sadness and remove the barriers that imprison our spirit.
Shed your light where shadows are cast, that we may feel your warmth and know your presence.
Give us courage to hold fast to our vision that we may build our world and create our future. Amen.