September brings a time of harvesting what we have grown and a time of restarting. In fields we see bales of straw hoping that the yield was good – and in shops we see promotions for ‘back to school’. This year the ‘begin again’ perspective is even more acute than usual; we hope. Life has not been “normal” for two harvests – weather patterns across our country and the world have had devastating impact for many. Schools have tried to adapt to the pandemic disruption with some families coping better than others.
So, as we start again, a question or two for all couples
What has been my own personal internal response to the disruption?
What do I pray that the next year will be like for us as a couple / family?
These are questions that we can tackle first on our own with a notebook –Then the important thing is to exchange our ideas with our partner and to talk about them. Sit down, light a candle, pray for openness to the Spirit, perhaps reflect on a line of scripture before welcoming each other’s thoughts and feelings.
We found a book* recently relating to being open with our thoughts and feelings; Brené Brown writes about vulnerability. We believe that being open and trusting with our partner is all about vulnerability, so it was great to find this – and also that Brené Brown’s TED talk on the topic (https://tinyurl.com/Brown-vulnerability) is in the top ten watched. We say “take that risk to open ourselves, respond in love, …. pray first…”
Like the harvest, some of us will have managed a short holiday or some time off – has this refreshed us and lifted our souls to see the wonders of Creation? September starts with the World Day of Prayer for Care of Creation. Pope Francis encourages us to continue until October 4th remembering the “Time of Creation” inviting us to join in prayer and action for the preservation of our Common Home.
For the Laudato Si prayer see section 246 of Laudato Si www.tinyurl.com/laudatosi-2
*Daring Greatly: Brené Brown Penguin Life
This blog was written by Annette and Paul O’Beirne from Teams of Our Lady. Teams of Our Lady are part of the Alliance of Catholic Marriage Organisations. For more information on the alliance please visit: www.allianceofcatholicmarriageorganisations.org.uk
You can watch the video of this blog here: ACMO September Harvest and Renewal – YouTube
