This Autumn, Look Up!

 

A neighbor lady

despairs of this season —

with the falling of leaves

everything is down,

despondency sets in,

death and decay. 

"Days grow shorter; faces grow longer,"

she says.

A pity she doesn't know

the great Mass lifting up —

everyday —

   through Christ,

   with him and

   in him,

and all the autumn sacramental elevations,

venues to the divine:

   tree tops

   coned and acorn clustered,

   dawn and dusked-hued autumn —

with fewer clouds

   a bluer sky

   more pure,

   vast,

   open and wide,

whirring-winged,

   resonant,

   V-formed geese,

elevated phasing moon,

constellated night time of

   flowers and animals,

   clusters, cups and chains,

   spirals, spindles and wheels

bright, reliable Venus.

Bow your heads and pray God's blessing.

Nay!  —

"Lift up your heads and see God's blessing!"

Prayer For Anytime - But Especially In Autumn

Bend Oregon Aspen Grove ~ Mike Putnam Photography

O Jesus, make us young again,

young at heart,

for all the world, Jesus!

Fill us with delight

and awe and wonder

before everything that is

beautiful, good and true.

Autumn lettuce and a psalm for protection

This wonderful corner of the October garden is filled with Misticanza: Italian salad greens growing nicely. The translation on the back of the seed pack says Misticanza can be grown Quattro Stagioni - in all four seasons. Probably yes, in Italy, but here in Pennsylvania, while seeds can be sown in late summer, by mid October, a freezing night can kill the fragile greens. 

So when the sun goes down in the afternoon, I pull this blanket of garden fabric over the plants, hoping it's enough to ward off the worst of the killing-cold. Come the morning, when the sun breeches the hills and things begin to warm, the blanket is pulled back: danger passed.

Psalm 91 is a perfect end-of-day prayer asking for a blanket of protection. Filled with loads of image-words that we can each name for ourselves and our dangerous world, I expect praying it mindfully for others can be a great kindness.

You who dwell in the shelter of the Most High,
  who abide in the shadow of the Almighty,
Say to the Lord, "My refuge and my fortress,
  my God, in whom I trust."
For he will rescue you from the snare of the fowler,
  from the destroying pestilence.
With his pinions he will cover you,
  and under his wings you shall take refuge;
  his faithfulness is a buckler and a shield.
You shall not fear the terror of the night
  nor the arrow that flies by day;
Not the pestilence that roams in darkness
  nor the devastating plague at noon.
Though a thousand fall at your side,
  ten thousand at your right side,
  near you is shall not come.
Rather with your eyes shall you behold
  and see the requital of the wicked,
Because you have the Lord for your refuge;
  you have made the Most High your stronghold.
No evil shall befall you,
  nor shall affliction come near your tent,
For to his angels he has given command about you,
  that they guard you in all your ways.
Upon their hands they shall bear you up,
  lest you dash your foot against a stone.
You shall tread upon the asp and the viper;
  you shall trample down the lion and the dragon.
Because he clings to me, I will deliver him;
  I will set him on high because he acknowledges my name.
He shall call upon me, and I will answer him;
  I will be with him in distress;
I will deliver him and glorify him
  with length of days I will gratify him
  and will show him my salvation.

An Autumn Prayer (in the Celtic Spirit)

In the autumn time
a morning bow ~
community of persons,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit ~

In the shortening of day,
the early hour of darkness,
In the Robin's farewell
and the sprouting of rye seed

In the planting of crocus,
the setting of leaf bud,
In the burrowing of toads
and the Milky Way's brightness

In this week's first frost,
the cool weather lettuce,
In the celebration of saints
and prayers for passed loved ones

In the windy leaf-swirl,
the securing of roots,
In the weaning of fawns
and the laziness of bees

In the appearance of mushrooms,
the silvered tremble of aspen,
In the abandonment of trees
and the opening of sky

In the decay of forest floor,
the fading of ferns,
In the washing of tools,
and the closing of the gate

Oh God of imagination, 
assurance and delight.