St. Patrick Catholic Church, Lake Forest, IL

 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: 

a time to be born, and a time to die;

a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; 

a time to kill, and a time to heal;

a time to break down, and a time to build up; 

a time to weep, and a time to laugh;

a time to mourn, and a time to dance. 

a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;

a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing. 

a time to seek, and a time to lose;

a time to keep, and a time to throw away. 

a time to tear, and a time to sew;

a time to keep silence, and a time to speak. 

a time to love, and a time to hate;

a time for war, and a time for peace. . . 

Ecclesiates 3:1-8

Topics for 2007-2008

In their book, The Circle of Life:  The Heart’s Journey Through the Seasons, Joyce Rupp and Macrina Wiederkehr point out that although it may appear that spring/summer, autumn/winter are opposites, the current of life flows through each season linking one to the other in a balanced yin-yang relationship.  This linking of opposite energies reflects the kinship of one thing flowing into another in a complementary way.”  The author of Ecclesiastes finds the same tension of opposites in life’s seasons.  He portrays life as a series of experiences, a mosaic, where each event, whether positive or negative, fills a place and a purpose that is essential for completion of the whole.  Joyce and Macrina concur, asserting that “each [season] is a teacher.  Each has its own truth and wisdom, its own challenge and gift.  Each beckons us to come further, to live deeper, to find fuller meaning and purpose.  Each season can be a mentor and guide for those who live with open hearts.”  This year we will explore life’ seasons in the hope that we might live with fuller meaning and purpose.