Solstice

Solstice, in December and June we hear this word quite often, in particular from meteorologists. Why is this so important? The term “solstice” means “sun stands still.” And this can be seen when for several days before and after the solstice the length of daylight stays about the same. Of course in December for the winter solstice daylight hours are short and in June for the summer solstice daylight hour are much longer. Although, keep in mind that in the northern hemisphere this is the norm, but in the southern hemisphere it is opposite, so June is their short daylight time and December they have longer hours of daylight. All due to the earth’s rotation around the sun. God planned things so well when he created the earth and all living things that inhabit our planet.

Another interesting bit of information that surrounds the solstices is that there are days around each that we celebrate special occasions. Can you think of what those might be? The winter solstice has to be obvious, it is Christmas on December 25 and then the New Year on January 1st. What about summer solstice? June 21st, hmmm…. Well the obvious is July 4th but is there anything closer? July 1st is Canada’s birthday. But, what about any church related celebrations…since December 25 is when we celebrate the birth of Jesus and January 1st is when Mary Mother of God is celebrated…what about in June? We have 2 celebrations that fall near the summer solstice, June 24th we celebrate the birth of John the Baptist, who is Jesus’ cousin. Remember Mary visited his mother Elizabeth after she found out she was to be the mother of Jesus? And when she arrived the baby in Elizabeth leapt for joy! Then on June 29th we honor Saints Peter and Paul who were both instrumental in getting our Catholic Church off to a healthy start. Isn’t it funny that we always think of those well-known celebrations that are more secular before we think of religious celebrations? Of course the argument can be made for Christmas and the New Year celebrations are both secular and religious celebrations, but for the summer ones we definitely have 2 that are not secular in any way.

Why would there be celebrations around the solstices each year? For many generations there have been celebrations surrounding the solstices with the focus on fire and light. If you think about it this does make sense, we are a light oriented people for the most part, the longer hours of daylight as spring progressed into summer makes us feel happy and wanting to enjoy the bounty of Gods nature around us. In the summer we can see fireflies as dusk begins to descend, after a storm moves through these days we see photos of lightning against dark clouds, or coming to the ground on social media and our weather stations. Fireworks is part of the 4th of July celebrations in our country, and they are used around the world to welcome in the New Year. Light the source of so much happiness. Jesus came to us as the Light of the World so that we might see the way to heaven.

As June 21st (the summer solstice) approaches we should give thanks to God for his creation and bringing the order of days and nights to us. God alone created the world we live in, even the turning of the seasons is part of His plan.
(Take Me Home, Too; copyright 1997; LTP; June 20/21 was the inspiration for this post)

Planting Seeds

I tell the catechists all the time not to get too excited if the children they are working with don’t seem to be taking anything into their brains since they are planting seeds and the harvest may be many years in the offing. We never know when a seed we plant will burst into bloom we just patiently wait for it to happen.

This is the time of year people love to plant vegetable gardens, flower beds, patio pots etc. Do you plant a garden even if it is a patio pot? There is something so refreshing about picking fresh vegetables and then preparing them for yourself or your family that gives a person a feeling of being one with the earth. What about fresh flowers. I must admit those are my downfall, I have 5 and a half flower beds. The half one is a work in progress. Not that they all aren’t, but it is a new one. Flowers are easy to grow from seed and can be kept in pots or in the ground. Just think God gave us the earth to nurture and enjoy so we need to take advantage of that and do as he wanted.

When we grow vegetables or flowers they take a little bit of work too not just stick them in the dirt and hope for the best. We need to keep the weeds pulled so they don’t crowd out the good plants. Sometimes we even need to thin out the seedlings we have planted so the others can grow strong and produce a great yield. When we are tending to our gardens whatever form they take it is a good time to pray a blessing over the things we have planted and pray to God to watch over his creation with love and caring. In that short prayer we can also ask God to help us see the way that best works to take care of the earth he has given us to care for.

By the end of the summer perhaps even in time for Assumption Day in August we should be seeing benefits of our work with flowers blooming and vegetables forming for us to use as nourishment. Imagine that if this happens by planting seeds, bulbs or seedlings what will be waiting for us on the day of resurrection.