![\"Hans](\"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Hans_Thoma_-_Kornfeld_bei_Oberursel_Sommerzeit.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Maybe it\u2019s just me,
\nbut this autumn seems to have been especially glorious:
\ncolorful, vivid, bright, and seemingly lasting forever.
\nLately the trees have lost some of their color,
\nwhat with the rain and the wind,
\nbut overall it\u2019s been a beautiful autumn.
\nI notice it most when I am commuting back and forth to work.
\nTo get to St. John Vianney School in the Spokane Valley
\nI usually take 29th Avenue to Carnahan,
\nCarnahan to 8th Avenue, 8th to Park and so on.
\nIt usually takes about 15 or 20 minutes, depending on traffic.<\/p>\n
But this year, because of the beautiful autumn,
\nI have been taking the back way more often.
\nI start by driving south up Freya and catch the Palouse highway,
\nand drive across the Palouse through Valleyford,
\nand then on to Highway 27, where I turn left and go through Mica
\nand then left onto Dishman-Mica Road.
\nIt adds about 15 minutes to my commute,
\nbut it has been so worth it.<\/p>\n
The farm fields have that golden glow that is so magical this time of year;
\nthe sky is ever-changing, like the depths of the sea.
\nThose of you who live up there know what I\u2019m talking about.
\nIt has been absolutely magnificent.
\nGranted, for the last week or so winter has been rapidly coming on,
\nso it might not have quite the same character it did a couple of weeks ago,
\nbut if you haven\u2019t been on the Palouse Highway yet this fall,
\nit\u2019s definitely still worth seeing.
\nIf you take an hour out of your day to drive that road.
\nyou might even find that it touches your soul.<\/p>\n
Because that\u2019s what nature does, right?
\nWhether it\u2019s a beautiful autumn field or a backyard garden;
\na snow-covered mountain, or the wild ocean,
\nnature can touch us deeply.
\nIt speaks to us\u2014to our hearts and to our souls.
\nAnd that\u2019s because nature carries inside itself the imprint of the divine.
\nJesuit poet Gerard Manley Hopkins wrote,
\n\u201cThe world is charged with the grandeur of God.\u201d
\nPope John Paul II said that through nature
\npeople can “contemplate the mystery of the greatness and love of God.”<\/p>\n
The natural world is a place to encounter the divine,
\nespecially when we take the time to pause and notice and savor.
\nGod speaks to us through nature.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why our church calendar lines up with the seasons.
\nToday we celebrate the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe,
\nthe final feast of the church year.
\nHave you ever wondered why the church year ends now, in November,
\ninstead of on December 31?
\nWhy is Christmas on December 25?
\nAnd why on earth does the date of Easter keep moving?<\/p>\n
The reason has to do with the natural world, with the universe.
\nOur liturgical year, our Church year, is not an arbitrary calendar;
\nit is intentionally designed to mirror God\u2019s creation,
\nwhere time flows in patterns and cycles.
\nThe liturgical calendar invites us to see spiritual truths
\nreflected in the seasons of the natural world,
\nthis universe over which Christ reigns as King.
\nLooking outside at what is happening in nature\u2014
\nat the sky, the clouds, the trees, the wind, the rain\u2014
\nall of these natural events complement and enhance
\nour experience of the sacred in our lives.<\/p>\n
As we stand at this threshold\u2014ending one liturgical year
\nand preparing to enter another\u2014
\nit is a good opportunity to think about how the natural world
\nhelps us enter into the rhythm of our spiritual lives.<\/p>\n
The Church\u2019s year begins in Advent,
\na time of waiting and preparation.
\nAdvent always begins four Sundays before Christmas.
\nDuring Advent we are invited to think of all the long years
\nthe world was in darkness, waiting for a Messiah.
\nOutside our windows during Advent,
\nthe days grow shorter and darker and colder as winter approaches,
\nuntil we finally reach the winter solstice\u2014the darkest day of the year,
\naround December 21.
\nThe winter solstice is the day which has the fewest hours of sunlight,
\nit is the year’s darkest moment.<\/p>\n
And this is why Christmas is celebrated on December 25.
\nJust as the world is at its darkest,
\nat a time when all seems most hopeless, black, and bleak,
\nJesus, the Light of the World is born,
\nand the light begins to grow.
\nEach day after Christmas becomes brighter and brighter,
\nday by day, little by little.
\nJust as the physical light begins its return,
\nso too does Christ’s light begin to shine in the darkness of our human condition,
\nbringing hope to banish fear and sin.<\/p>\n
From Christmas, we journey toward Easter.
\nIn the natural world, the light continues to grow steadily,
\nmore and more daylight each day,
\nbut still, there is more darkness than light each day.
\nWe enter the season of Lent,
\nforty days of trying to overcome the darkness of sin in our lives
\nthrough praying, fasting, and almsgiving.
\nThe light slowly makes ground against the darkness
\nuntil, finally, we reach the Spring Equinox.
\nWhat is an equinox? Do you remember your science class?
\nThe Spring Equinox is that day
\nwhen the amount of light equals the amount of darkness.
\nEaster is always on the Sunday after the first full moon after the Spring Equinox.
\nWhy?
\nBecause after the equinox, there is more light than darkness.
\nLight has conquered the night.
\nEaster proclaims that Christ, the Light of the World,
\nhas conquered the greatest darkness\u2014sin and death\u2014through His Resurrection.
\nFor fifty days we celebrate the Resurrection
\nin a world in which life and light bursts forth:
\nflowers bloom, trees bud, and nature declares the triumph of life over death.
\nJust as the universe tells the story of light overcoming darkness,
\nEaster reveals the truth that Christ is the victorious King
\nwho reigns over all creation.
\nWhat a beautiful parallel between nature and salvation!<\/p>\n
Our faith teaches us to look at the natural world
\nnot as something separate from God
\nbut as His creation, filled with signs that point to spiritual realities.
\nCreation is not just a backdrop to our lives but a living testament to God\u2019s glory.
\nThe cycles of day and night, of seasons and years,
\nthese rhythms teach us about the nature of God\u2019s kingdom.
\nThe return of light after the winter solstice echoes the Incarnation,
\nwhen God enters our world to redeem it.
\nThe bursting forth of life in spring parallels the Resurrection,
\nwhen Christ triumphs over the grave.
\nOur liturgical year, grounded in these natural rhythms,
\nreminds us that the Creator is also the Redeemer.
\nEvery moment of the year whispers the truth of Christ\u2019s kingship,
\ncalling us to see His presence in the rising sun,
\nthe changing leaves, and the cycles of life and death.<\/p>\n
As we reflect on the power of nature to reveal God\u2019s presence
\nwe are challenged to ask ourselves, \u201cHow do I reveal God\u2019s presence?\u201d
\nAfter all, we, too, are a part of the natural world.
\nGod created us, just as he created clouds, trees, oceans, and mountains.
\nI am a part of God\u2019s creation,
\nyou are a part of God\u2019s creation.
\nIn fact, humanity is the pinnacle of God\u2019s creation.
\nWe are made in the image and likeness of God.<\/p>\n
Victor Hugo writes,
\n\u201cThere is one spectacle grander than the sea, that is the sky;
\nthere is one spectacle grander than the sky,
\nthat is the interior of the soul.\u201d<\/p>\n
If the stars, the trees, the wind, the rain, the seasons
\ncan help us \u201ccontemplate the mystery of the greatness and love of God,\u201d
\nhow much more can we human beings reveal God to others?<\/p>\n
Just as creation reflects the glory of God, so too do our lives.
\nIn a world darkened by fear, division, and sin,
\nwe are called to shine with the light of Christ.<\/p>\n
As we prepare to enter Advent and begin a new liturgical year,
\nthis is the perfect time to observe and savor the movement of nature around us,
\nand embrace the rhythm of the Church\u2019s calendar as a gift.
\nIt reminds us that Christ, the King of the Universe,
\nis present in every season, every moment, and every part of creation.<\/p>\n
The story of the liturgical year is the story of light overcoming darkness,
\nof love conquering fear, and of life triumphing over death.
\nIt is the story of Jesus Christ, our King,
\nwho reigns forever and ever.
\nAmen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Maybe it\u2019s just me, but this autumn seems to have been especially glorious: colorful, vivid, bright, and seemingly lasting forever. Lately the trees have lost some of their color, what with the rain and the wind, but overall it\u2019s been a beautiful autumn. I notice it most when I am commuting back and forth to work. To get to St. John Vianney School in the Spokane Valley I usually take 29th Avenue to Carnahan, Carnahan to 8th Avenue, 8th to Park and so on. It usually takes about...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9157,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"The Grandeur of God - Homily for the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[349],"tags":[363,669,250,1214,791,354,1213,1212,406,1215,527],"class_list":["post-9156","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-homily","tag-advent","tag-autumn","tag-easter","tag-equinox","tag-gerard-manley-hopkins","tag-gospel-of-john","tag-liturgical-year","tag-palouse","tag-pope-john-paul-ii","tag-solstice","tag-victor-hugo"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Hans_Thoma_-_Kornfeld_bei_Oberursel_Sommerzeit.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pOucj-2nG","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9156","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9156"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9156\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9234,"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9156\/revisions\/9234"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9157"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9156"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9156"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9156"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}