Dear Friends,

    This coming Tuesday evening, September 22, autumn will officially arrive. Fall is a great time of year, especially here on Nantucket. It has become my favorite season on the island.

    Fall marks the beginning of many things: the school year, Faith Formation in our parish, many sports — and the list goes on. But fall also represents the end of things.

    All around us, nature in her final act shows her beauty through the changing colors of the leaves. The earth receives the sun from a different angle, the days become shorter, and the weather becomes a bit cooler. All around us, we see the signs of change.

    I am reminded of the words of Robert Louis Stevenson in his poem, “Autumn Fires”:

“Sing a song of seasons!
Something bright in all!
Flowers in the summer,
Fires in the fall!”

    Change is a part of life, as is death. There’s no way around it. Just as we are attentive to the changing of the seasons, we should be even more attentive to the cycle of human life — from conception to natural death, of course, but everything in between as well.                                                  

    It is all rich and beautiful and makes up the great work of art that is human life and creation. And all of it draws us ever more powerfully to God Himself, the Divine Artist.                                                                

   As we prepare to welcome another fall, may we be grateful for the beauty of the season, attentive to the changes taking place around us, and even more attentive to the presence of God in every season of our lives.

Happy and blessed autumn!

God bless!

Fr. John