A Sunday Thought to Start the Week Off Right
Sunday, the Lord's Day, the first day of the week, welcomes us on this day before Labor Day. Most of us have a long holiday weekend, so Sunday's respite will spill over into Monday. Ah, rest, recreation, re-invigoration of mind, body, and soul. Enjoy it!
Labor Day weekend traditionally marks the end of summer (even though summer won't "officially" happen for a couple of weeks). For many, school has already begun, but those schools that follow the traditional pattern will welcome their students this week. Business typically picks up from what may have been a couple of quiet weeks before Labor Day. And this year the Presidential election will start to dominate the news more and more as we head for the big day in November. So beneath the placid surface of our relatively quiet time, there's lots percolating out there.
Speaking of percolating beneath the surface, the Beheading of John the Baptist was recently observed in the Roman Church's liturgical calendar. For those who missed it, a reminder: June - the beginning of summer - brings us the Birth of the Baptist, while August - the end of summer - brings his death. Remember how St. John said he must decrease while Our Lord must increase, after baptizing Jesus in the Jordan River? In this light, Holy Mother Church places these two feasts of St. John to coincide with the days growing shorter (decreasing) starting on the summer solstice in June. Neat, huh?
Indeed, whether or not you knew of the connection between the length of days and these two special feast days for St. John the Baptist, you've likely noticed that the sun is rising later and setting earlier. If you get up on the early side, your sleepy eyes have already been greeted by the dead of night. And we're not far from those days when darkness accompanies us as we return home from work.
For those of you who treasure those long sunny days of summer, you might be getting a bit glum at this point. But there's something percolating beneath the increasing darkness: Christmas is coming! That's right. From here on, it's a straight shot to the Birth of Our Lord, the first day of the Twelve Days of Christmas. We'll have more to say about this on Tuesday, but rather than take up more of your long weekend, we'll sign off for today with a favorite jaunty tune that might give you that first inkling of the joys of Christmas. And with that, enjoy the rest of your Labor Day weekend!
Labor Day weekend traditionally marks the end of summer (even though summer won't "officially" happen for a couple of weeks). For many, school has already begun, but those schools that follow the traditional pattern will welcome their students this week. Business typically picks up from what may have been a couple of quiet weeks before Labor Day. And this year the Presidential election will start to dominate the news more and more as we head for the big day in November. So beneath the placid surface of our relatively quiet time, there's lots percolating out there.
Speaking of percolating beneath the surface, the Beheading of John the Baptist was recently observed in the Roman Church's liturgical calendar. For those who missed it, a reminder: June - the beginning of summer - brings us the Birth of the Baptist, while August - the end of summer - brings his death. Remember how St. John said he must decrease while Our Lord must increase, after baptizing Jesus in the Jordan River? In this light, Holy Mother Church places these two feasts of St. John to coincide with the days growing shorter (decreasing) starting on the summer solstice in June. Neat, huh?
Indeed, whether or not you knew of the connection between the length of days and these two special feast days for St. John the Baptist, you've likely noticed that the sun is rising later and setting earlier. If you get up on the early side, your sleepy eyes have already been greeted by the dead of night. And we're not far from those days when darkness accompanies us as we return home from work.
For those of you who treasure those long sunny days of summer, you might be getting a bit glum at this point. But there's something percolating beneath the increasing darkness: Christmas is coming! That's right. From here on, it's a straight shot to the Birth of Our Lord, the first day of the Twelve Days of Christmas. We'll have more to say about this on Tuesday, but rather than take up more of your long weekend, we'll sign off for today with a favorite jaunty tune that might give you that first inkling of the joys of Christmas. And with that, enjoy the rest of your Labor Day weekend!
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