Today, September 1, and next Monday, Labor Day, mark the unofficial end of summer and the beginning of fall. Often this is a time in which people set new goals and begin new adventures. Students start new semesters at this time of year, some heading off to college, choosing activities and academic and social goals to guide their year. Parents face empty nests with a new slate of options, a new way of being each day. Farmers intensify their efforts in harvesting. Retail stores shift from summer merchandise to fall clothing; just last week I saw Christmas merchandise at the local Costco! Even nature joins in the transformation as leaves change color, days and nights cool down, and birds head south.
Saint Francis de Sales wrote in a letter: At the beginning of each month, ask for divine inspiration and put yourself in the presence of God. Imagine yourself to be a poor servant sent by God into this world as into His own house. Indeed, it is Him who put you here, and so we should approach Him with humility…
To enable you to obtain what he has planned for you, He has given you an intellect to know Him, a memory to keep Him in mind, a will and a heart to love Him and your neighbor, an imagination to have a picture of Him and His gifts, and all your feelings to serve Him and glorify Him.
Francis encourages following this advice monthly. September 1, like January 1, is a date that invites us to follow his advice more intentionally and comprehensively. His words are optimistic and proclaim God's grace and goodness in our lives. It is God who will complement our effort to commit our lives to love Him and our neighbor, trust in His sacred plan, and set our hearts and minds on what is good and holy.
Take five, ten, or thirty minutes today to reflect on the words of Saint Francis de Sales above. Let the beauty of his insight fill your heart with gratitude, and embrace the opportunity to enter more fully into God's plan for you with great optimism and joy.
Fr. Jack Loughran, OSFS
Provincial
Toledo-Detroit Province
