by Sr. Jo Anne Kelly MMM             Ireland            03.11.2023

The five cherry trees in our garden are beautiful just now. With the mild weather in this part of Ireland they have held on to most of their leaves and are now ablaze with autumn colours. As I came in from my morning walk I asked those I met to tell me what colours they see in those trees. What a variety of answers I got- yellow, red, green, orange, peach, amber, gold, rust, russet, and brown. Someone else said “The leaves are like flames of fire turned upside down”.

Each colour is unique and all these different colours together add to the magnificent beauty of the whole. In His great Love, God made us all with a wonderful variety of gifts, colours, cultures, beliefs and so much else. Yet today, in places, our world is torn apart because of our differences.

Pope Francis before the Synod said “The only future worth building includes everyone. The world, as we find it, calls for equality, solidarity and tenderness. Let us help each other, all together.”

Pope John XX111 once said “If we are followers of Jesus our primary mission is to help people come to know the Love of Jesus Christ. The church exists for no other reason. Open windows and let the fresh air in”. And how do we let the fresh air in?
I am reminded of the lovely hymn we sing called “Colours of Day”. The chorus of this hymn tells us –

“So light up the fire and let the flame burn,
Open the door, let Jesus return
Take seeds of His Spirit, let the fruit grow
Tell the people of Jesus, let His love show”

So let us light up the fire however and wherever we can!