Autumn in ICCN Invites Us to Reflection and Detachment

In autumn, nature seems to let go of what is not essential. Following in its footsteps, we too can let go of what no longer serves us. We are in the fall. The last fruits ripen and the first leaves fall. If spring is a time of renewal and summer of fullness, autumn is a time of ripening and culmination, of releasing and sowing the seeds of what will bear fruit next year. Autumn is a season for reflection: A season in ICCN for Reflection and Discernment - attending workshops, classes, having days of reflection, praying and discerning in order to live our call to religious life. The light of autumn is wise and mature.

It is up to us to let go of what we no longer need, to detach ourselves from the ways of being that no longer bear fruit, to find a place of inner calm, and to prepare ourselves to start again. The green of summer transformed into red, gold, yellow, and more, warm light on the earth that cools.

Letting go isn’t often easy, but you can make your life so much more positive if you take inspiration from the beautiful trees in autumn and just let the dead leaves drop. From the good formation I am receiving in ICCN, and, yes, you might go through a tough time — a winter, if you will — but that will pass, and you’ll grow stronger and healthier in the process. Just like bright green leaves and flowers do each spring there is an attitude of renewal of ourselves. As in the Fall, the leaves do not fall, they come off in a supreme gesture of generosity and depth of wisdom: the leaf that does not cling to the branch and throws itself into the vacuum of the air knows the deep beat of a life that is always in motion and in an attitude of renewal. The leaf that is released understands and accepts that the empty space left by it is the generous matrix that will house the bud of a new leaf. We are going through a life transition here in ICCN and understand that a variety of confusing emotions may come up. Going through any transition takes time, so I am preparing myself for the new transition that I will have when I finish my time in ICCN and go back to my Congregation Franciscan Sisters of Allegany. The weight is too heavy for us to carry and still look up. We cannot continue in our walk with Jesus and never let go. We must go through this season in ICCN so that we continue to learn to surrender ourselves to God and in the process desire to be more like Him, to trust Him more, to fall in love with Him more and more every day.

Is 43: 18-19 “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold I am doing a new thing: now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”

Sr. Alba Luz Mejia Solis

Franciscan Sisters of Allegany