Today’s reflection has been shared by the Leadership Conference of Women Religious. Let’s take a few moments to read, to listen and to pray.
As we slowly move toward new ways of perceiving life, what wonders might we be taking for granted?
Suggested Music: O Domine, O Christe – Margaret Rizza (click here)
If the Moon Came Out Only Once a Month
If the moon came out only once a month
people would appreciate it more.
They’d mark it in their datebooks, take a walk by moonlight,
notice how their bedroom window framed its silver smile.
And if the moon came out just once a year,
it would be a holiday, with tinsel streamers tied to lampposts,
stores closing early so no one has to work on lunar eve,
travelers rushing to get home by moon-night,
celebrations with champagne and cheese.
Folks would stay awake ’til dawn
to watch it turn transparent and slowly fade away.
And if the moon came out randomly,
the world would be on wide alert, never knowing
when it might appear, spotters scanning empty skies,
weathermen on TV giving odds—“a 10% chance
of moon tonight”—and when it suddenly began to rise,
everyone would cry “the moon is out!,”
crowds would fill the streets, jostling and pointing,
night events would be canceled,
moon-closure signs posted on the doors.
And if the moon rose but once a century,
ascending luminous and lush on a long-awaited night,
all humans on the planet would gather
in huddled, whispering groups
to stare in awe, dazzled by its brilliance,
enchanted by its spell. Years later,
they would tell their children, “Yes, I saw it once.
Maybe you will live to see it too.”
But the moon is always with us,
an old familiar face, like the mantel clock,
so no one pays it much attention.
Tonight
why not go outside and gaze up in wonder,
as if you’d never seen it before,
as if it were a miracle,
as if you had been waiting
all your life.
~ Cathy Ross
Look at the night skies:
Who do you think made all this?
Who marches this army of stars out each night,
counts them off, calls each by name –
so magnificent!
so powerful!
– and never
overlooks a single one?
— Isaiah 40: 26
To what in your life do you give little attention, but in reality is a source of great wonder and awe? As you consider returning to some of your former patterns of life, how might you live with greater attentiveness to what is beautiful and full of wonder?
Concluding Prayer
O Domine, O Christe, open our hearts, our minds, our ears, our eyes so that we may be dazzled by life’s brilliance, enchanted by its spell, and eager to look upon luminous wonders as if we had never seen them before.
Amen.
1 reply on “If the Moon Came Out Only Once a Month”
That was SO powerful – I am sitting here crying – thinking of the moon – and all the other blessings in my life that I take for granted! Thank you for sharing this most beautiful reflection!