Now our New Year is kicking in and already plans for various events are beginning to take place, even for some: future summer holidays! Within the Church, we are still at the latter stage of the Christmas period as we celebrate the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple (Feb 2). Many Christians and parishes after this date, remove their cribs and place them safely away until next December. Certainly for most of us, the decorations that are basically secular, are already down and packed away. The Three Kings have moved on and returned to their respective homes . . . and now we look ahead to what we would hope 2026 will bring: better times.
New Year resolutions are possibly forgotten or, not even made this year, as we tend to move so quickly. In one supermarket I was shocked to see on Boxing Day, Easter Eggs on the shelves! Often we never have that time to really reflect on the year past or the year to come.
As our days gradually become longer, February is really a time of awakening- moments of learning and seeing things that are hidden. However, this year we have been caught up with our unreliable weather patterns and certainly with such an unexpected cold spell with Storm Goretti, our New Year has been rough, leaving many of us with sad and broken memories and for some, an image of what this year might become. Yet, with our world in such a turmoil, maybe this is the time to STOP! February does invite change and a reawakening to what might be.
Catherine Garland, in her poem Learning Life ( Grateful Living, 1/01/26) really struck home, she writes: I have learned that fences are for climbing to see if the grass is really greener on the other side . . .” Just these opening words opens up a myriad of thoughts and images, of what might “be” behind the fence: She expands her learning of various things beyond the fence that can so easily be lost or to some extent, not even known to exist. Without us knowing, already new life is in the making – there is a green hue when looking at the bare trees and shrubs. We may ask: what fences are holding us back from climbing over to the other side. February, even with its cold and misty days allows us time to ponder the world beyond the fence – it is neither one season nor another, just that time to STOP! It’s a time to reorganise and to rebuild, to prepare for the Spring of New Hope. Wars may continue and climate change will progress, but that shouldn’t stop us from wanting to climb that fence to discover new ways of existing and experiencing new realities that each season brings.
Garland finishes by writing:
I am glad these things were kept hidden from me
until I could open the gate to taste and touch,
to smell and feel, and
to discover myself along the way.
May February be a precious time of reflection and learning, preparing us to be able to climb that fence and to be ready for the unfolding of the New Year!
Rose Mary Harbinson, rndm