Australian Salesian Bulletin

[This is the third reflection in a series upon ‘Lectio Divina’ by Fr John Papworth SDB. Editor]

Spring is in the air and hope is on the rise after all the gloom of this year.   As the weather warms, signs of new growth appear all around us; there is more spring in our step and we are inclined to entertain the possibility that the economic climate is brightening too.

As we lift our gaze, thoughts of thankfulness and appreciation tip-toe through our minds.  We feel the need to say something, to let someone know how we feel about life; that we do not see the state of the economy as the ‘be-all and end-all’ of life.   As we notice the roses budding we look forward to the beauty that spring surrounds us with; this is really an Easter feeling.

These days, as the evenings lengthen, walks around the parklands of this fair city are very rewarding. Spring is everywhere. The songs and nesting activity of birds are evident; flowers, scrubs and trees are bursting into life. Yet one hears the complaint, “Ah the blossoms fade too quickly!” Now the beauty of springtime is, according to the Australian poet John Shaw Neilson, “a joy that stays not overlong. Clad in the magic of sincerities, it rides up in a song”; and that is part of the mystery of things. For in truth, the world around us gives many amazing examples of life springing anew from seemingly winter deadness or decay. We look at the changing form in a caterpillar's cocoon and wonder how a winged creature of beauty and flight could ever possibly emerge from it. Yes, we do watch the delicate blossoms of our orchards fade and fall. But we know that if they do not, there will be no fruit to grace our tables.