Séamus Ahearne: The Harvest Thanksgiving

Three words come immediately to mind:  Reverence. Mystery. Gratitude.

The Harvest is just the obvious, concerning the fruits of the earth; it is the produce of our lives. Every day is a celebration of the MYTERY of life. It calls for REVERENCE and GRATITUDE.

We have all been given so much. What are we doing with what we have been given? It isn’t a ‘vineyard’ (Readings of the Mass on the 27^th weekend A) but it is the garden of our life. In air. In sunshine. In growth. In plants. In food. In people. In family. In friends. In neighbours. In Community. In Faith. What are we doing with all of this? As Ivan Illich might call it: Celebration of Awareness.

It is the Feast of Gratitude. It is about appreciation. It is about thanksgiving. It is about opening our hearts, imaginations and minds – to see what we have; to be overwhelmed in thankfulness.

The harvest of life is:

Our family history. Our health. Our faith. Our care of the earth and all its people. It is our sense of music, song, people, chatter, banter and fun. Our laughter. We can even begin with ordinary things: I can see. I can walk. I can hear. I can talk. I can listen. I can smile. There is so much we can do. However, the inclination is always to think of what we can’t do, or what we don’t have. 

We can think of moments, people and places that inspire us: The Care-Workers (all 12 of them) at Mary’s Funeral during the week. They wheeled in the Coffin. They sat in the front seat. They did various parts of the Mass. They went to Glasnevin and stood at the Grave. They read some of the personal Prayers. We can think of Helen and what she achieved. Helen was deaf and non-verbal. Her Funeral Mass was signed. Every part of the preparation was signed for Cathal her husband (who is also deaf and non-verbal). Helen was never held back by being non-verbal. She was quite brilliant in her achievements. Joanne O’Riordan, (Sports Journalist now) comes to mind. ‘No Limits.’ 

I am often called to the Nursing Home (Ardmore, CareChoice) as lives begin to fade out. The Staff always join in the Praying. They tell the story of the person. They also Anoint. They sing a Song that was important to the person. The Harvest of a life is celebrated. I am moved by the care, attention and affection of the Staff. Five babies were Baptised on Saturday. Each a unique messenger from God. The Adults at the Baptism attempt to find something of the mystery of God in those messengers and are challenged to do what they can, to nurture and nourish the Harvest of these lives. That it may flourish. I’m not sure many see it that way!

So once more, the Harvest Thanksgiving speaks loudly to us: Catch the wonder. Catch the beauty. Catch the sense of the mystery. Catch the goodness around us, in people. Catch the little moments. Look at the tree crying (Weeping Willow). Watch the stillness of the Heron. See the gathering of the Ducks, at their morning prayer. Squeeze the goodness out of these speaking opportunities. Be in awe. Be amazed. Be astonished. Be excited. Be exhilarated. Be grateful.

We look at the Sacred Space and the story of all the pieces. The ones who brought it together. Vegetables. Spuds. Carrots. Food. Fruit. Eggs. Grapes. Flowers. Watering can. A kettle. A cup and saucer. Some folk were surprised at the clay on the vegetables – townies think that the vegetables are grown in the shops! Others liked the hen with her eggs. That cup and saucer. Many remembered – the open door in the homes of yesteryear. Even the half-door in the country. When the kettle was always on the boil, and tea was available for everyone and anyone. It all evoked memories and multiple stories. The Harvest of our everyday. It is simple. It is ‘wonderful.’

I had an intruder in my mind. The Harvest Thanksgiving is the heart of our Mass. Our every Mass. It calls us to Reverence for God, who is in our daily experiences. Who evokes gratitude. Who stirs up a sensitivity to the deeper issues of life. Who reminds us to listen. Who shouts at us – to be-aware of ‘the more.’  

The intruder in my mind was growling at the Harvest. How alert are most of us at Mass? The Eucharist at present is cluttered with too much and too many things. It is rushed. It is full of bad sentences in the Prayers. There isn’t a chance for God to even breathe or to give us the kiss of life. That worries me. Many have abandoned Mass because nothing of God reached them. Or in the busyness of life there is little time to think of the ‘gift’ and ‘grace’ of the everyday. That isn’t a blame for the rest of us to take on. But there is great loss for so many when the heart of celebrating the Harvest of life is missing. All of us have to look seriously at ways and means of sensitising ourselves and everyone towards Reverence, towards Mystery, towards Gratitude. 

I repeat: Moses and his shoes. Jacob and his dream; ‘God is in this place and I never knew it.’ The Gentle breeze (1 Kings 19). Elizabeth Barrett Browning – ‘Earth is crammed with heaven; every common bush afire with God; only those who see, take off their shoes.’ ‘Who can disbelieve a God in a world drenched in miracles?’ (P Daly).

As a child we put down cabbages, carrots, onions, spuds. We expected them to have grown overnight. Am I still like that? Are most of us?

Seamus Ahearne osa

5^th October 26.