Spring Has Sprung!

I've been taking pictures of our burning bushes and lilac bush since they started blooming a few weeks ago.  It's incredible how quickly the blooms explode!  

The burning bush

The lilac bush

    

I've always considered it a blessing to live in the northern hemisphere where the climate naturally lends itself to the liturgical calendar.  Say whhhhhaaaaaaaat, crazy Catherine?  Hear me out.

I'm a visual learner and, well, I can be pretty dense, so it's helpful that my natural surroundings mirror what's happening in the Church calendar.  

In the fall, we have the beautiful burst of color before the plant life begins to die and fade into winter.  In the wintertime of Advent, while we're waiting for the Light of the World to arrive on Christmas Day, the days become increasingly shorter until the winter solstice on December 21. 

Just when we're getting the hang of celebrating Christ's birth, we enter the season of Lent, where we prepare for his Passion.  The season of self-denial is mirrored in the stark, brown landscape.  As we approach Holy Week, there are signs of life again outside.  The plants and trees start to bud, and the birds sing in the early morning.  We even get the beautiful Easter Lilies, announcing with their big, trumpet-like petals that Christ is Risen!  Alleluia!  

Throughout the late spring and into summer when nature is in full bloom, we get to celebrate the month of Mary in May, Divine Mercy Sunday, Ascension, the Church's birthday on Pentecost, Trinity Sunday, Corpus Christi, and the Assumption of Mary. 

Pretty cool, huh?