October is the month when we notice a cooling down. Some wind, some rain and leaves fall and turn to mush. Yet it is the month for making sure our actions are effective and on track; that is, given that last month, September, for many was the start of a new year, new plans and new relationships.
October is traditionally the month of Mary – and Justice & Peace, World Mission, and Prisoners and their families. For us, we find that we need the example of others to inspire, to motivate and to sustain our efforts. We hope that we will be able to guide our children to happy adulthood and that they will see good role models.
Sometimes things go well, and sometimes they don’t. And often there’s no rationality to our response to situations. We can cope with a car breakdown, a theft, … but we can’t find a pen … and we lose control! It takes a while to recover composure and get back on track. We need to remind ourselves more of Mary’s composure in the face of what she was not expecting … pregnancy, forced migration, losing her child for three days, the torture and death of her son.
So, we can ask ourselves and our other half when we have a ‘sit down’† this month …. How do you see me reacting to the unexpected? How might we take on the faith of Mary to be more resilient? How can we play our part in the world for Justice and Peace, for Mission and for families in the most difficult situations?
We are called to be a light in the world; how can we, as a couple, be effective as an example to others, to enable and help other couples and families, and to be role models to young people we encounter? Then we might also help reduce friction and ‘Help the World Go Round’
†What’s a “Sit Down” ? It’s planned couple time, often about two hours, when we sit down, light a candle, ask each other “how are you” … that is “how are you… really” – it’s a time for listening with hearts rather than with ears! Couples in Teams plan this special time each month, everyone can try it.
This post was written by Annette and Paul O’Beirne from Teams – Equipes Notre-Dame
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