The Sacred Three Days of Autumn

Columnists

The Sacred Three Days of Autumn

Bishop Jane Kryzanowski, Roman Catholic Women Priests Canada, Regina, SK

Volume 37  Issue 10, 11 & 12 | Posted: January 4, 2023

In recent reading from the work of Wisdom teacher, Cynthia Bourgeault, I came upon the concept of the Fall Triduum as applied to the observances of Halloween (Oct. 31), All Saints (Nov.1) and All Souls (Nov.2). It was juxtaposed with the Spring Triduum of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and the Easter Vigil. Both Spring and Fall Triduums deal with the passage from death to life which is at the heart of the mystical path.

The solemn passage through the Easter Triduum is experienced not only as a set of external observances, but as a journey deep within the interiority of our own hearts, a bit of our own dying with Jesus and rising with the Christ.

The days of the Fall Triduum comprise their own sacred passage, which is not only authentic in and of itself, but also a powerful mirror-image of the energy flowing through the Spring Triduum.

With death around us in all of nature, we are reminded of our own mortality. We hold in grief and sorrow what we have loved but deemed lost: our loved ones, our dreams, the roads in life not taken, etc. There is little to catapult us over death into resurrection.

The Easter Triduum occurs when days are lengthening and energy is coursing through everything ready to burst forth in new life. The Fall Triduum is the opposite. Days are shortening and the earth draws into itself. We linger in the dark, allow the dawning recognition of how fragile we are.

Halloween asks us to acknowledge the false self (the disguises we wear) and experience the reality that all this is superficial. Indeed, “all will be well”, as St. Julian of Norwich reminds us. After that we get a glimpse of the Divine promise of the future: all the friends of God and prophets gathered at the banquet feast of heaven. (All Saints). From there we touch back to our human condition and acknowledge and grieve all that we have lost, most notably our most precious relationships (All Souls).

As Autumn fades and we begin to anticipate the Winter Solstice, not only the return of the sun, but the birth of the Son, “these fall Triduum days are an invitation to do the profound inner work: to face our shadows and deep fears (death being for most people the scariest of all), to taste that in ourselves which already lies beyond death, drink at its fountain, then to move back into our lives again, both humbled and steadied in that which lies beyond both light and dark, beyond both life and death. What better tilling of the inner soil for the mystery of the Incarnation, which lies just ahead?” — Cynthia Bourgeault

I am grateful to Cynthia for these insights. May these days hold rich blessings for each of you,
+Jane
[Jane Kryzanowski, Regina, SK is bishop for RCWP Canada]

   

Bishop Jane Kryzanowski, Roman Catholic Women Priests Canada, Regina, SK