This blog is part of a weekly summer series.

Meditative Reading:

Though as a species we may have explored space, scripture reminds us that we do not control the rising or setting of the sun nor do we set the stars in their place in the sky. How do the great lights of the sky impact your own life, or your sense of time? 

Genesis 1:14-19

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (time and season)

Psalm 147:1-6 (he determines the number of stars)

Jeremiah 31:31-37 (Thus says the Lord who gives the sun for light)

Matthew 2:9-11 (Magi following the star)

Spiritual Practices:

• This week choose a day to watch the sun rise. Find yourself a comfortable east-facing location, either outdoors or indoors at a window where you have a view of the eastern horizon. Take time to feel your body waking up to a new day. Listen to the stillness around you, and if you are outside, to the birds welcoming the day. The sun is a stunning symbol of resurrection; in what ways do you need to rise?

• Search out the lunar calendar and watch for the moon’s rising (or setting); notice whether it is waxing or waning. Once, human societies tracked time and the seasons almost entirely by the moon’s phases and many Indigenous cultures continue to name each moon for the changes the earth experiences over that period of time. How would you name the full moons of the lunar calendar based upon your own experiences of the creation? 

• Spend a few hours (or if possible a whole day!) without looking at a clock; instead, let the movement of the sun tell you what time it is. How does this practice change your experience of the passing of time? 

• Go on a night walk this week, around your neighbourhood, in a park, or just in your backyard. How has this space changed now that the sun has set? Pay attention to your senses, how do they tell you a different story of this space? How is your experience of this place different at night than during the day? What thoughts or feelings arise for you as you walk? 

Photos of Killarney Provincial Park by Leah Reesor-Keller

Erika lives in Kitchener with her husband Cameron and her son Levi. She works as the Spiritual and Student Development Advisor at St. Jerome’s University where she engages in conversations with SJ community members about spirituality, justice, and leadership. Erika loves spending time outside with her family, listening to audiobooks, and cooking new foods.