While riding through Indiana over the weekend, I noticed the leaves beginning to change colors as we are in the fall season.

I was curious where the term “fall” as the name of these season came from.

Looking at the internet I learned that the name “fall” comes from the 1500s. The name is thought to originate from the fall of the leaves, in reference to the time of the year trees shed their leaves.

Also interesting is the fact that a similar term for fall is the word “autumn,” which dates back to the early 1300s and an even older term is “harvest,” the period when ripened crops are harvested.

So, such terms have been around for quite some time.

I then wondered if our church leaders have refenced the term “fall” from a spiritual viewpoint.

Remarkably and coincidentally, I found an article published on 9/19/22, wherein the Catholic Bishops state that: “The beauty of the season in many parts of the country is a great time to open yourself more to God and to join Pope Francis in praying for God’s creation. Our gratitude for plentiful harvests and the beauty of colorful leaves, early sunsets, and cooler air invites us to make some interior space to listen more carefully to creation, to each other, and to God.”  

May God give us the grace to follow the Bishops’ suggestion.

The noun, rumination, means a deep considered thought about something.

Happy Fall everyone!

-By Deacon Tom Gryzbek