It’s that time of year. Tonight at Vespers we enter the season of Advent, beginning another round of the Church year, another cycle in which we encounter the Lord through the seasons of the liturgy, always beginning again, yet moving ever deeper into life in Christ.
The liturgical year is not a mere remembrance, or commemoration, of events from the life of Christ. We are not spectators. We are not watching a drama. Rather, in the seasons of the liturgical cycle the life of Christ unfolds, both drawing us into His life, and pouring life into us. Through times and seasons, we encounter the Eternal One.
We are able to see the seasons of our own life in light of the seasons of Christ’s 
life. In our own times of watchful waiting, we recognize the season of Advent and trust in the coming of our Savior. In our own times of desolation, we recognize Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, and know that He is with us in our pain. In our own times of resurrection, we recognize God’s abounding power and grace.
As the liturgical cycle ends and begins, I’ve posted below some circular/cyclical images from around the monastery, taken in different seasons. Also, a brief excerpt from a wonderful poem by Gertrude von LeFort entitled The Holy Year:
…Bow down, O years, and stand still ye months, take
the shoes from off your feet ye wandering days!
For Eternity is speaking to my soul…
