Reflection by Fr. Conrad Targonski, OFM

As we leave the introspective mood of the Days of Awe, Sukkot or the Festival of Booths or Tabernacles, is a holiday of rejoicing and celebration for which we are commanded to build a “hut” or “sukkot” and make it our home. Why? Some scholars say the “hut” represents the season of rejoicing—we have completed the journey to “at-one-ment” as well as bringing in the harvest…and now we are meant of have a sense of fulfillment and security. Thus, Sukkot is the festival of the future, a preparation for the coming of the Messiah, when all nations will come up to Jerusalem and celebrate Sukkot (Zechariah 14:16).

REFLECTION:
Each year beginning on September 1 and concluding with the feast of Saint Francis on October 4, all Christian Churches celebrate a season of creation when we reflect as a people of God on the quality of the Earth, our common home. This year’s theme is Creating an oikos , that is, a home for all people and all created things. The symbol is the “sukkot” of Abraham who invited “strangers” into his tent, extended hospitality and found out he was entertaining angels who promised him “fulfillment and security” only in God.

This holiday is associated with beauty and people make every effort to decorate their sukkot. People hang homemade carpets and tapestries, nuts, almonds, peaches, pomegranates, branches of grape vines, decanters of oil, and various branches of citrus, palm, and olive—but not too many so that they can still see the stars at night. Some people sleep in their Sukkot for the duration of the festival but almost everyone —even in modern times—take their meals in it as well. Celebration! And why not? The Days of Awe have ushered people into a new trust in God, in others and in self. Sukkot marks a new beginning!

Sacred Text: Leviticus 23:33-38; Nehemiah 8:13-18

Discover more on the Season of Creation online or refer to the San Damiano Chapel website.