We must know what season of the year it is. If a farmer in the Northern hemisphere works hard planting corn in December, he is wasting his time and his corn seeds, for it is not the season to plant. If he waits till winter to harvest his crops, he will lose his crops and starve, because autumn, not winter, is the season for harvesting. To know the season in an agrarian society is a matter of life and death.

Jesus told us that we must know the spiritual seasons. If we are in the autumn of our lives or of our world, we are fools if we are acting as if we have a lot of time left. If we missed the season for planting, how can we harvest anything? Knowing the spiritual season can be a matter of salvation or damnation.

We can know the spiritual seasons by observing “the fig tree, or any other tree” (Lk 21:29). The Lord sometimes likens His people to a tree (see Lk 13:6ff; Mk 11:13ff; Ps 80:9). Consequently, we can know the spiritual season by looking at God’s people throughout the world. Are we bearing much fruit? Then it must be the spiritual season of summer. Are we reaping the harvest of evangelization? Then it must be autumn. If we are not bearing fruit, we may be in the winter of dying to self or in our self-made winter of sin.

Look at the Church. Look at yourself as a member of the Church. Which spiritual season is God’s will for you? Is that the season in which you have chosen to live?

Rescript:  "In accord with the Code of Canon Law, I hereby grant the Nihil Obstat for the publication One Bread, One Body covering the time period from December 1, 2023, through January 31, 2024. Reverend Steve J. Angi, Chancellor, Vicar General, Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio May 17, 2023"

The Nihil Obstat ("Permission to Publish") is a declaration that a book or pamphlet is considered to be free of doctrinal or moral error. It is not implied that those who have granted the Nihil Obstat agree with the contents, opinions, or statements expressed.