Painting by Judith Crimmins Auckland Companion
In the months of June – August, in Aotearoa New Zealand, we celebrate a constellation of 9 stars known as Matariki by the Maori or called Pleiades in the European tradition. The reappearance of this star cluster heralds New Year in the Maori calendar. The rising stars, dancing into their divinely assigned positions signal that it is time to prepare the soil and plant crops.
For us too, it is a good time to contemplate our sense of place on planet earth yet beyond into the Cosmos.
Reflection: What seeds of hope do you need to be planting in your life at this time? How might they enable you to be even more so, a part of the Cosmic Dance of new beginnings?
The setting and rising of this star cluster is also a time to remember those who have died during the past year. As the stars of Matariki rise again, we reflect on the rising of the dead who have now joined the stars of the night sky. As Qoheleth says ‘There is a time for everything, a season for every purpose under heaven: a season to be born and a season to die; a season to plant and a season to harvest. God has made everything in harmony with the divine.’ (Ecclesiastes 3:1-2)
Reflection: You might like to take a moment to remember your loved one/s who have died and for the wonder of the gift of their life in yours
Remember– Their name (pause), Their face (pause),
Their presence (pause),
How they blessed you (pause), How you blessed them (pause).
We pray: E te Atua, God of the cycles and patterns of the universe and all living things whose ways we only begin to comprehend, open our hearts to the wonder of the natural world, to your incarnation throughout creation, and to your presence with and in us now.
And we express our faith 2
Matariki is a cluster of stars—Let the heavens be glad.
Matariki is a time of year— Let the earth rejoice, let the seas and all that is in them roar.
Matariki is a time of remembering— Be still and know that I am God.
Matariki is a new beginning— Let the fields and all that is in them exult.
Matariki is a time of seeing—Both day and night belong to you; you made the starlight and the sun.
Matariki is a time of rejoicing— All creatures depend on you to feed them at the proper time. Open your hand, they are well satisfied.
1 Parts of this prayer are quoted from “A Catholic Prayer to Honour and Celebrate Matariki,” a liturgy prepared by Judith Courtney and Manuel Beazley, available at nlo.org.nz. We are indebted to their work.
2 Inspired by Psalms 46, 96, 74, 104.