The Importance of Repetition

 November 7, 2017

Season of Gratitude

The strains of Pachelbel’s Canon in D Minor repeat over and over, intertwined with the gentle sounds of ocean.

“Mom, that’s the same song over and over again. Aren’t you sick of it?”

Surprisingly, I’m not–I need to hear the music for at least thirty minutes before I finally begin to relax. Only then do the melodious tones finally sink deep into my bones, massaging aching muscles, making me vividly aware of my weariness, and then easing my tension.

In his letters, Paul repeatedly repeats ad nauseam the words of thanksgiving for the communities to whom he wrote. Did he ever get tired of writing those phrases? Did those people to whom he wrote ever think the repetition hinted at insincerity? Don’t I sometimes think that Paul’s giving thanks is merely polite convention?

Yet, after hearing Paul’s words of thanks over and over again, I finally begin to get the message; the meaning finally begins to sink in. Paul truly meant what he wrote.

I give thanks to my God at every remembrance of you, praying always with joy in my every prayer for all of you.    Philippians 1:3-4

This post is part of a series of reflections on the Church year.   click here to follow blog