Seeds of Love

“When the wind blows, then a garden grows, and the fields are gold and fine... Then the love you’ve left behind is the fruit that turns to wine.” - lyrics from the song, “When the Wind Blows”

This Saturday we welcomed 54 engaged couples from our diocese and surrounding areas as they attended our Pre-Cana Day of Reflection. The day spent with them is always full of blessings as their love is a witness of God’s undying love for all of humanity and His covenant with us. They are at the beginning of what will be a journey of commitment, fidelity and love. They will start new traditions and strive to retain and celebrate those traditions brought with them from childhood.

We can mark milestones in our lives with visible signs that will last as a remembrance through the years. When John and I were married we planted 2 vines around our deck. The vines bloomed on our wedding day, and each year on our anniversary. They grow as a living symbol of our commitment and love as they continue to entwine their branches and expand as our family expands and grows. As God unites these couples on their wedding day, our prayer as a congregation is that their commitment to each other will last a lifetime as they plant seeds of love.

The Garden Saints - St. Valentine (February 14)

Martyred around the year A.D. 270 for refusing to renounce his Christian faith, “Valentinus,” or St. Valentine is widely recognized as the patron of lovers. He was arrested and imprisoned upon being caught marrying Christian couples and otherwise aiding Christians who were at the time being persecuted by Claudius in Rome. It is said that on the eve of his death, while imprisoned, he restored the sight of his jailor’s blind daughter and even wrote her a farewell note, signing it: “From your Valentine.”

Seeds of Virtue

This past week I was among a group of 41 pilgrims that made the journey across Pennsylvania to Lancaster. Lancaster is surrounded by rural vastness: farms, valleys, quaint stores and cottages, animals, and fields upon fields of crops, mainly corn. The simplicity of the life of the Amish was evident in their humble way of living with little or no creature comforts. They greeted us with friendliness and their hospitality was welcoming and sincere. Toward the end of our 2-day journey we visited a large dairy farm. Our group was led into a milking barn in which stood a very large carousel which held about 50 cows at one time as they were milked. Someone remarked that the cows looked like they were enjoying their ride on the cow merry-go-round! The cows entered their milking stall on the carousel one by one, climbing in through a narrow gate. What a surprise it was to see the many cows waiting their turn in a peaceful and orderly fashion. When their ride on the carousel was done, they simply backed off (did you ever see a cow back up?) and walked slowly to the next area, which was the “cow massage area.” There, a wand resembling a car wash apparatus massaged their backs. Once again, the cows patiently waited their turn to receive a massage. It was really quite a sight, and we watched in awe and amazement from a special viewing platform atop the milking area. As my car rolls daily down routes 28 and 65, through many bottlenecks, construction zones, and merges, I can’t help but think of the way the cows treated each other. It is my hope that I can take a lesson from those gentle creatures. Maybe we all can?

The Garden Saints - St. George (April 23)

Saint George, the patron saint of farmers, was born in Cappadocia around A.D. 270 as a Christian and served in the Roman army. He is best known for his fortitude in battle, and performed many miracles, one in which he resurrected a farmer’s herd of dead oxen. The patron saint of many countries, and of the Boy Scouts, he was martyred for protesting the Emperor's persecution of Christians.

Seeds of Prayer

A wonderful way to show our love for Mary is to plant roses in our gardens. Those roses can be placed in such a way that they form a "living rosary" and serve as a prayer garden. A bench to pray on could be placed at each decade of the floral rosary, offering a place of solitude, rest and meditation. For those without space for this type of garden, consider placing 10 potted plants (even silk roses)in a circle surrounding a chair or bench. Each plant represents one bead of the rosary. A lit votive candle and music complete the prayer atmosphere. Set aside time to pray there, to meditate on our Lord, throughour mediatrix, our heavenly Mother, the lady in blue.

The Garden Saints

The Lady dressed in blue ... we all know her, we all love her ... you need only to walk down any street to see a statue of Mary in an alcove or surrounded by a flower garden. She is Queen of the Universe, the Patroness of the United States, and her Assumption, we celebrate this week, is said to have been a divine gift to her as the "Mother of God."

There are many titles and feast days honoring Mary, two of which fall in August. August 15 is the Feast of the Assumption and August 22 is the Queenship of Mary. She is an advocate to her Divine Son and the Heavenly Father, imploring us to increase devotion to our Lord by the celebration of Mass and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. What better wya to show love and respect to any mother than to love her son?

Nectar from Heaven

During warm weather months, before the sun rises, I take great pleasure in sitting in the garden. It is a peaceful time and there is little noise except for birds and an occasional news helicopter reporting the traffic on Route 28. As of late, there has been a noisy visitor, albeit a welcome one. A green hummingbird, (rarely seen in the city), has been visiting my Canna Lillies. He hovers so closely that the flutter of his wings can be heard as he draws the sweet nectar into his long thin beak. Sometimes he returns three or four times to the same flower, as if he can’t get enough. It makes me think of this weekend’s Gospel reading of John 6: 24-35, “He gave them bread from heaven to eat.” How sweet, this heavenly bread is, sweeter than any nectar found on the vine. We can never get enough of this heavenly bread! Soon, farmers will harvest wheat and it will be used to make our earthly bread. I wonder how many farmers or how much acreage it takes to feed all the people in our country… As manna fed the children of Israel, so too, may we be fed daily on the true Bread of Life.

The Garden Saints

St. Isidore (May 15), born in Spain in 1070 and died in 1130, worked as a poor laborer in the fields and was known for his kindness to people and animals. He performed miracles, one of which involved the multiplication of food upon his witnessing a flock of starving birds, and another time when he was sharing his food with a large group of beggars. He is known as the patron of Madrid, Spain and considered the patron of farmers, as well as patron of the United States National Rural Life Conference.