Our Lord's Living Garden, St. Therese

By -

 

 


We were driving in to water flowers at the cemetery, and I found the city streets we had to travel, very depressing.

Although the blight has been creeping in for some time in the community in which I grew up, it seems to have gotten much, much worse.  Burned out and boarded up houses and businesses seem to be the standard now.

Interestingly, there is tons of road work taking place, as there is apparently at attempt to fix what can be fixed.  I know that the Mayor is trying to ascertain more funding to demolish some of the more troublesome houses, but I found myself thinking how difficult it must be to be the Mayor of such a depressed city.

On this overcast day, it was hard to shake the overwhelming sadness on display, except for one thing . . .

On one of the worst streets, there remains a yard that has been a bright spot for years.  The entire front yard is covered in beautiful, bright flowers that stand out against the blight.  Somebody must be hanging on to hope and choosing to offer what they can in such a depressed city.

The inspiration this garden-in-the-city offers is a reminder that each of us has the opportunity to be a bright spot in someone's life.  So many people are down and discouraged due to work, finances, sickness and life in general; they could probably use a smile, patience, or even a listening ear.

What little we might offer can be significant; it, reminds me of something St. Therese of Lisieux said:

“I understood that every flower created by Him is beautiful, that the brilliance of the rose and the whiteness of the lily do not lessen the perfume of the violet or the sweet simplicity of the daisy. I understood that if all the lowly flowers wished to be roses, nature would no longer be enameled with lovely hues. And so it is in the world of souls, Our Lord's living garden.”

If there is someone in your life that is surrounded by hardship, try to be a daisy (or a rose!) in their life.  In doing so, you will surely add to "Our Lord's living garden."

Janet Cassidy
janetcassidy.com
https://www.facebook.com/reflectionsinfaith/
https://www.youtube.com/@janetcassidy

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

SAINT ELIZABETH, MOTHER OF JOHN THE BAPTIST- Feast: November 5

By -
Image
Elizabeth appears in the Gospel of Luke, where she is described as “righteous in the eyes of God, observing all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly,”.  I imagine that she was warm, loving and obviously a safe harbour for young Mary, who was not married when she conceived.  When Mary came to visit her, Elizabeth was pregnant with St. John the Baptist and in her sixth month: “Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And how have I deserved that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, the moment that the sound of thy greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leapt for joy. And blessed is she who has believed, because the things promised her by the Lord shall be accomplished.” 
Read more

The Memorare

By Helen Gonsalves -
Image
This popular prayer, a favorite of many Catholics, dates back to the 15th century and takes its name from the first Latin word of the prayer, "memorare," which means "remember." The Memorare is of unknown authorship, although it has been attributed to St. Augustine (354-430), St. John Chrysostom (c. 347-407) and, with more reason, to St. Bernard of Clairvaux (c. 1090-1153). St. Bernard's sermons on Mary were famous, and it was his Cistercian monks in the monastery of Citeaux in the 12th century who popularized the name "Our Lady" for Mary. The Memorare has also been attributed to the French cleric Claude Bernard (1588-1641), known as the "poor priest" of Paris, whose homilies contain passages that echo its words. No matter who wrote this prayer, it was Father Bernard who did much to popularize it, teaching it in hospitals and prisons, where Mary's intercession was effective in working miracles of grace. The first manuscript of the Mem...
Read more

'Greater Love: Richie Fernando SJ', a joy-filled Filipino missionary

By -
Image
 I haven't been able to post for more than a week as I was giving an eight-day directed retreat to eight sisters of the Missionaries of Charity near Manila. While I had some access to the internet it was rather slow. I had intended to make a post here on the murder of Fr Fausto Tentorio PIME , a 59-year-old Italian priest, in the Diocese of Kidapawan, Mindanao, on Monday 17 October. I will save that post for a later date. As I was looking for a video about Father Fausto I came across one about Brother Richard Michael 'Richie' Fernando SJ, a Filipino Jesuit scholastic who died while trying to prevent a troubled and disabled young man in Cambodia from throwing a grenade. That was in 1996 - on 17 October. Father Fausto gave his life exactly 15 years later. I remember the mixture of sorrow and pride I felt when I read of the death of Brother Richie, pride as a missionary in the Philippines that a young Filipino seminarian had given his life so spontaneously in order to sav...
Read more