“Arise, north wind!
Come, south wind! Blow upon my
garden, that its perfumes may spread abroad…”
(Song of Songs 4:16)
The cloister garden is a place of refreshment. Whether the monastery is snuggled amid
rolling hills or surrounded by bustling city, its garden is meant to be a
peaceful oasis, a place where the inhabitants connect with the Creator of
all. The garden is where we find the
first daffodils of spring breaking through frozen ground, the sparkle of
raindrops on greenery, the sounds of robins beginning their song.
If
I go into my “inner garden,”what do I find? We will be looking more at this in weeks ahead, but as I venture forth into the garden today - what do I see? Fruits of prayer? The tender buds of increasing virtue? What has Our Lord been planting in my life… and how am I
cooperating?
For prayer and meditation:
“Mark
well, then, the parable of the sower.
The seed along the path is the man who hears the message about God’s
reign without understanding it. The
evil one approaches him to steal away what was sown in his mind. The seed that
fell on patches of rock is the man who hears the message and at first receives
it with joy. But he has no roots, so he
lasts only for a time. When some
setback or persecution involving the message occurs, he soon falters. What was sown among briers is the man who
hears the message, but then worldly anxiety and the lure of money choke it
off. Such a one produces no yield. But what was sown on good soil is the man
who hears the message and takes it in.
He it is who bears a yield of a hundred - or sixty - or
thirty-fold.” (Matthew 13:18-23)
Text not in quotes
Text not in quotes