Gardening & Lent

Gardening is no easy task in Colorado. Dry weather and strong sunlight can be challenging for even the greenest thumbs. Late February is a time to daydream about juicy red tomatoes and bright flowers blossoming in your backyard. A good garden takes time and planning. It means tilling the soil, enriching the earth with fertilizer and water. It means pulling out the old weeds and dead plants from last year.

A garden is a beautiful metaphor for Lent. God placed our ancestors, Adam and Eve, in a garden. God made the land lush and fruitful. Over time, sin has sown seeds of poisonous weeds, crowding out the flowers and fruits. But that’s not the end of the story. God gives us Lent as a time to renew our gardens. Pulling out the weeds of sin. Renewing our plants and flowers with the light of prayer and the nourishment of service. Fasting and other Lenten penances help us to bring order to our garden, our lives, and our hearts. All of us need a little pruning now and then! He desires to make our hearts more like His Sacred Heart– strong, loving, and generous.

Placing our hearts before the Son [who is the eternal Sun] purifies and strengthens our hearts in faith, hope, and love. Lent is a time of discernment. Some TV shows and social media can aid my spiritual life— staying in touch with loved ones, deepening my faith, and broadening my mind. Many more shows and tweets are simply weeds– blocking my vision, colonizing my heart, and filling my mind with superficial and divisive images.

In prayer, I must discern, “Is this helping me to live a fruitful life, or not?” Christ wants us to be faithful and fruitful. All of us need a little pruning now and then! He desires to make our hearts more like His Sacred Heart– strong, loving, and generous. Placing our hearts before the Son [who is the eternal Sun] purifies and strengthens our hearts in faith, hope, and love.

Fr. Joe Laramie SJ