God’s Garden
Many parishes now construct a colourful Easter garden as an expression of joy during Paschal time. St Catherine of Siena loved to use the image of a garden when speaking about the church or about a soul’s inner relationship with God. A garden she said, is where new plants ‘bring fragrance and life to the church.’
In the year that has passed since the death of Pope Francis the church has experienced something of that new fragrance and life from the ministry of Pope Leo XIV who has enthusiastically built upon the foundations of his predecessor and particularly championed the cause of the poorest and most vulnerable on earth. As he repeatedly reminds the world, they are the ones who are suffering most of all from the effects of war, climate change, technological advances and power brokers and the growing gulf between the wealthy and impoverished nations.
St Catherine who is credited with helping to sort out the medieval papacy also famously once wrote to a pope and suggested he needed to do a bit of weeding in the garden of the church to remove the more noxious and insidious plants that she warned threatened its overall welfare and beauty. It was a forthright if loving letter.
Easter too has a tough as well as a joyful message. As we celebrate the momentous events of Calvary and what occurred in the garden of the empty tomb, we realise that our joy in Christ’s triumph over suffering and death is accompanied by the knowledge that he expects us to combat those same evils in his name and with confidence in his help and God’s ultimate victory.
May the Risen Lord plant courage in our hearts to confront the noxious weeds obscuring God’s garden of peace and fraternity, mercy and love. May the power of Christ’s Resurrection empower us. Alleluia.
Paul Clayton-Lea
Editor
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