Sunday, May 6, 2018

Gardening, Prayer, and St. Teresa of Avila

From Catholic Stand:
The first way of watering the garden is by means of a well.  For the gardener, this method is the most laborious.  The gardener, i.e., the prayerful person, goes to the well of his mind and heart where he recalls the moments of God in his life.  During the labor of recollection, external and internal noise will cause distractions that seek to pull the gardener away from his introspection.  Nevertheless, it is through recollection that the life-giving waters of the Spirit are brought to the surface, drawn out of the deep recesses of the person’s mind and heart.  St. Teresa even reminds us that as the water is brought to the surface, our own tears may become mixed with it, as the sadness of memories and past actions come to our mind (SA, Book 11, Ch. 9).  However, this call to internal recollection is not an excuse for a person to ignore or abandon his commitments in the world.

We must not forget that friendship exists through charity, and we offer our charity to Christ through the care we show the people entrusted to us within our lives.  We, as the gardener, experience the charity of Christ through the strength He offers us whenever we grasp the rope of our bucket and pull it up to the surface of our garden.  Let us never be afraid of how deep our well is or how long our rope is because the strength of Christ, His love, has been entrusted to His gardeners. (Read more.)
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