Having reached the start of summer with gardens filled with flowering plants and the beginnings of local produce, the season invites reflection on what any garden can teach us. A garden is at the center of Jesus’ death and resurrection: Jesus prayed in a garden before his crucifixion. Jesus is buried in a garden. And after his
resurrection, Mary of Magdala mistakes Jesus for a gardener. During his ministry, Jesus likens his dying and rising to a grain of wheat. He likens his relationship to his disciples to a vineyard. Connected to all of this, tending a garden teaches us about life.

Patience: For a seed to germinate, sprout and flower can take several months. Gardeners cannot expect instant success. In today’s world, we often expect immediate results and success. But the important things in life (maturity, wisdom, healthy relationships) all take time. If, like a gardener, we cultivate patience, we become more
realistic about life.

Value the journey not just the goal: A gardener needs to enjoy the whole process of gardening. If a gardener only found joy when the plants flowered, he or she would seldom be joyful! In life, we shouldn’t aim just for results or achievements. Happiness can be found in our participation and preparation. Happiness need not always depend on success. Happiness depends on the attitude we bring to whatever we’re doing.

Work: A garden requires regular care and attention. A gardener cannot cultivate the garden only when it is convenient. He must attend to it regularly. At times the work can be tedious, even difficult. But the gardener knows that living things require attentiveness. In order for our relationships with people to thrive, we must work at
cultivating them. Otherwise, they can wither and die. Prayer requires time and patience as well.

To everything there is a season: Gardens change and evolve with the changing of seasons. Our lives are a series of seasons or chapters as well. Sometimes we try to hold on to a season of our lives that has
clearly passed and resist embracing a new stage of our journey. Families, neighborhoods, and parishes change. Can we accept the season of life we are in?

May we find wisdom for living in caring for the good earth God has given to us.