April Flurries and More

Happy Easter! Christ is risen! Yes, He is truly risen! The Easter season lasts for several weeks, so it's OK to wish people a Happy Easter even in this second week of Easter! Usually I post a few lines to Facebook everyday. So I apologize for being remiss about my own blog. For various reasons I have spent more time at our Pauline Books & Media Center in Dedham, Massachusetts lately. Before Easter folks were looking for gifts for the many new Catholics being received into the Church on Holy Saturday. Since May is traditionally the month of First Communions, especially for East Coast Catholics, we have been really busy with families seeking First Holy Communion books and gifts.

We are hoping for good weather. On Monday we had icy snow all day. It snowed a bit more on Tuesday. Then most of it melted today with a heavy April downpour. We also have experienced electrical power failures that were related to electrical failures. Today and in the past week we are experiencing high winds. For a few days we will enjoy warmer (above freezing) temperatures. Then there may be more snow on the horizon. I am looking forward to seeing all of our plants blooming very soon. Last Spring I took on the little project of making sure that our planters outside of our book center in Dedham, Mass. had fresh plants. The budget I had to work with was $17.00. The a few miles past our Center a nursery had many plants, especially marigolds and petunias. For $16.99 I was able to purchase 2 little trays of baby marigold plants and about a half dozen petunias. Before I pulled up the dried marigolds just before winter, I saved a packet of their seeds. Now I am awaiting a fresh crop of baby marigolds. So far only 2 green sprouts have poked their way out of the little containers where my marigold seeds are waiting to take root and eventually move to Dedham to adorn our Book Center!

My plant hobby reminds me of our spiritual life. In particular it reminds me of the parable of the Good Seed. The Internet article on marigold care left me thinking that these flowers are the Special Forces of the Plant Kingdom. The article discouraged planters from using good expensive new soil, since these flowers don't need rich soil--just plain dirt. "Bloom where you are planted!" came to my mind. I also thought of Jesus the Gardener. He can make virtues grow in us, even though we hardly seem to make an effort at being good. The Divine Gardener is ready to make us bear fruit. St. Paul once wrote that some Apostles sowed the Good Word, others "watered it" by nudging it along in local churches, yet "God gave the growth." May he do so for us: Give us the ways and means of growing in solid virtue with roots deep in the soil of faith, hope and love. The photo shows one of the planters bearing last year's crop of marigolds and a few petunias.