In Laudato Si, Pope Francis reminds us of how St. Francis of Assisi’s great admiration for nature inspired him to ask that a section of the Friary garden remain uncultivated, so that wild flowers and herbs could grow there undisturbed. Nature has a wonderful way of helping us to raise our minds and hearts to God, our creator, in praise of the ordinary and the beautiful. This was precisely St. Francis’ reason for a wild garden.
Normally during the summer months, we swing our lawn mowers into action to cultivate nature according to our taste. Whenever the natural world is untouched we experience peace and calm, as earth produces magnificent wild flowers – yellow, blue, pink, purple and white. Tossing their heads and swaying in the gentle breeze these praise God our creator with beautiful wide open eyes that look towards the light of the sun. Bumble bees busily hop from flower to flower collecting nectar and pollen to store in their baskets, continuing God’s wonderful work of creation.
Now the unkind mowing machine has changed everything into a carpet of green; the wild flowers are asleep ready for reawakening with the healing touch of the rain, or the gentle caress of the sun. Like the bees they are now silent.
Brigid Quinn Rndm