March 9/Second Thursday of Lent
He is like a tree planted near running water,
That yields its fruit in due season, and whose leaves never wither! ~ Ps 1.3
We had our garden re-landscaped recently, partly as a result of the removal of a large tree that was threatening to damage the neighbor’s property. Our number one priority now that the new boxwoods and irises and hydrangeas are in the ground is to water, water, water. Only if they are properly nourished with that miraculously life-giving combination of hydrogen and oxygen will they survive and flourish. (As my black thumb has been well-documented in previous reflections, I intend to leave this task to my husband, the constant gardener). So, too, with our life of faith. Prayer is that running water that nourishes the tree of our belief. And Lent is the season for us to plant the seeds of trust, to tend them in daily devotions and weekly worship, to weed out the wrongdoing that inhibits our growth – with God’s help. And then, we must wait. The psalmist’s tree will yield its fruit “in due season,” which means in God’s good time. This may not happen as quickly as we would like. Our prayer may feel dry and “unproductive.” We may not have a sense that God is hearing us, we might fear that things aren’t going the way we want despite our daily devotion, so why persist? But as any gardener knows (even me), plants often take a while – even years – to settle into the soil and truly flourish. That’s no reason to stop watering, of course, and as my faithful husband proves, regular attention is the path to healthy growth. The great spiritual writer and priest-theologian Henri Nouwen wrote in his Genesee Diary, “One of the experiences of prayer is that it seems that nothing happens. But when you stay with it and look back over a long period of prayer, you suddenly realize that something has happened.” As Nouwen learned, spending time in prayer every day will ultimately help us realize the full fruits of faith.
Almighty God, Lead me to your life-giving water, and grant that I may remain there always. Amen.
To hear Johnny Cash sing “I Shall Not Be Moved,” click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNfr0D0HcBY
For today’s readings, click here: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/030923.cfm
