Go to Home Page
Intro Mary Garden
Plant Life and Social Renewal
John S. Stokes Jr.
Faced with the ills and destructiveness of urban poverty, broken
families, inadequate schooling, lack of jobs, drugs, crime and
imprisonment, there is an intense search by parents, teachers,
clergy, social workers, police, politicians, political scientists,
journalists and others for effective means of personal and social
rebuilding - particularly for youth as they enter this melieu.
The following exposition develops the proposal that the expansion
of urban neighborhood gardening projects, motivated by a love of
people and of plants, can make an important contribution to this
end. This is because love engenders love, the basis of all
virtue; and because close experience of plant life and group
responsibility for its care generate in a direct and practical way
personal and social virtues more difficult to develop through
other materials and activities of love, however supplemented they
may be by teaching, preaching, role models or rewards and
punishments.
Peripheral and insignificant as gardening may at first seem in
relation to the weight of personal and social problems, it
actually contains a unique motivational and instructional
potential because of the created correspondence between the
spiritual and material worlds - such that the planting and growth
of the virtues in our spiritual hearts and souls have an interior
subtle correspondence to the planting and growth of flowering
plants in our gardens, which, in a context of love, are
interiorized through our active imagination.
o O o
In the pre-literate medieval Age of Faith, religious truths,
morality and prayer were taught through the visual sculptured and
stained glass programs of pilgrimage cathedrals, and sustained
through the religious symbolism and correspondences of nature, as
taught through oral preaching, poetry, drama, song, and legend
of itinerant preachers, roving poets and players, wandering
minstrels, pilgrims, crusaders, merchants and others.
Virtues were exemplified in the traditionally perceived behavior
of various animals - real and imaginary - as later set forth in
"bestiaries"; and the truths of spritual life and growth were
found in plant "signatures" and symbols drawn or derived from
scripture, as evidenced by the religious plant names of the oral
traditions of the countrysides, as later recorded by botanists and
folklorists.
The objects of nature were so integral to the teaching of
religious truths and virtue, in accordance with the adage that
"things are the measure of truth", that manuscripts preserving the
word of revealed truth were - in their copying in monastic and
university scriptoria - "illuminated" with flowers, vines and
other figures from nature to retain the links of written words to
creatures and life.
Blessed Virgin Weaving
In modern times, as the world moves towards its culmination in the
earthly and heavenly kingdoms, the hypotheses of science, the
innovations of technology, and the instruments and machinery of
manufacturing are all similarly tested, corroborated and perfected
in relation to nature, with respect for the matter and raw
materials investigated, treated and used.
In this the discovered, hypothesized and crafted processes and
instruments of science, technology and industry are also found,
like the created objects of nature, to be symbols of religious
truth:
"We do not hesitate to say that the order of the
natural sciences, including the processes of these
sciences, profoundly reflects Jesus Christ and his
mysteries. Indeed it soars even higher than nature,
pushes farther ahead in its secrets, and arrives, as
though by the formulas of a transcendental and divine
alphabet, at marvellous illuminations which associate
it with the vision of angels, and anticipate some of
the answers that are reserved for us by eternity."
- Auguste Nicolas' "La Vierge Marie Dans Le Plan
Divin", Paris, 1869 (trans)
As a demonstation of this we need look no further than to electric
circuits and motors as symbols of the circulation and power of the
Holy Spirit; to television as a symbol of the eternal heavenly
viewing in the Book of Life of all history; to air and space
travel as a symbol of the heavenly travel of angels and souls; and
to the workings of the laser as a symbol of the life of the
Trinity - intensifying interiorly in its furnace of love and
bursting forth exteriorly in Creation and Redemption.
The basis for finding symbolism of the spiritual world in the
material world, and discovering the meaning of the material world
in the spiritual world, is that the two worlds are in unity
through their common creation through the Eternal Word of God,
"through whom all things were made" - with the consequence that
the two worlds are filled with correspondences through which each
can be understood and shown forth in the other.
A difficulty with contemporary scientific and technological
discovery and education, however, is that they often displace and
suppress the earlier religious symbolism of minerals, plants,
animals, landscape, sea and sky, and of farming, gardening and
animal husbandry, with a "this world only" outlook of utility and
materialism.
This is an underlying issue of the "evolution vs. creation"
controversy, which is ultimately a question not of whether the
material world came into being all at once, in literal
interpretation of Scripture, or developmentally, as hypothesized
by science; but of whether or not there are revealed and
discoverable correspondences in truth between the material and
spiritual worlds.
In keeping with the Gospel teaching that the world is to be moved
towards Kingdom and Eternity with "some things old, some things
new," the earlier rural and agricultural closeness to nature is to
be retained as the anchor and compass of the religous and moral
truth and virtue on which scientific and technological world
development is to be built - just as ruraly grown food continues
to be necessary for human sustenance midst the artifacts of the
urban world.
In all ages gardens, with their life, beauty and purity, have been
seen uniquely, among the objects of Creation, as corresponding to
the soul. Flowers, especially, have been seen as "signatures",
providential symbols, of the virtues and of spiritual life and
growth - in that their sowing, rooting and engrafting in the
garden correspond to the germination and growth of the spiritual
virtues and gifts in the soul; and stewardship for gardens has
accordingly been seen as a model for the nurturing of the soul.
This has been set forth in numerous spiritual texts, such as in
the private revelations of Sister Josepha Mendenez in "The Way of
Divine Love" (p. 275):
Josepha: "Lord, Thou knowest both the flowers and the
fruits of my garden . . . come and teach me that I grow
what will please Thee most."
Jesus: "To one who speaks in this way and has a genuine
desire of showing love, I answer: Beloved, if such is
your desire, suffer Me to grow them for you . . . let me
delve and dig in your garden . . . let me clear the
ground of those sinewy roots that obstruct it and which
you have not the strength to pull on . . . Maybe I shall
ask you to give up certain tastes, or sacrifice something
in your character . . . do some act of charity, of
patience, or self-denial . . . or maybe prove your love by
zeal, obedience or abnegation: all such deeds help to
fertilize the soil of your soul, which will then be able
to produce the flowers and fruits I look for."
Through the created correspondence of gardens to souls, the forms
and qualities of plants and flowers - especially when worked with
daily - serve to impress on the senses and the unconscious
imagination psychological matrices or archetypes for the reception
and cultivation in the heart and soul of the divinely bestowed
pneumatic "seeds" (words) of the virtues - as taught in the Gospel
Parable of the Sower.
This is especially so when the care of plant life is undertaken
out of love - even without familiarity with plant spiritual
symbolism, or belief in the divine infusion of the seeds and roots
of the virtues in the soul. In this, plant "signatures" -
operative providential symbols of the growth of the virtues in our
hearts and souls - serve as illuminative forms which our active
imagination psychologically interiorizes as matrices of divinely
bestowed pneumatic seeds or roots of faith, hope and love and the
other virtues.
This natural archetypical impress of signature plants on hearts
and souls is enhanced with their sacramental blessing - through
which they, like other blest objects, "produce...the excitation of
pious emotions and affections" (Catholic Encyclopedia) in those
who behold or work with them.
For the sustenance of spiritual life in our urban age of living in
the midst of artifacts, instead of in nature, there is a need for
the restoration in cities of a general familiarity with the care
for plant life, through garden plots outdoors, or house plants
indoors - as symbolized by the trees of the Heavenly City.
In even the most depressed city areas of poverty, school
drop-outs, joblessness, disease, drugs and crime, the disposition
to virtue produced through plant care can be an important means on
which to build the personal virtues essential - along with legal,
social and economic reforms - to urban redemption and renewal.
Since this engendering of virtue is grounded in direct interaction
with plants and gardens, it can be free of the characteristic
youthful distrust encountered in the attempts of parents,
teachers, clergy and social workers to teach, mold or impose
personal virtue by preaching, discipline and intervention.
When those whose hearts are opened through experiencing the
selfless love of persons helping them overcome destructive life
circumstances join with these same persons in the loving care for
gardens and flowers, their hearts are opened further, to reception
of the divine implanting of love and the other virtues engendered
by plant life - such as fidelity, constancy, honesty, gentleness
and cooperation - of which the very plant life and growth are
providential exemplars.
An account of such an urban gardening experience is found in
Altars in the Streets by Melody Ermachild Chavis (Bell Tower,
New York, 1997), in which the author, a student of Zen Buddhism,
writes, as stated on the cover, of her experience as "a youth
justice advocate who volunteers with a community gardening program
for youth at risk" - where she lived in "what was a quiet
interracial neighborhood . . . which became a place where drugs
and violence were growth industries."
Of the gardening project, for which the name, "Strong Roots", was
chosen, she writes:
"It turned out to be a perfect match: the kids, so hungry for
love and attention from adults, and the seniors, eager to
teach what they knew about the hobby they loved. . . .
"We had crude rules, made up by the youths themselves, posted
on the garden fence: 'No throwing tools,' and 'No profanity.'
A lot of dirt clods, bad language, and a few tools flew the
first weeks before we made the sign. 'Hey!' (a co-worker
with young people) would call out. 'Hey! We don't act that
way here!'
"He...talked about how to say you're sorry. There was so
much to learn: not just gardening, but how to show up, be on
time, work, and keep working, and in some cases, how to talk
to adults with repect. . . .
"We were all surprised by how much food we grew: corn,
tomatoes, peas, beans, greens. Every few days, the youths
filled a plastic tub with their produce and carried it inside
the senior center where they offered it to the old people,
who thanked them, patted them, and beamed approval upon them
while the kids grinned until I thought their faces must be
aching. Watching them, I thought that what a person really
wants to do in life is to find a thing that needs doing, and
do it well. . . ."
Through the experiencing of love from gardening, there may begin
to grow in the heart and soul, even if at first not discerned as
such, the interior "Tree of Love" poeticized by St. Francis of
Assisi:
"Into love's furnace I am cast
"The tree of love its roots hath spread
Deep in my heart, and rears its head;
Rich are its fruits: they joy dispense;
Transport the heart, and ravish sense.
In love's sweet swoon to thee I cleave,
Bless'd source of love . . . .
. . . . .
"All creatures love aloud proclaim;
Heav'ns, earth and sea increase my flame;
Whate're I see, as mirror bright
Reflects my lover to my sight;
My heart all objects to him raise;
Are steps to the Creator's praise . . . ."
After the implanting of love through the experiencing of the life
and growth of plants and their care with others who love them,
young people may become interested, further, in learning of the
articulation of this love in the rich religious lore and symbolism
of plants - in accordance with the Gospel teaching, "I will teach
you of life, and of life everlasting" (inscribed on the chimes of
the Angelus Tower of St. Joseph's Church, Woods Hole,
Massachusetts, beside which was planted the first U. S. public
Mary Garden in 1932).
In the Madonna House Apostolate of Combermere, Ontario, extensive
use is made of the religious meanings of herbs, as set forth in
letters from Catherine Doherty, Director General, to Mary's Gardens
of October, 1951 and September, 1963 (excerpted):
" . . . So few people in this land understand gardening in
God's earth and gardening in one's soul: the two in one in a
manner of speaking each help the other.
" . . . All our projects (at Madonna House) are not just
ordinary projects of interest - botanical, culinary or
educational....They are spiritual projects.
"There is such a need in our day and age of restoring
humankind to God, and our Apostolate is dedicated in
total to that restoration of Christ's kingdom to him.
"This restoration must begin with individuals, though of
course in time it will extend to institutions and groups
and, in fact, nations. But like all things of God, it must
begin slowly, painstakingly on a small scale relating to
the individual and then to the rest of the world.
"My firm belief is that one way of restoring humankind to
God is by putting all in contact with nature on an intensive
and deep scale so that we all can begin to understand the
mystery of creation and begin to distinguish the face of
God in the beauty and order of nature.
"Also, I believe that there is a healing quality in working
with earth, plants, gardens and farming. And as we restore
the earth that God has given us to till to a healthy
condition and grow in it our own food, we become restored
ourselves and learn to read in the immense prayerbook of
nature the tenderness and love of God for us.
"Herbs are part of this. They're also part of the
Scriptures. Like everything in nature, they help us to
understand the source of our faith and appreciate the
Scriptures better. And they are a beautiful way of
expressing a mutual charity. . . . The growing, drying
and preparing of them for storage and cooking purposes
involves many members of our apostolate in training here,
and herb lore and nature lore and the Scriptures become
alive for many. . . .
"From my book MY RUSSIAN YESTERDAYS . . . you will perhaps
understand why here in our Training Center at Combermere
these things are done. They stem from that book and from
the background from which it comes . . . ."
Building on the general religious symbolism of plants, the
particular symbolisms or "signatures" of the Flowers of Our Lady,
as listed and described in the texts of this web site, such as
"Flower Theology" and the "Flowers of Our Lady Data Base", are an
articulation of the Rosary Mysteries - joyful, sorrowful and
glorious - of the life, passion and resurrection of Jesus, and
thus a beautiful means for teaching the Good News of the Gospel
through nature.
For those moved, further, to seek spiritual perfection, that they
may be more closely united with God, and thus be more completely
open and responsive to the spiritual prompting and actual graces
of social redemption and the building of God's earthly Peaceable
Kingdom "on earth as it is in heaven", there arises the question:
how can this be accomplished most surely and fully?
From the belief that God's purpose in creating the world was to
share to the fullest the divine goodness and action with
humankind, created to that end in the divine image and likeness -
as demonstrated by Christ's accomplishment of the salvation of the
fallen world though his assumption of human nature - we conclude
that all humans are capable of and called to union with and
participation in the divine action of the creation, salvation, and
sanctification of the world, with culmination in the building of
the earthly Kingdom that all may be lifted up resplendent in the
eternal New Heaven and New Earth.
The saints, through their purity of openness to God, have served
in various sublime ways as the instruments of God's creating,
redeeming and glorifying action. As Queen of All Saints, the
Blessed Virgin Mary, through her immaculate purity and total
openness to God, has been elevated, in grace, to the fullest
conceivable human participation in the divine action - including
the divine parenthood with God the Father; the motherhood of and
cooperative union with God the Son incarnate in his salvation of
the world; overshadowing and indwelling by and conception of
Christ by the Holy Spirit; the conquering of Satan; and election
to the universal mediation of grace, the spiritual motherhood of
all humans and the Church, and the queenship of heaven and earth.
It is therefore to Mary that we turn as the immaculate divinely
ordained and prerogatived highway for the fullest distribution of
needed divine grace, light, wisdom and power as we seek our
perfection that we may most fully cultivate the virtues and
respond to the inspiration and promptings of the Holy Spirit in
our work of social redemption and the building of God's earthly
Peaceable Kingdom.
Mary, as God's chosen instrument, who stood faithfully at the foot
of the Cross, mediates and distributes not only Christ's
sanctifying grace for the spiritual growth of souls - through the
Sacraments of the Church, of which she is the Mother and Queen -
but also actual graces for the conversion of hearts to the works
of mercy and the building of God's Church and Kingdom. In this
she universally mediates the insemination, implanting and
engrafting in hearts and souls of the requisite spiritual virtues
and gifts for this work of building - for the cultivation and
nurturing of which she at the same time mediates the necessary
graces.
Of this, St. Louis de Montfort has written (True Devotion to the
Blessed Virgin Mary, par. 34):
"God the Holy Spirit wishes to form elect for himself
in and by (Mary), and he says to her: 'Strike the roots
. . . of all your virtues in my elect' (Ecclesiasticus
24:13) in order that they may grow from virtue to virtue
and from grace to grace. . . Reproduce yourself in my
elect, that I may behold in them with complacence the
roots of your invincible faith, of your profound humility,
of your profound universal mortification, of your sublime
prayer, of your ardent charity, of your firm hope and of
all your virtues."
Mary strikes the roots or sows the seed in us of her own infused,
nurtured and perfected virtues through her mediating conduiting to
us of their subtle pneums or illuminative lucencies, to be sown,
planted or engrafted in our hearts and souls, for our nurturing of
their growth and strength by their exercise with the prompting and
infusion of petitioned and mediated grace.
Through their luminescent symbolism of Mary's virtues, life and
mysteries, the Flowers of Our Lady cultivated in our gardens serve
as "signatures" (providential symbols) for embrace by our active
imaginations, along with our envisagings of the Rosary Mysteries,
that by "imitating what they contain, we may obtain what they
promise" - the sowing and planting of their seeds and roots in our
hearts and souls.
In further honor of and recourse to God's showing forth and
sharing of the divine saving, sanctifying and renewing action with
us all, in emulation of Mary, we also pray to the gardening saints
(Mary Garden Prayer) that we and those with whom we garden will
grow in love of God, neighbor and all Creation:
St. Francis, apostle of the love of God in every creature,
St. Patrick, sanctifier of nature everywhere as wellspring of
God's power,
St. Francis de Sales, quickener of spiritual life and growth
through the discernment of their mirroring in nature's unfolding,
St. Fiacre, opener of the world to the outpouring of Divine
healing love through herbs and flowers,
St. Theresa, showerer on earth of roses of heavenly love and grace,
From our resulting subtle interior flowering we are called - in
accordance with the original Communion Verse for the Mass for the
feast of the Rosary of Mary (October 7th), to:
Send forth flowers as the lily,
and yield a fragrance,
And bring forth leaves in grace,
and praise with canticles,
And bless the Lord in his works."
Sirach 39:13-14 (Ecclesiasticus 39:18-19)
As the flower pneums of the virtues have descended from heaven,
through Mary, for implanting in our hearts, so, in return, do the
flowers of our subtle, interior Tree of Love, rise heavenward in
grateful praise of God and the desire to participate in his works.
Rising thus, they are received, embellished and conduited by Mary
on their way to God, who then fills them with actual graces for
return, again through Mary's hands, to our hearts for our
inspiration and prompting in our works of mercy and social
renewal.
The way of flowers is thus one way rooted in tradition upon which
we can draw for the faith which moves mountains and the love which
is stronger than death, as we work to overcome the evils of
exclusion, discrimination, disadvantage, poverty, ignorance, drugs
and violence, in our works of personal and social redemption.
Copyright, Mary's Gardens, 1997