Everything happened in the garden

REFLECT

"As if he were speaking directly to me he started, 'Everything happened in the garden.' What? It all happened in the garden?! He went on to say the garden is 'the place of encounter. The place of prayer, of betrayal, of wounding, of healing, and so much more.' I'm not sure if he asked them or not but the questions came to me: 'What's waiting for you in the garden? Will you go or not?'...

My garden, the overgrown mess I resented and planned to tear out, was now forefront in my mind...For me, right now, Easter means spending time in the garden with its mess and neglect and potential. I can only hope to stay there for a while."

Easter-- in the garden by Jane Marie Bradish (Global Sisters Report)

"Praise to you, my risen Lord, who keeps on meeting me in the garden of my life. Who keeps calling my name, allowing me to feel loved, blessed and cherished."

Joyce Rupp, Fresh Bread and Other Gifts of Spiritual Nourishment 

PRAY

Loving Creator, from Eden to Gethsemane 

And finally in the empty tomb, 

You continue to meet us in the gardens of our lives. 

Help us to cultivate our interior gardens 

So that we may sow seeds of 

Love, solidarity, and stewardship wherever we go. 

Help us to steward the external gardens of this earth,

The wounded world that heals and feeds us

As well as our global neighbors

We pray in thanksgiving for the call,

Modeled for us by Jesus,

To be bread for one another

Nourishing each other physically and spiritually

So that all life may flourish in this Easter season.

For reflection: 

• What is the state of the "garden of your life," and what is waiting for you in the garden this Easter? 

• What lessons from Lent are you still harvesting? Any new insights about food and faith?

• What habits of body and spirit would you like to sow and cultivate in this season? 

This Easter, consider growing food, even if you don't have access to seeds or outdoor space, to practice the lessons of resurrection and to be healed by your connection with the earth. 

Thank you for joining us to reflect on the connections between food, faith, and climate, especially on this particularly unique Lenten journey in light of COVID-19. We have seen the interconnectedness of our global community in a new way, and are living a painful time in which we are experiencing death on a global level. We pray that you may trust in the promise of resurrection, now more than ever, despite these trying times. Blessings of peace, solidarity, and good health to you and your loved ones in this Easter season.

Lenten Daily Food Reflections

pause | reflect | act

Editor's note: These daily reflections on food, faith, climate and our lives will provide spiritual sustenance for the Lenten journey. They are inspired by the Lenten Food Waste Fast at the Ignatian Solidarity Network.