Christmas 2012 Gifts for the Gardener

I know…this is supposed to be about Christmas greens…next week, I promise. I’ve had several friends ask for another column about gifts for gardeners. So, by request…here are a few gift suggestions that can be found on my page at Patheos.

Autumn 2012 Rosemary and Christmas

I'm on a mission to dethrone the poinsettia as the Christmas plant in Catholic homes and churches with the herb Rosemary officinalis.

Did you know that this herb was present in Jesus' life from the day he was born? Read the rest of the story in my column at Patheos

Autumn 2012 Seasonal Changes

...Most of us easily recognize the signs in nature that indicate movement in time; cycles and rhythms. But do we recognize similar signs in our spiritual life? Can we point to the cycles of faith in our present time and say “Yes, here it is again…this is Our Lord’s movement”?...Read the full column at Patheos.

Autumn 2012 Peace Lilies

Peace Lilies

In the Adoration Chapel...My thoughts and prayers begin to focus on a woman, near my own age, who has faced too many traumas in her life. She was recently found near death in a motel room after a failed suicide attempt...my thoughts and prayers continue at Patheos.

Autumn 2012 Rummaging for Food

Rummaging for Food

...We too face times of hardship, though we lack the instincts to know when they will come. We think we have readied ourselves, tried to prepare sufficiently for those times when our world turns cold and hard. Sometimes we succeed, often, we do not.

It is then that we must intentionally seek sustenance. We start to rummage for God...

 

To read more, please visit my column at Patheos Catholic Channel 

Autumn 2012 Goldfinches, Lilies, and the Elections

Peeps and Politics

 

...I try to make informed decisions but tend to give up about half way through the learning curve, feeling less illuminated than when I started. I have found over the years that after an election, what I’d hoped was accurate information was advertising in the name of game and gain... To read more, please see my latest column on Patheos.



Autumn 2012 Private Garden Prayers

The column is up on Patheos and it's about friends coming to the rescue.

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/prayergardens/2012/10/private-garden-prayers/