June 10, 2018

Cultivating a garden or even a flowerbed takes a lot of work and time.  If we are not willing to do the work there will be no fruit.  If we are not willing to put in the time consistently we will have many large weeds blocking any potential fruitfulness.  I often imagine the human soul as a garden that God gives us that’s unique to each person with his or her gifts.  What also is true, because we are fallen creatures, is that the garden of our souls, like real gardens, often have the same weeds that keep popping up that stifle out the fruit.
 
The fruit of charity needs cultivated in our lives so that we can spread the seeds of charity in the world.  Or course I am talking about Christian charity.  I’m starting with charity because charity contains all the other fruits.  It’s like a superfood.  We often hear charity described as love.  Charity is not the superficial love of ideas, things, or people. Charity is the love that God has for us by laying down his life for his friends.  We show charity by loving God and loving our neighbor in following the 10 commandments, the beatitudes, and the basic principle of giving is different in the result or the persons to whom we give.
 
Every sinful weed gets in the way of  our souls potential in cultivating charity.  The big weed that stifles charity is pride.  The thistle of prides says, “I know what is best for me and everyone else therefore I will do what I want.”  In the Genesis story, God shows us that in the beginning of creation pride caused the first humans to fail in charity. This week work on pulling out the weeds of pride by cultivating charity.  Say this everyday with me, “God knows what is best for me and everyone else therefore I will do what he wants.”            Fr. Jeff