Catholic Stewardship Gardens

 

 

Gardens for Good!

 

Holy Cross Potato Harvest

 

Gardening is a great idea to bolster up becoming a good Catholic Steward.  Growing our own food is helpful for mind, body and soul.  The smell of the warm earth, the anticipation of crops, the act of planting a seed, all these things remind us that the Lord has blest us with all that we need.  He even sends the rain to nourish our crops (especially here in the Pacific Northwest.)  And…if we do  have a dry spell, water is only a hose-length away.  At harvest time, we have the opportunity to cook, eat and freeze or can our own produce and most gardeners will tell you that it tastes that much better for having grown it themselves. 

As Catholics we are called to be good Stewards of all that we have.  To what else does Catholic Stewardship call us?  In the US Bishops Pastoral Letter on Stewardship, we are called to receive God’s gifts gratefully, cherish and tend them in a responsible manner, share them, and return them with increase to the Lord.  What??? Share them?  We planted them.  We watered them.  We weeded them.  We harvested them.  Aren’t they ours?  If we are trying to be good Catholic Stewards, the answer is no.  Who do they belong to? … God, of course.  In the Pastoral Letter, we are called to share a planned and proportionate amount of what we have with the rest of the Body of Christ.  As we write this blog, several parishes who do just that, come to mind.  Holy Cross, Lake Stevens grows potatoes in an otherwise unusable portion of their property, giving away to local food banks over 72,000 pounds of potatoes.  St. Thomas More, Lynnwood has a Community Garden and gives 90% of their harvest to the Lynnwood Food Bank.  St. Thomas, Tukwila provides the ground for local refugees to grow their own food.  St. Stephen the Martyr, Renton asks parishioners to tend a given portion of the parish grounds creating a chance for gardeners to garden and the parish to save financial resources. These are but a few of our local parishes following the call to be good stewards of their land.  Are you a gardener?  Do you reap a harvest that you can share in a planned, proportionate way?  Right now is the time to begin planning summer gardens.  Perhaps you can plan a garden where you share some of your crops with the less fortunate in your area.  Remember what our Lord said, ‘‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’” Matthew 25:40.  Gardening for Jesus!  A good Catholic Stewardship concept!  Please let us know of your good stewardship efforts.
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