The gap between Easter and Advent has seemed especially long this year. Perhaps this is because of the discipline I’ve undertaken of writing a weekly reflection throughout all of Ordinary Time, perhaps the slow drag of lockdown. But this year I have felt every week of Ordinary Time as though it should be over andContinue reading “Ordinary Wednesday: Waiting for fruit”
Tag Archives: fruit
Ordinary Time
Meanwhile, pluck tomatoesripe from the garden.Watch the quinces shed their fur,turn late-summer-yellow,and burst with promise whilecockatoos eye them off.Check the peaches.See the opening flowers on the lemon tree.Cut the roses, deck the table.Water, plant and wait.Number days and count the joysand trust that tears shall cease.
Bloom
Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy. (Psalm 126:5) You’ll be glad to hear your tree is sprouting leaves and in the midst of blossom, tiny fruit. Your little brother’s learning all the names for almond, flowering gum and bottlebrush; yet you by now will know far more than this. TheContinue reading “Bloom”
Advent 4: The Fruit
Climb the rugged beam to see the scurry of life around the tree: lion and baby, adder and lamb, sheltered in this outstretched hand. Thick with promise, the leaves gather birds and the birds whisper secrets in long-forgotten words. Turn your ear from self to sky to hear the heavens in reply: There’s hope forContinue reading “Advent 4: The Fruit”
Week of the Figs and Peaches
First the long wait: trees stubborn in their stasis, only buds, only promises unyielding to the squeeze. Then – overnight almost! an abundance attracting the birds, the sun. Come to their trees and find them burst open, drinking in the light, or the semi-spoiled meal of toddlers pecking on passing by. Neglect for a minuteContinue reading “Week of the Figs and Peaches”
Catechism 50
What does Christ’s resurrection mean for us? Christ triumphed over sin and death by being physically resurrected, so that all who trust in him are raised to new life in this world and to everlasting life in the world to come. Just as we will one day be resurrected, so this world will one day be restored. ButContinue reading “Catechism 50”
Mark 11
No doubt if food was all that He required He could have made it bear for Him but leaves had presaged early fruit and nothing showed there yet. Not the season for figs, and yet He who made the fig tree sprout could change the seasons with His will. If curses worked, then why notContinue reading “Mark 11”
Lent 8: Wednesday of First Week
Roots grow deep in rich or sickened soil; Trees bear fruit to turn their insides out. Many come with leaves which win, beguile: Look again when fruit’s season arrives… Plant yourself in soil, rich and deep; Watch the good fruit burst forth from your stems. Do not let gloss or sheenContinue reading “Lent 8: Wednesday of First Week”
The Consolations of Writing 