TUESDAY, SEVENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Sir 2: 1-11 Ps 37: 3-4,18-19,27-28,39-40 Mk 9: 30-37
THE INGENUITY OF THE DIVINE GARDENER
St. Teresa of Avila, in her spiritual writings, compares the soul to a garden tended by God. Just as a gardener envisions his garden flourishing with a variety of flowers, God desires each soul to blossom with virtues. But before planting, the gardener must remove weeds, break rocks, and prepare the soil. Likewise, God clears away the weeds of vice and stones of bad habits and breaks the rocks of prejudice in our hearts, establishing a strong fence of faith and conviction. This preparation is often painful for the soul, which feels the sharpness of God’s tools: trials, suffering, and sacrifices. Yet, these are part of God’s loving, transformative process. Sickness, sorrow, and loss become ways that God loosens the soil of our hearts, readying us to receive His grace and making us more fruitful.
Today’s Gospel speaks of Jesus’ own suffering, a testament to His love; in the letter to the Hebrews, we are reminded to look to Christ, who was “perfected through sufferings” (2:10). When our own souls face hardships, we can take courage, knowing they are signs of God working deeply within us. Scripture also reminds us that “the Lord disciplines those He loves” (Heb 12:5-6). Like a gardener, He knows that each challenge is necessary for us to bloom in all fulness.
St. Teresa’s analogy invites us to see trials not as punishments but as God’s tender hand reshaping our hearts. These storms and challenges refine us, creating space for virtues to take root and flourish. We must believe, therefore, that every trial prepares our soul to flourish with virtues that reflect God’s boundless love and wisdom. When we submit ourselves to the Divine Gardener, we allow Him to shape our souls into gardens of spiritual beauty. In time, with trust and patience, our soul will blossom into a garden in full bloom, bearing the fragrance of grace and reflecting the love of God to the world.
Response: Commit your way to the Lord, and he will act.
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