Animals in the 2018 Summer Garden

The 1st of September is the first day of autumn for me, so this is the last day of summer. It is a good day to look back and reflect on what summer 2018 has been like in the garden I share with Marty.

The trees and shrubs and herbs which we tend are the ever-changing backdrop of the garden, but the forground is animated by the animals we share it with, and that includes the people who have visited it - everyone made in the divine image.

My garden highlight this year is the visit of two daughters and three grandsons. What joy it was in early August to see my daughter Ellie's three boys, Jonah, Cormac & Soren racing around Marty's Labyrinth garden, and to play 'Grandpa's Footsteps' with them and their Aunt Amy - their energy made me tired just to watch them!

Cormac, Ellie, Jonah, Soren & Amy at the entrance to the Labyrinth

Soren, Amy, Cormac, Jonah and Grandpa played 'Grandpa's Footsteps' - Ellie took the photo

We did so much else in God's wider garden too of course - swimming and paddling in Lough Derg at the swings below Coolbawn, meeting cousins at the Nenagh Show, rowing to Meelick in Luska Bay, cruising with my brother Tom from Portumna Bridge to Dromineer...

And then there was a lovely Waller family barbecue in July on the patio, all descendents of William Thomas Waller of Prior Park (my Great-great-grandfather) and their spouses.

Descendents of William Thomas Waller of Prior Park and spouses

I saw few other mammals in the garden this year, except for the feral cats, but I saw traces of the the badger, and I suspect woodmice took a lot of Marty's pea and bean seeds.

Of the birds, I was delighted to have a calling yellowhammer in the hedge (a little bit of bread and nooo cheese), as we missed him last year, and I saw my first swift, no doubt one of those that nest in St Mary's of the Rosary in Nenagh, passing through.

It was a mixed year for butterflies in the garden - no holly-blues this year, but plenty of speckled-woods, ringlets and meadow-browns. I was pleased to see a single small-copper, and also a couple of fritilleries, probably silver washed. I was very worried by the absence of vanessids until the last fortnight, but now we have small-tortoiseshells, red-admirals, peacocks and even a painted-lady.

That is enough for this post I think, but I shall post again about the plants of Summer 2018.

Prayer and Reflection at St Senan's Church, Iniscarra

As a small spiritual discipline, part of my commitment to the Community of St Brendan, I made a vow to make a post to this blog at least once every week, but I see that it is a month since my last post - Miserere mei, Deus!

St Senan's Church, Iniscarra - set among beautiful trees

Yesterday 26th August, with 18 others, I attended an afternoon of prayer and reflection in St Senan's Church, Iniscarra, facilitated by Robert Ferris, Associate Minister of the Carrigrohane Union of Parishes and founding member of the Community of St Brendan. 

Robert Ferris

Robert led us to reflect on how different spiritual disciplines can help us to grow as Christians. He used the framework of the seasons to illustrate how our need for a discipline changes in response to the cycles of our lives. And he introduced us to the spiritual growth planner devised by Adele Ahlberg Calhoun in her 'Spiritual Disciplines Handbook' (paperback, Inter-Varsity Press, 2015 - available on Amazon for £18.99). It is designed to encourage readers to reflect on their individual needs for spiritual discipline, and to select something appropriate.

One strong finding for myself is the difficulty I have following disciplines I would like to establish regularly - when something more pressing or exciting comes up, all my good intentions go out the window! I was asked to say a few words about my experience with spiritual disciplines. I spoke about my use of daily prayer following the form in the Church of Ireland Book of Common Prayer (now available as a smartphone app). And I spoke about this blog, God in the Garden. It is hard, I confessed, to establish regularity - but the fact that something is hard is not a good reason not to persist at it. God is merciful and our lapses will be forgiven.

As we met I was very aware that Pope Francis was presiding at the Mass in Phoenix Park attended by hundreds of thousands of brothers and sisters in Christ. At the end of the afternoon, I led our group in praying for all Christian leaders, especially Pope Francis, and in praying his prayer for our earth, taken from his encyclical Laudato 'Si, that great gift he has given to Christians of all traditions.

A prayer for Christian leaders

Hear us, O Lord, as we lift up before you 

all who bear the bewildering responsibility 

of Christian leadership among the churches of the world.  

Especially at this time we pray 

for Pope Francis and his visit to Ireland, 

for Justin, Archbishop of Canterbury 

and for His All Holiness Bartholomew, Ecumenical Patriarch.

Give them wisdom beyond their own, 

integrity in all their dealings, 

and a resolve to seek first your kingdom 

and your righteousness for all humankind.

We ask it in your name. Amen

A prayer for our earth

All-powerful God, you are present in the whole universe

and in the smallest of your creatures.

You embrace with your tenderness all that exists.

Pour out upon us the power of your love,

that we may protect life and beauty.

Fill us with peace, that we may live 

as brothers and sisters, harming no one.

O God of the poor,

help us to rescue the abandoned and forgotten of this earth,

so precious in your eyes.

Bring healing to our lives, 

that we may protect the world and not prey on it,

that we may sow beauty, not pollution and destruction.

Touch the hearts

of those who look only for gain

at the expense of the poor and the earth.

Teach us to discover the worth of each thing,

to be filled with awe and contemplation,

to recognize that we are profoundly united with every creature

as we journey towards your infinite light.

We thank you for being with us each day.

Encourage us, we pray, in our struggle

for justice, love and peace. Amen

I am glad I attended the day, even though it meant a 2 hour drive there and back. If I have one small criticism it is that we did not have introductions, nor any time to get to know each other - we left as strangers to those we did not already know. I hope that time will be allowed for this in future Community events.