April 24, 2019
by Mary Regina Morrell
Every spring, as my dad would make his eagerly planned trip to the garden and nursery center, he would share with me the story of a pastor who decided to hire an Irish gardener to spruce up the parish grounds which had been completely overtaken with weeds and vines. From spring to summer, the wiry old man worked diligently to restore the place to its original glory.
One fine day, the pastor strolled out into the flower garden with a fellow priest, anxious to show off the new creation. Gesturing toward the many neatly trimmed bushes and plants burgeoning with flowers, the pastor exclaimed, "I praise the good Lord for all of his handiwork!"
Immediately, the gardener stepped out from behind a bush with clippers in his hand, and chastised the pastor, saying, "Don't you go givin’ all the credit to God. Just remember what this place looked like before I got here and God had it all to himself!"
I recall the story with a smile every spring as my husband sets out his tomato plants, but, more than giving me a reason to smile, the story reminds me of what’s required of us as co-creators with God. A failed flower garden is one thing, but a failure to grow what is good, beautiful, and fruitful in our relationships is another.
We can’t rely on God to do all the relationship building for us. We must get our hands dirty, doing the planting, weeding, feeding and pruning ourselves. To help us, God provided the best relationship advice ever — the Ten Commandments.
While we may read these Commandments as a restrictive list of “thou shall nots,” some reflection on these gifts from God reveals them as steps to freedom, assurances that we will not damage our relationship with God or be the source of pain and doubt for others.
In his catechesis on the Ten Commandments, Pope Francis explained that, in the light of Christ, “the Decalogue should be seen not as a series of rules, but rather the guide to an authentic human life that comes to fulfillment in the love, joy and peace born of obedience to the Father’s will . . .
“The Ten Commandments invite us first to enter into a faithful and loving relationship with God our Father, to reject every false idol that enslaves us, and to find our authentic rest in the freedom of Christ and the Holy Spirit. They then teach us how to live redeemed lives, marked by fidelity, integrity and honesty towards our neighbor.”
Consider making the Ten Commandments the focus of your prayer this week. You might be surprised what you find growing there.
Mary Regina Morrell is a Catholic journalist, author, and syndicated columnist who has served the dioceses of Metuchen and Trenton, New Jersey, and RENEW International in the areas of catechesis and communication.