Mary Gardens - An Introduction

This Friday will be the first day in May, the month the Church dedicates to the Blessed Virgin Mary. This brings to mind the Mary Garden:

". . . the Mary garden is an old idea, a very old one indeed, which dates back to the Middle Ages when many flowers referred to the Virgin's life and virtues. Every monastery and convent had a special Mary garden to provide flowers to adorn the altar. It was because of the abundance of flowers in May that it became Mary's month, and the people delighted in decorating her statue and altar with flowers.

"The little people found their Mary gardens in the field and forests, where so many flowers spoke to them of some aspect of Our Lady and her Divine Son. It is said that then, in those happy days of Faith, the flowers honored Mary, the choicest Flower of All, the Mystical Rose; everyone knew that it was she of whom Solomon sang: I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys."

For anyone interested in starting a Mary Garden, a good place to begin is here.

Source of quoted material:
Galitzin, Margaret C.; A Renewed Interest in the Mary Gardens

The Dogwood and the Cross

"Each delicate white or pink blossom of the dogwood has the form of a cross -- two long and two short petals. Look closely at a dogwood flower and you will see on the center of the outer edge of each petal there are small holes remindful of nail prints, and the tips of the petals are rusty on one side and brown-red on the other. It is not hard to imagine they represent the spikes that pierced the Hands and Feet of Our Lord on the Cross. And in the center of the flower there is a green cluster that recalls the crown of thorns."

From Elaine M. Jordan at Tradition in Action: The Legend of the Dogwood

Rosemary and Our Lady's Teacake

This is the first in an occasional series relating to the Church, horticulture, and the care and decoration of churches that will be presented under the label "The Sacristan's Garden".

A sacristan is charged with the care of the sacred vessels and vestments, the altar cloths, the sanctuary lamp, the candles, the elements to be used in the sacraments, and the tabernacle. In the early days of the Church, the sacristan was often a priest. Even as late as 1917, the Code of Canon Law recommended that the sacristan of a cathedral be a priest.

Historically, the work of a sacristan was not limited to the care of the sanctuary. Monasteries usually had extensive gardens, one of which was the sacristan's garden. And, the sacristan of a parish church or cathedral often had a nearby garden where flowering plants were grown for church decoration and liturgical processions.

During medieval times, many flowers and other plants were known by names associated with Our Lady or the saints. One such plant was the rosemary. Legend has it that its flowers are blue because Our Lady once spread her veil over the plant and the pale blue color remained as a reminder. The Latin name for the plant -- rosmarinus -- may actually reflect the legend because it means "dew of the sea", while the Virgin Mary is associated with the sea. (One of her many titles is "Star of the Sea".)

Rosemary branches were often used in liturgical processions because of their pleasant odor. Rosemary is also a key ingredient of a delicious teacake. While it is baking, the rosemary fills the kitchen with a wonderful scent. Serving it seems particularly appropriate during Eastertide.

Our Lady's Teacake (Makes one 9" round cake)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 cup milk
1 tb. finely chopped fresh rosemary or 1-1/2 tsp. dried rosemary
2 eggs
4 tb. butter or 1/4 cup extra light olive oil
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
Optional: 1/2 tsp. salt

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease the pan.
Combine the raisins, milk, and rosemary in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Cook gently for two minutes, then set aside to cool.
Beat the eggs in a large bowl until they are frothy, then stir in the butter and sugar. Mix well.
Stir and toss together the flour and baking powder (also the salt if you are using salt). Mix well, then add to the egg mixture and beat until the batter is smooth. It will be very stiff.
Add the cooled rosemary mixture and beat again until the batter is smooth.
Pour into the prepared pan and bake for about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
Remove from the oven, and cool in the baking pan for 10 minutes, then turn onto a rack to finish cooling completely.

To serve: Garnish with sprigs of fresh rosemary, if available.

Source:
Recipe adapted from Marion Cunningham, The Fannie Farmer Baking Book (Knopf, 1984), p. 578

Christ's Victory

"And on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came to the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled back from the sepulchre. And going in, they found not the body of the Lord Jesus. And it came to pass, as they were astonished in their mind at this, behold, two men stood by them, in shining apparel. And as they were afraid, and bowed down their countenance towards the ground, they said unto them: Why seek you the living with the dead?

"He is not here, but is risen. Remember how he spoke unto you, when he was in Galilee, Saying: The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. And they remembered his words. And going back from the sepulchre, they told all these things to the eleven, and to all the rest. And it was Mary Magdalen, and Joanna, and Mary of James, and the other women that were with them, who told these things to the apostles.

"And these words seemed to them as idle tales; and they did not believe them. But Peter rising up, ran to the sepulchre, and stooping down, he saw the linen cloths laid by themselves; and went away wondering in himself at that which was come to pass." (Luke 24:1-12. Douay-Rheims version.)

Today is Easter Sunday.

The image is Giotto's "Noli Me Tangere"

Darkness and Silence, then Light and Song

Today is Holy Saturday.

The image is "The Entombment" by Fra Angelico.

Christ's Sacrifice

"And Jesus having cried out with a loud voice, gave up the ghost. And the veil of the temple was rent in two, from the top to the bottom. And the centurion who stood over against him, seeing that crying out in this manner he had given up the ghost, said: Indeed this man was the son of God." (Mark 15:37-39. Douay-Rheims version.) Today is Good Friday.

The image above is Giotto's "The Crucifixion"

Chinese Christians and the Passion of Christ

Zenit reports on the ongoing abuse of Christians in China: "[M]any bishops have disappeared and their whereabouts are unknown; what is most probable is that many of them suffered a violent death and that their bodies were burnt to conceal any trace of the crimes." Read more here.

Christ's Mandate

"A new commandment I give unto you: That you love one another, as I have loved you, that you also love one another. " (Jn. 13:34. Douay-Rheims version.)

Christ institutes the priesthood and the Holy Eucharist. Today is Maundy Thursday.

Mary Anoints and Judas Betrays

"And when Jesus was in Bethania, in the house of Simon the leper, There came to him a woman having an alabaster box of precious ointment, and poured it on his head as he was at table. And the disciples seeing it, had indignation, saying: To what purpose is this waste? For this might have been sold for much, and given to the poor. And Jesus knowing it, said to them: Why do you trouble this woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me.

"For the poor you have always with you: but me you have not always. For she in pouring this ointment upon my body, hath done it for my burial. Amen I say to you, wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, that also which she hath done, shall be told for a memory of her. Then went one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, to the chief priests, And said to them: What will you give me, and I will deliver him unto you? But they appointed him thirty pieces of silver." (Matt. 26:6-15. Douay-Rheims version.)

Today is Spy Wednesday.

Hosanna to the Son of David

"And the multitudes that went before and that followed, cried, saying: Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest." (Matt. 21:9. Douay-Rheims version.) Fisheaters explains the Church's celebration of Palm Sunday here.

The Sorrows of Mary

In the traditional calendar, the Church commemorates the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary on two occasions: Friday of Passion Week (today) and September 15. During Passion Week the focus is on Mary's compassion for her Divine Son, while the September commemoration focuses on our compassion for Mary's suffering as exemplified in the Devotion of the Seven Sorrows.

The Seven Sorrows are: St. Simeon's prophecy that a sword would pierce Mary's soul; the flight from Herod into Egypt; the loss of Jesus in the temple; the meeting of Mary with Jesus on the way to Calvary; the death of Jesus; the piercing of Jesus' side and his descent from the Cross; and the burial of Jesus.

Mary's Sorrows are beautifully portrayed in Durer's famous panel "The Seven Sorrows of the Virgin".

The Gospel for today's Mass describes the Fifth Sorrow, "Now there stood by the cross of Jesus, his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalen. When Jesus therefore had seen his mother and the disciple standing whom he loved, he saith to his mother: Woman, behold thy son. After that, he saith to the disciple: Behold thy mother. And from that hour, the disciple took her to his own." (Jn:15:25-27. Douay-Rheims version.)

Vatican Laments Arrest of Bishop Jia Zhiguo

The Vatican expresses "profound sadness" over the arrest Monday of Bishop Jia Zhiguo and the persecution of the Church in China.