07.31.2024 | Ordinary Wednesday

The sun is shining, and it is already hot and humid here in the Carondelet Garden.  The Dahlias do not seem to notice and are looking quite lovely this last morning in July.  We are still in the grips of a heat wave here in South Saint Louis.  Be careful outside today!

Today, July 31, is the feast day of St. Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus who passed away on this day in the year 1556.  Ignatius was a different kind of saint. Ignatius made sure that the early Jesuits were spending most of their time in relatively secular spaces such as classrooms — teaching less directly about the Bible and Church doctrine than about literature and the ancient classics. He sent letters to his missionaries asking that they write back not just about their ministries, but also about the local customs, the plants and wildlife — “anything that seems extraordinary.” Most of all, Ignatius wanted Jesuits to go out and “find God in all things.”

I am drawn to the idea of finding God in all things.  It is a humbling and exhilarating notion that the God who created all things is here, available to us, in all things.  The Creator of all wants to be a part of our lives in every way.  As Fr. Jim Costello used to say, "God loves us, just the way we are, right now.  No exceptions,"

It's a good day to remember that God loves us.  Happy Feast Day gardening friends.  Find something extraordinary to enjoy today and bask in the love of the Creator of all things.  That's all the news from here in the Carondelet Garden.