11.12.2025 | Ordinary Wednesday

Winter’s Alchemy
“What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.”
—1 Corinthians 15:36
 
We planted garlic in the Garden this week. The first few weeks of November are the perfect time to tuck garlic cloves into the soil, just before winter’s chill settles in. Though it may seem counterintuitive, garlic needs the cold to grow. The freezing temperatures of winter activate its transformation, without them, the bulbs are still small and timid. But with time and patience, the harshest season becomes the spark for abundance. By next summer, the transition is complete, and we are graced with a robust, fragrant harvest.
 
Garlic, in its quiet way, teaches us about growth through adversity. Planting it now is an act of faith in the unseen, a trust that what lies dormant will one day flourish.  As we peel back the layers of this humble bulb, we uncover its deeper gifts: abundance, resilience, and renewal. Garlic reminds us to look beyond the mundane and recognize the sacred in everyday things. It whispers of prosperity and spiritual awakening, of cycles that begin in darkness and end in light.
 
Our garden, too, is a sacred space, a sanctuary where the soul can rest and reflect. It offers us a place to meditate, to grow, and to reconnect with the Creator of all things. In the garden, we learn to embrace change, to trust in renewal, and to find beauty in every season. Just as garlic transforms beneath the frost, so too do we, rooted in faith, nourished by grace, and always reaching toward the light.
 
“Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”
​—John 12:24