Gardening in God's valley

It has been a strange summer, preceded by a strange winter. Some of my vegetables did not turn out well due to heat stress and the challenges of keeping the garden watered from our well. As weather patterns become more unpredictable and we experience extended periods of drought interspersed with heavy downpours, the topic of care for creation comes increasingly to the fore.

In 1989, Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios I of Constantinople established 1 September as a Day of Prayer for Creation, marking an important milestone in Christian awareness of the environment and our responsibilities towards it. Following the publication of his encyclical Laudato Si', Pope Francis instituted the annual World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, also celebrated on 1 September. More than ever, we are aware of our call to care for the earth, receiving it as God's gift and stewarding it wisely rather than treating it merely as a source of extraction.

It is fitting that we give thanks for the fruits of the earth, especially at this time of year. In the Offertory at each Mass, the Church prays:

Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation, for through your goodness we have received
the bread we offer you: fruit of the earth and work of human hands, it will become for us the bread of life.

Bread and wine are the products of human labour working in cooperation with God's gifts of creation. They remind us that the created world is not something separate from our spiritual lives but is drawn into the worship of God and ultimately transformed in Christ. We ought therefore to nurture and promote a proper care for creation through both our work and our prayer.

Today, 30 August, we also remember the patron saint of gardeners, St Fiacre, a Kilkenny saint associated with East Kilkenny including Graignamanagh as well as Ullard near Goresbridge. The area was once known as De Valle Dei (‘The Valley of God’) and sits in the fertile Barrow Valley, a reminder that the land around us is a gift entrusted to our care.

St Fiacre was an Irish monk and hermit of the seventh century. Seeking a life closer to God, tradition holds that he left Ireland for France, where he established a hermitage and hospice for travellers together with a productive herb and vegetable garden. He became renowned for his holiness, his care for the sick and his skill in cultivating the earth.

The story of St Fiacre reminds us that the earth is a gift from God and not merely an object to exploit. Cultivating the land can be an act of prayer as well as an act of service to others. His life of prayer, service, and hospitality to strangers was nourished by the grace of God and finds a fitting echo in the Eucharist, where the fruits of the earth and the work of human hands are offered to God and transformed for our salvation.