Time to Think: May the month of August bring a bountiful harvest

TIME and seasons come and go. So far, 2024 seems to have moved very quickly and it's hard to believe that autumn begins this week.

Traditionally, August is associated with harvest and thanksgiving. The ancient Celtic festival of Lunasa was a celebration for all that had been gathered. People were grateful to their creator God, who had provided enough sustenance for them to face the more vulnerable months of the year with confidence. As this harvest season begins, I pray for a prolonged period of fine weather.

Imagine that you had to employ a gardener. You ask around among your friends and neighbours and eventually you hear of two gardeners who are available. From people who have employed them, you are able to draw up the following profiles of the two.

The first gardener plants a variety of vegetables and flowers. Periodically, he comes along and inspects them. Whenever he sees a plant or a flower that is not doing well, he pulls it up and throws it on the compost heap or into the bin. He has planted plenty of seeds and plants, so this practice does not greatly affect the yield or the appearance of the garden. Small, stunted and yellow cabbage plants, wallflowers that slugs have had a feed on, frost-bitten blossoms … all of these go out. This approach has lots of advantages. The appearance of the garden is always pretty and healthy, and diseased plants do not get a chance to infect other plants.

The second gardener also plants a variety of vegetables and flowers and periodically inspects them. But his approach is different. He is on the lookout for plants that are not doing well to see what he can do to make them healthier. If a cabbage is looking yellow, he gives it more feed. If a flower is attacked by slugs, he puts down extra slug-killer. If some of the blossoms are frost-bitten, he puts a glass cloche over them to protect them and give them a chance to recover. He hates to see any plant or flower dying. His gardens are not as pretty as those looked after by the first gardener, as some of the plants are clearly ailing.

If you wanted to employ a gardener, you would almost certainly choose the first. The first strikes us as an efficient, practical, no-nonsense gardener. The second gardener seems soft-hearted and is plant-centered rather than garden-centered. Except in the case of rare plants, few of us would want to pay good money so that sickly specimens would be nursed and perhaps the overall condition of the garden neglected.

One of the great benefits of cultivating a personal relationship with Jesus Christ is his unending life-giving, grace-filled presence. In a world and culture where so much emphasis is on perfection, achievement and excellence, it's a great blessing that in faith, our God loves us as we are. Just like our lives, all our gardens have both flowers and weeds.

Perhaps this harvest time is an opportunity for us all to acknowledge the fruits that we all have in the depth of our being. Fruits that take a lot of time to grow and mature into the beautiful personality and unique qualities that are particular to all our stories. The gift of grandparents, who embody the story of every harvest. Parents who respond so generously to the needs of their children. In many ways, parenting could be likened to tending the needs of the vineyard. It is constant, demanding, most challenging and in many ways totally dependent on the unconditional generosity and reservoir of love that provides for the needs of family life.

I am often truly inspired by the time and indeed sacrifices that so many wonderful parents so often make for their children, to allow them to grow and realise the best possible harvest for their family. No fruit or talent can realise its potential without effort and work. May the Lord bless all our lives with health of body and peace of mind.

The following prayer to St Francis of Assisi is most appropriate for this time.

For a harvest shared by all 

St Francis of Assisi, your whole life sang in harmony with God, nature and others. With you, we praise God for Brother Sun, full of beauty and splendour, warming the earth, summoning shoots from darkness into daylight. We praise God for Sister Water, so useful and humble, precious and pure, greening arid ground, growing life in desert places. Pray for us, Francis, that, like you, we may care for all that exists until Brother Sun and Sister Water produce a harvest shared by all in love and solidarity, justice and peace. Amen.