"I see the fatherhood of God in a farm, in a true and deep, yet ordinary sense. Man is a protector and provider, and on a farm man truly feeds his family by the work of his hands. That is why I feel so deeply that our farming is united with our agape, the love feast, of the Mass, for liturgical worship and food go together. The Mass goes together with the work that is being done on the farm. Yet all this is deeper than anything that I can say, for as a farm develops that unity that I dreamed about long ago, the unity of man and God with the earth, the unity of persons, the unity with nature, I am sure you will begin to see wonderment born again in the heart of man.
It is the wonderment of a new life coming in the spring, the wonderment of the beauty of autumn that sheds its leaves to fertilize the earth. Thousands of wonderments come to him who is open to wonder. They come to him by the grace of God, and he knows that he must pass these things on to others, to a world that ceases to wonder."
- Catherine de Hueck Doherty
I'm so thankful for farmers who have this vision!
ReplyDeleteIt's more and more becoming a thankless occupation. They get no support from anyone in high places, and I don't mean monetary support - just appreciation!
DeleteAs I think you know, our priest (whose name is Leon!) is also a part-time farmer and if he can, he will find a farming reference in the readings to talk about in his sermon. We now know a lot about the farmer's life. :)
ReplyDeleteI hope it's all interesting! :)
DeleteMost of it is and it has also highlighted how much of what Jesus taught his followers was based on food production, farming, food preparation etc. Until very recently we all were much closer to the land than we are now. The Old Testament is the same; rules on how to cook food, store food, share food with neighbours, the poor and so on.
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