A Theology of the ‘Garden’: Reflections on CBCP’s call for the Care of Creation (PART 2 of 2)

A Garden for Sharing

As faith informs our work, we realize that events as described in the preceding sections can no longer be taken for granted. The lives of loved ones, hard earned assets and the magnificent beauty of the land and nature around us are at risk if we just look and do nothing. Quoting St. James, as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so faith apart from works is dead” (James 2:26). In doing this, we believe our good works will help us to “come near to God and He will come near to you” (James 4:8).

Planting, nurturing and harvesting plants and vegetables may be arduous at times but rewarding nonetheless. Children’s health has considerably improved with the continuing encouragement to eat vegetables – nutritious and available, obtained in their backyards. Others were able to freely share with neighbors and if fortunate, to sell the surplus in the market. These may solve cash flow problems but the effort likewise gives that sense of having accomplished something tangible.

In working together, participants, despite some tensions, generally get that light feeling of having accomplished something together. There is also the thought of sticking to the goal: to show that urban gardens can produce benefits such as food security for the attendees and the environment is improved. This is the essence of communion, anchored on the moral values of patience, faithfulness, inclusiveness and channeled towards a collective spirit of the community/GKK, where there is joy of seeing beyond the project itself.

A Time to Plant and a Time to Grow

By working together in the ‘garden’, the individual, the GKK, the group or community may realize that the entire experience is giving everyone the opportunity to realize and see the origin of who we are: sharing life with our Creator. God our Father not only ensures our place in paradise but has also shown us the path to help others to find their way into the place that God has prepared for us.

Yet while we are still on our earthly journey, the project of raising and promoting gardens and all the other components that go with it: seed collection, organic fertilizer production, proper waste management and related aspects – are all geared towards making the Catholic Church a fertile ground where our faith is planted, cared for, grows and brings others, young and old, weak and strong, female and male, rich and poor into the bosom of our Holy Mother Mary, she who had nurtured Jesus His Son, our Saviour.

The space where live plants, trees and vegetables thrive and grow is but one of the many avenues established by the Church to strengthen our faith. When each person is appreciated, group actions become fruitful and build a favorable and helpful atmosphere. When ideas are shared, plans are discussed and resolutions are communicated, it strengthens the unity of the group and community, even in the family. Nobody is taken for granted. Jesus calls us His friends, which in like manner, we are called to be a friend to all. Like the garden we hope to nurture, we participate in modest ways our commitment to care for creation. This is our faith in action.

Our life may just be one among the millions scattered in the universe, but each one, given the conditions that surround it, will grow and like the mustard seed, ‘shall see the good things in the land of the living’. Each step each one takes is not only for one self, the family, the group or GKK – it is for the whole Church, the body of Christ in whom we entrust our hearts, thoughts and deeds – to sustain life, nature and the beauty of God’s creation.

There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven’ (Ecclesiastes 3.1)

This reflection paper is dedicated to the earnest efforts of GKK servant-leaders who have been working, promoting and building gardens in spaces where food and other useful plants can be grown and produced. Much of the vigor and interest of GKKs now engaged in this endeavor stems from the exhortations of past popes, notably Pope St. John the XXIII’s Pacem in Terris and the more recent, the late Pope Francis’ Laudato Si. The recent letter of the Catholic Bishops Conference in encouraging parishes all over the country to help increase the dynamism to address the faith imperative of caring for the earth and our Common Home. (Remy Guillena | PSK, San Lorenzo Ruiz-Ecoland 4. Zone 11)