Depending On You

It is spring in this part of the world, and we’ve been working in the garden. We recently replaced a wooden fence that had seen better days. Taking down the panels was a challenge, trying to prevent the whole thing from falling into the neighbor’s yard.  

At one end, a vine’s branches had grown and woven into the trellis and attached to the pickets. It took some time to dismantle, as I wasn’t sure if the fence supported the vine or the vine held up the fence.  I had a lot of family help installing the new fence. I could not have done it alone.

Images of Growth 

I recently read Prayer Takes Us Home by biblical scholar and priest Gerhard Lohfink (1934-2024). In the chapter on Meditation, the author mentioned the Rosary as providing “scaffolding” for meditative prayer. I kept reflecting on the scaffold image. 

I think of scaffolding as surrounding, supporting, and providing access to constructing, repairing, or creating something. From the ground up, craftspeople carefully assemble and climb scaffolding to reach a project, discover perspective, and secure a sound work surface. 

Accessing Prayer 

I started to imagine prayer as a scaffold that, with the Lord’s grace, we build and climb to access what needs our attention, the staging for our longings, needs, and desires. It is how we reach the will of God for us. 

“Cast all your worries upon him because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7) 

The Rosary allows us to reach and meditate on the meaning within the mysteries that give life to our faith. In May, we focus on Mary, the mother of Jesus. Her grace-filled role, in cooperation with God’s Spirit, served to bring Divine light and life into the world for the sake of us all. She is the servant of holiness. Her example invites us to reach for the height and depth we long for in our faith lives, our service to one another, and our climb toward holiness. 

In prayer, God reaches out to us, and we to God, knowing He is always present within us. 

I thought of Jacob’s dream in the book of Genesis. “Then he had a dream: a stairway rested on the ground with its top reaching to the heavens; and God’s angels were going up and down on it.” (Genesis 28:12) 

Let us pray in our families in thanksgiving for the ground and reach of our faith, our climb to holiness.