We read in the Book of Genesis:
“Then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being. And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there He put the man whom He had formed. Out of the ground the LORD God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it.” (Gen 2:7-9, 15)
Perhaps this seems like a familiar story, so we miss the amazing vision the Holy Scriptures present to us of what it means to be a human being! God breathes His breath of life into us. Of all this material creation, only “the man” is made in God’s image and likeness. Only “the man” shares God’s life, His consciousness. The Lord created us to live in this Garden of Eden and to care for it, together with Him. To collaborate with Him in caring for creation. The text of Genesis will continue to tell of how “the man” will become binary: man and woman together.
However, we know what happened: THE FALL. Our first parents – and since then we ourselves – have made a mess of things.
A Mary Garden is a beautiful reminder for the whole family, right in our own backyard, that our weakness and sin are not the end of the story! “THE WOMAN AND HER OFFSPRING” ARE PROMISED in Genesis, chapter 3. Saint Irenaeus of Lyons, one of the first of the great theologians of the Church (died, A.D. 202), wrote, “the knot of Eve's disobedience was loosed by the obedience of Mary”. So she is THE NEW EVE, THE MOTHER OF THE NEW CREATION, THE MOTHER OF OUR HOPE, JESUS.
A Mary Garden is meant to be a place of PEACE: the deep peace that comes from knowing that, whatever happens, the Kingdom of God is among us and the Lord will be faithful to His promise! His promise is for not only for the restoration of fallen humanity. Through the grace of the Resurrection of the Lord, we are called to receive new life from Him and follow Him into eternal, divine life!
- The third annual Mary Garden Contest is sponsored by the Museum of Family Prayer. Photo entries are due by July 16, 2022. Prizes will be awarded. Helpful information and inspiration will be added to the contest webpage throughout the contest.
