Servite Friars St. Peregrine Review

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Dear Reader,
Welcome to the Spring issue of the "Review". Every year we look forward to Spring-time and that sense of new life breaking forth all around us as nature reawakens from the dark dreary days of Winter. It is always a joy to see the first snowdrops or the new born lambs and the many other signs of God's creative hand at work all around us.

By just observing the rest of nature we can learn a useful lesson on how to live our own lives more creatively. For example take a garden with its array of flowers. Each flower starts as a little bud and goes on to grow and develop into a beautiful blossom - even the delicate ones make the effort to bloom. Every flower seems content with being what it is, be it a crocus, a marigold or whatever, and peacefully co-exists with its own kind and with all the rest.

All would be well but for the weeds. The poor old weed doesn't seem to like itself very much and sets out to become a nuisance by trying to impede and stifle the growth of the rest of the flowers. It is thanks to the good gardener that the weeds are not allowed to take over. Ever watchful, the gardener moves in and removes them before they have the opportunity to damage the rest of the flowers.

The season of Lent is a good time to take a serious look at our own souls (God's garden in us) and ask God to help us remove any weeds that are impeding our growth. We can then be free to grow and develop our many gifts and talents as God intended. Let us pray that God's will and not ours be done.
May God grant you fruitful Lent and a joyous Easter.

Fr. Sean O.S.M. Editor

The Wisdom of the Age

One day a creative writing class was asked to write on the subject of what they would do if they discovered a fifty-pound note tree growing in the garden.

Of course, everbody knew that there is no such thing as a fifty-pound note tree
but they entered into the spirit of the exercise.

One man wrote only a sentence. It was that he would drink it.

Others decided that Securicor would need to become involved as such a tree would need to be guarded day and night, week in and week out, for ever. It would cause you dreadful worry for you would not be able to take your eyes off it for a moment.

A few contributions were what you might expect, describing hitting the stores and going on marvellous shopping sprees for clothes, Jewellery, perfume and fantastic holidays.

One woman wanted to throw a party and invite all her friends but insisted that the tree would be kept under wraps for, after all, it belonged to her and she wanted to keep it for her own use.

I liked best the piece of writing by an elderly woman. Obviously, she had learned a few truths in her journey through life about an excess of money not bringing you health or happiness although most people would agree that a severe lack of it can cause crippling poverty in a household.

My friend wrote;- "I would not want a fifty-pound note in my garden nor any other coinage of a tree. There would be no end of trouble with people breaking in and trying to steal from it or taking slips and bothering me with advice on how to get it growing. There'd be fights in the house amongst the family and then there'd be trouble with the income tax people..........!"

To be content with your lot in life is a great blessing.

Rhoda Watson

Love Needs Action

As we face facts about our world we have no doubt but in many ways it is a broken and difficult world as we all know from experience. Things do not always work out despite our careful planning. On the other hand some good things follow our actions. For example, when we freely forgive a person who has hurt us we can be sure that we will banish bitterness from our hearts. When we serve others, not out of guilt or compassion, but out of love, we ourselves will be blessed. When we give, not because we expect to receive, but freely and with a generous heart, we will receive. When we become women and men of prayer we will grow in spiritual wisdom, appreciating the work of the lord in us, our lives will be fruitful. Good seed produces good fruit.

Unfortunately, we often focus on results and not enough on the factors that produce such results, it is like expecting beautiful flowers from a bed that has not been watered and well planted. How can we experience well-being with not caring for our bodies.

If we appreciate the peace which Christ so often prayed for in the lives of his followers we will have to be honest and transparent in our encounters with others. How true is the saying "Many cry Peace, Peace, but refuse to do the things that make for peace"

Jill Sheehan