Amazingly, though perhaps not considering the fact of global warming, Easter lilies are still blooming in our cloister garden. We had many of them this past summer and fall, which had been planted after the Easter season. When the potted lilies decorating the church have run their course, we always plant them in hopes of a second blooming.
This year was no exception, and the white lilies made many attractive arrangements to place in front of the altar in church or at the large icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Nothing can compare with the longevity of cut lilies in water, sometimes lasting weeks, and the fragrance of this particular flower is always a treat.
As we move through the month of November, especially dedicated to remembering in thought and prayer all who have died, we are encouraged by the “great cloud of witnesses” who have gone before us. Where they have gone we hope to follow, all in God’s time.
Blessed Autumn still in progress.
Abbot Christian and the monks
