Lenten Reading for Nature Lovers, Gardeners

These daily reflections for Lent offer tranquility and simplicity by finding God through nature. Readers who love gardens and woods and find solace in experiencing the Creator through these environments will enjoy these prayerful reflections, which allow us to regain the balance that Pope Benedict XVI so urgently promotes in order that we may share the faith more fully in a world of new media.

The seven chapters represent each week of Lent, beginning with Ash Wednesday and concluding with Holy Saturday. Each week has a theme based on the following Sunday’s gospel message, a theme found running within the combined gospels of Cycles A, B or C, making this a timeless book.

Reviewer comments:

“Typically, the words ‘I can’t wait for Lent this year’ do not form themselves in my heart. A sometimes reluctant penitent, I prefer the rhythm of Ordinary Time and the anticipation of Advent. But this year, I’m actually joyfully looking forward to Lent as I will be praying through the season with the aid of Margaret Rose Realy’s beautiful new book of reflections, Cultivating God’s Garden through Lent. Gorgeously written and accessible regardless of your prior experience with Lent, this is a book to be savored and shared.” -- Lisa M. Hendey, founder of www.CatholicMom.com and author of A Book of Saints for Catholic Moms

“Margaret Rose Realy is a Master Gardener who has a knack for gently, but firmly, weeding out what is choking growth. Her Lenten reflections act like garden nourishment -- they reach through our hardness to feed heart and soul during the time when fields lie fallow and the work of renewal is done interiorly, and all unseen, in preparation for glory to come. This little book can give a big assist to the coaxing out of our fullest Easter blossoms, that we may be ready for Christ.”  -- Elizabeth Scalia, author of Strange Gods: Unmasking the Idols in Everyday Life and Managing Editor of the Catholic Channel at Patheos

“Margaret Rose Realy’s reflections in Cultivating God’s Garden through Lent are offered from a gardener’s heart. This book is a softly spoken study in noticing and loving the little things in creation, then stopping long enough to let the wonder of them sink in. From Lent to Easter, as from seed to bloom, the quiet pulse of a garden reveals God’s ever-nearness along the way.” --Pat Gohn, author of Blessed, Beautiful, and Bodacious; columnist at Patheos; host of the Among Women podcast

Check it out at http://www.patheos.com/Books/Patheos-Press/Cultivating-Gods-Garden-through-Lent.html