Tonight was a partly cloudy day with vivid green leaves and interesting skies. My husband's family came to help us plant some of our perennials from our former home into the weed mass that was our garden. Now, many of the weeds (by no means all) are replaced by old friends: Echinachea, Hydrangea bushes, Tiger lilies, Siberian Iris, Archangel, Black-eyed Susans, Forsythia bushes, Laurel, and Hollyhocks (a velvety deep red).We were tired but grateful when, after dinner we were reluctant to give up the outdoors simply because it was dusk. An alluring sunset inspired us to do a quick search for firewood, and set up chairs. Soon we had a circle of twelve chairs around a roaring campfire, and talk led to praise songs then Marian hymns, which led to a rosary in Spanish for my father-in-law and my mother. What comfort we felt in the cool spring darkness, surrounded by the songs of tree frogs, crickets and the brook, reciting the ancient prayers to Our Blessed Mother, who hears her children's calls for the peace and healing of their loved ones. Who but her children can invoke her name and be instantly wrapped in her mantle of love?
If you have never done so, treat your family to a campfire rosary this summer.
