Dear Al,<\/p>\n
I can\u2019t tell you how delighted I was to receive your latest email.\u00a0 I was a little bit worried that working all summer for the Department of Forestry might prove a little wearisome, a little boring for you, considering your penchant for mental activity.\u00a0 I am glad that your mind (and heart) has found your work and environment useful for contemplation.\u00a0 Somehow, your experience of \u201cGod amongst the trees\u201d as you put it so poetically (though other eyes might have misinterpreted such a phrase) reminds me of today\u2019s saint, who happens to be the patron saint of forest workers and foresters, park services, and parks.<\/p>\n
John was a Florentine nobleman who thoroughly enjoyed his sumptuous aristocratic privileges, of which he took maximum advantage.\u00a0 Besides pleasure, his one passion as a young man was revenge.\u00a0 His brother Hugh had been murdered, and John felt it was his duty of justice and honor to put the killer to death.\u00a0 He searched for the culprit, to no avail, and continued nursing his ire.<\/p>\n
One Good Friday as he was returning to Florence from a short journey, he was making his way through a narrow pass when his prey entered the same pass from the other side.\u00a0 There was no way of escape.\u00a0 John, grateful to finally have an opportunity to do his duty, drew his sword and prepared to avenge his brother\u2019s death.\u00a0 But the killer cast himself on his knees and begged for mercy.\u00a0 At that moment, his sword poised to do justice, the thought of Christ on the cross, forgiving his enemies, came to his mind.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t bring himself to execute his long-contemplated plan.\u00a0 Instead he embraced his enemy, forgave him, and spared him.<\/p>\n
Soon afterwards, John had a vision of Christ on the Cross bowing to him, as if acknowledging the righteousness of his action.\u00a0 Entering Florence, he stopped at the ancient church of San Miniato al Monte to pray before the crucifix there.\u00a0 It was a moment of grace, and he felt his call to join the monastic community that took care of the church.\u00a0 His family was up in arms about the idea, but they couldn\u2019t stop him, and he took the habit.\u00a0 Later he would leave that community and form his own monastery (still operating today in Vallombrosa, near Fiesole on the outskirts of Florence) as part of the European movement of monastic reform.\u00a0 He attracted many followers, who ended up founding another half dozen monasteries during his lifetime.\u00a0 He also attracted bishops and popes, who came to him for advice and guidance (it was said he had the gift of prophecy).\u00a0 He was a light of truth and grace in a difficult time for the Church and society in general.<\/p>\n
So why is he the patron saint of parks and foresters?\u00a0 The area surrounding his monastery at Vallombrosa was wild and deserted when he first arrived.\u00a0 John thought that it would be more conducive to contemplation and discipline if the grounds were better kept.\u00a0 But instead of a traditional garden, he opted to have his monks plant trees (firs and pines mostly), creating a park and nature preserve to enhance the prayerful environment.<\/p>\n
And judging from your own experience, I would say that you have learned the same lesson \u2013 at least about the real purpose of nature\u2019s wonders and beauties.\u00a0 I pray you also learn the other lesson \u2013 about forgiveness and charity, which are as refreshing to the soul as a walk in the forest is to the body.<\/p>\n
Your loving uncle,<\/p>\n
Eddy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Dear Al, I can\u2019t tell you how delighted I was to receive your latest email.\u00a0 I was a little bit worried that working all summer for the Department of Forestry […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":359,"featured_media":145992,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[3719],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-142523","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncle-eddy"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"","pp_force_visibility":null,"pp_subpost_visibility":null,"pp_inherited_force_visibility":null,"pp_inherited_subpost_visibility":null,"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n