Mary Garden Restoration:
If you recently visited the Mary Garden here at Saint Catherine of Siena you might have noticed that it has fallen into some disrepair. The brick walls are crumbling at points and some of the steps up to the Mary statue are loose and/or broken causing a dangerous situation should someone step in the wrong place. In addition, tree damage resulting from last year’s October storm led to the loss of the Asian pear trees that were a backdrop to the garden. Mary herself (the statue that is) was covered in mold and the flowers and shrubs need a good pruning and attention. Two years ago we replaced the uneven walkway which itself was an accident waiting to happen.

Aside from the need to keep the area safe for visitors, we need to keep the reverence of such a sacred place so that it remains a place where people may go to pray and to seek solace in difficult times. I see the Mary Garden regularly being visited by folks of all ages, and that’s a very good thing.

I am happy to let you know, particularly as we celebrated the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary on August 15th, that our parish will embark on a restoration project for the Mary Gar-den. Three bids have been received from companies to fix the walls and the steps, as well as our intention to install a watering system and to reforest the lost trees with shade-producing plantings. The total cost of the project is in the $15,000 range. I am more than happy and pleased to let you know that a parishioner has stepped forward, after I made reference to the need to care for the garden at a recent Sunday Mass, and has offered to cover the costs of the restoration. I am very grateful to Mrs. Gloria F. Rose and to the memory of her late husband, William, for whom the restoration project will be dedicated.

The Church has a document entitled Built of Living Stones which offers theological instruction regarding the building and care of sacred spaces, both inside and outside. As it pertains to church exterior grounds, historically parish churches were designed with beautiful gardens and statuary that offered places for people to sit or stroll amid God’s creation and to talk with Him in prayer, seeking guidance or strength while in the midst of suffering. The advent of the family car— now multiple cars—and the movement of parishioners from the urban to the suburban/rural settings had a huge impact on the parish grounds. Gardens and open spaces were replaced by much needed asphalt parking lots and the sacred spaces were now seemingly “less sacred” as one drives to Mass with the car radio blaring (or in my family’s case with arguments ensuing) causing one’s entrance into the parish church devoid of the experience a “decompression chamber” comprised of gardens and quietness. This has, according to experts, made the church proper a “gathering space with high level conversations and a wee bit less sacred no longer a place where in quiet prayer folks readied themselves for the Mass. Well, as they say, “You can’t fight city hall!” As we evolve as a church building to meet the modern needs (or demands) of the world, we still need spaces where sacred silence is observed. I believe the newly restored Mary Garden will do just that.

What I see restored: The crumbling white brick walls will be re-moved and replaced with a combination of fieldstone keeping more in theme with the pastoral surroundings. Combined with wooden fencing and well-placed flowering shrubs for privacy and to help reduce the noise of traffic from Stratton Brook Road, the garden will be a place of sacred silence and personal privacy. New benches (an approved Eagle Scout project) will provide for comfortable seating; new and well-established trees will offer shading, a watering system will ensure the survival of the plants in an area that is wide open to the bright sun, and an arbor behind the statue will frame the Blessed Mother as a focal point while keeping the open air atmosphere of the fields and pastures - a beautiful scenic backdrop that it is. Plantings that will withstand the direct sun as well as are theologically in step with the space (i.e., roses are the flower of Mary) should make the space user-friendly as well as keeping it a breathtaking view.

We are blessed to have such a picturesque location for our church grounds and I am sure this restoration project will go a long way in keeping our little plot of land a truly sacred space. I am very grateful to Mrs. Rose for her generosity and her love of this parish. Work should begin in the next week or so and will be completed in three phases before fall fades.