Prayers for Catholics Who Love Nature, Gardening & Rural Life!

Dear Friends In Christ,

Here are a few more prayers that I found on ConservationCatholic on the web for those of you like-minded/soul folks who, like me, believe that God's natural creation is a blessing given to us and who also believe in being 'stewards' who care for God's beautiful natural creation for us! Please know that the source that I found these beautiful Catholic prayers is ConservationCatholic.org.

Prayer on Contemplating Nature

You, O God, Majestic Creator, are the origin of all life.
Nothing can exclude itself from your creative influence.
You are wonderful in your words and in your sovereignty.
Amazed, I contemplate the perfection of the world

you created for human beings.
You are unmatched in your power and in your goodness.
O Lord, you direct like a conductor the orchestration of a storm,

and you shape like a sculptor the petals of a flower.
You are prodigious in your majesty and in your wisdom.
Lord, you have fashioned human beings to accept

the challenges of nature and to be your voice in creation.
O Lord and King, Majestic Creator,

you have made your mystery transparent,

in the world you have created.
I worship you in your creation and in your providence.
Amen.

.From Prayers of Blessing and Praise for All Occasions, 1987, Hugo Schlesinger & Humberto Porto.

Blessings of Fields and Gardens

Let us together praise the Lord,
from whom we have rain from the heavens
and abundance from the earth.
Blessed be God now and for ever.

Let us bless God,

whose might has created the earth

and whose providence has enriched it.

God has given us the earth to cultivate,

so that we may gather its fruits to sustain life.

As we thank God for this bounty,

let us learn also, as the Gospel teaches,

to seek first God's way of holiness:

then all we need will be given us besides.
O God,
from the very beginning of time
you commanded the earth to bring forth vegetation
and every fruit of every kind.
You provide the sower with seed and give bread to eat.
Grant, we pray, that this land,
enriched by your bounty and cultivated by human hands,
may be fertile with abundant crops.
Then your people, enriched by the gifts of your goodness,
will praise you unceasingly now and for all ages unending.

From Catholic Household Blessings and Prayers. Contains excerpts from the English translation of Book of Blessings, 1988, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc.

The Lord has bestowed the fruits of the earth

for the benefit of all the world's people.

May we share with all in need

and so be good stewards of God's earth and its abundance.

We remember the words Mary speaks

in the Gospel story of the visitation:

"The hungry He has filled with good things."

Praise in Creation
by Gerard Manley Hopkins

Glory be to God for dappled things --
For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;
For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;
Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches' wings;
Landscape plotted and pieced -- fold, fallow, and plough;
And all trades, their gear and tackle and trim.

All things counter, original, spare, strange;
Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?)
With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim;
He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change:
Praise him.

To Christ, King of the Universe
O Christ Jesus, I acknowledge You King of the Universe.

All that has been created has been made for You.

Exercise upon me all Your rights.

I renew my baptismal promises renouncing Satan and all his works.

I promise to lead a good Christian life and to do all in my power to procure the triumph of the rights of God and Your Church.

Divine Heart of Jesus,

I offer You my poor actions

in order to obtain that all hearts may acknowledge

Your sacred royalty

and that thus the reign of Your peace

may be established throughout the universe.
Amen.

Blessings on your gardens, rural acreages and/or farmlands!

~ bella

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It's Gardening Time: Catholic Prayers for Gardeners!

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My Dear Friends in Christ,
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Gardening is simply one of my greatest passions in life. I feel so grateful to our Lord for the simple blessings of beauty in both my flower and vegetable gardens and the ability to live out our dream of living on a country acreage . . . for His little piece of paradise that we lovingly call "La Bella Vita", the beautiful life (in Italian). Each and every time I am in the gardens, I feel so happy and so grateful. Besides being next to the horses, it is when I feel the most taken away from the stresses and worries of every day life.

I found the following beautiful Catholic prayers for gardeners and those who live a rural, country life on the Web today and wanted to share them with you. The e-source that I found these prayers is ConservationCatholic.com for your perusal.

The photos are all from my flower garden beds.

May God bless you and your gardens this year!

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Mother Earth
by St. Francis of Assisi

Dear mother earth, who day by day
Unfolds rich blessing on our way,
O praise God! Alleluia!
The fruits and flowers that verdant grow,
Let them his praise abundant show.
O praise God, O praise God,
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
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Prayer of the Christian Farmer (or Gardener)

O God, Source and Giver of all things,

Who manifests Your infinite majesty, power and goodness

in the earth about us, we give You honor and glory.

For the sun and rain, for the manifold fruits of our fields,

for the increase of our herds and flocks we thank You.

For the enrichment of our souls with divine grace,

we are grateful.

Supreme Lord of the harvest,

graciously accept us and the fruits of our toil,

in union with Christ Your Son, as atonement for our sins,

for the growth of Your Church,

for peace and charity in our homes,

for salvation to all.

Amen.

Prayer Source: Novena in Honor of St. Isidore: Patron of Farmers by National Catholic Rural Life Conference, National Catholic Rural Life Conference.
Any farmer or city gardener will find this a beautiful prayer.

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Prayer of a Rural Family

Wise and compassionate God, accept this our prayer;

Sheltered from storm and darkness, under this roof,

This family kneels to adore You.

For the day just past,

For keeping us safely, body and soul,

Now we most humbly Thank You.

For hilltops and verdure,

For sunlight and wind and boundless space,

For rain and sky's rich color,

For boughs and blossoms and cold clean snow,

We are eternally grateful.

For birds and beasts,

For the good black earth and the seeds producing

The plenteous harvest; for times without number

When we have eaten of that same harvest,

We thank You and bless You forever.

Deliver us safely, if such be Your will,

From deluge and drought,

From famine and war and disaster.

Give us tomorrow, as yesterday and today.

All things most needed for rightful living;

And move our hearts that we may have sorrow

For sinning against You.

God of the hearth and the harvest,

Your children, here kneeling, adore You.

Bless now our rest

And cherish us safe till the morrow.

Amen.

Prayer Source: Novena in Honor of St. Isidore: Patron of Farmers by National Catholic Rural Life Conference, National Catholic Rural Life Conference
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Blessings to you this beautiful springtime of year!

~ bella

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Praying Rosary For My Father's Cancer Radiation Treatments

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My Dear Friends in Christ,

I apologize if I have not blogged for a week or so, but I have begun teaching summer school classes, adopted two new horses, have been gardening and harvesting, and have had my father's health on mind as well. After his first two weeks of radiation, he is in much less pain and the treatment appears to be working positively! Praise Our Lord!
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I have added his health to my rosary petitions and if you are reading this, I humbly ask that you add just a second of a thought in your rosary petitions for him as well. We all know the tremendous power of PRAYER!
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I hope that you are having a blessed day!
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Blessings,
~ bella

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