The Caterpillar

We had our summer blessing of the gardens here at the Soup Kitchen on Meldrum today. We assembled on this unusually cool July day under a tent at the end of the parking lot next to the Unity Garden. We read from the creation story of Genesis and prayed and then shared garden stories of our own lives explaining how we relate to the earth and all its riches in our own lives. Stories were shared about growing family food to swiping fruit from neighbors’ trees to digging up snakes and the like. One person, a staff member, related how since his dad passed in 2010, he has been visited by moths and butterflies in his garden where he enjoys sitting in the morning. Recently, he said he was visited by a caterpillar which crawled up his arm. He watched it and enjoyed its color and the striking marks on it.  Later he researched it, and found that the markings indicated a poison that is released if the little guy is threatened. He learned from that experience that we all have the potential to hurt, but we don’t have to use it. He had made a friend with the caterpillar that day, and all was well.

Author: Br. Bob Malloy
Capuchin Soup Kitchen Pastoral Director