Despite the chill and gusts of wind in St Peter’s Square, Pope Francis welcomed the beginning of spring with an impromptu lesson about gardening and how to grow into being better Christians.
“Does a tree or plant that is diseased bloom well? No! Does a tree or a plant that isn’t watered … bloom well? No. And does a tree or plant with no roots bloom?” he said before delivering his general audience talk March 21.
Christians can learn from what makes spring flowers flourish, the Pope said, because for Christians, their root is Jesus and the water that replenishes those roots are the sacraments and prayer, which makes lives bloom with Christian virtues and good works.
“I wish that this spring would be for you a spring in bloom” and an Easter that blossoms, he said. Offering a saying that is well-known in Argentina, the Pope said.
The Pope said receiving Communion can be done standing “with devotion” or kneeling, whichever has been determined by each bishops’ conference, and Communion can be received on the tongue or, “where it is permitted,” in the hand.
