June 20, 2021

Dear St. Martin of Tours Family and Friends,

Last Thursday, June 10, we removed our “miracle tree,” a tenacious willow oak.

A growing tree or flowing water sprung from a rock is a biblical image illustrative of God’s power over the laws of nature. It is also an image of God’s restoration of a dry and dead soul into a flourishing and fruitful soul.

So I had a healthy respect for that stubborn tree. Yet a crumbling tower or wall is also a biblical image, and not a positive one: These are signs of God’s disfavor and judgment, an invitation to surrounding enemies to invade and capture the city.

That tree, left alone, would have in time caused damage to the tower’s stonework and led to the crumbling of the upper tower.

I tend not to think that the parishioners at Sts. Matthias, Andrews, or Bernadette are planning to mount an attack on our fortified church of St. Martin’s (who was, let’s remember, a Roman general!); but who can you trust nowadays?

So, farewell thee, oh miracle willow oak!