"A Garden of Visible Prayer" Blooms

Margaret Rose Realy

Today, several bloggers are celebrating the talent, work and spirit of our dear friend (and a CatholicMom.com contributor!) Margaret Rose Realy by reminding you about Margaret's phenomenal book A Garden of Visible Prayer: Creating a Personal Sacred Space One Step at a Time and her blog Morning Rose Prayer Gardens.

Here's an overview of the book, which is truly a bouquet of spiritual goodness:

Have you ever wandered outside and wished you could find a place to just sit and pray, a garden space to find solace in the demands of today’s world? Do you desire to create a garden space that will help meet your spiritual needs? Have you wanted to create a memorial garden and not known how to begin?

A Garden of Visible Prayer

A Garden of Visible Prayer shows you how to develop a contemplative outdoor space in a creative and systematic manner. Whether you are a new gardener or an old hand, wanting to create a public or a private retreat area, this book will guide you in a step-by-step approach to discern what leads you, personally, to a deeper sense of spirituality and then how to take that information to create your own outdoor space for prayer.

This book is unlike the beautiful glossy garden books that leave you hungry for a lovely landscape or the inspirational books on developing your faith that do not meet your need to experience prayer in nature. A Garden of Visible Prayer helps you feed both hungers for natural beauty and spiritual insight.

Set up in a systematic approach, this book breaks into three easily understandable units to create an outdoor retreat: discern, design, and development. In the discerning process you will establish what elements in a garden lead you to become quiet and introspective, fostering spiritual growth. The next section guides you in designing your prayer space; where to locate it, where to place the features you have chosen and how to select plants. There is also a section on Catholic traditions in the garden at the end of the book. The final chapters on development tell you how to install your garden based on your design.

Gardens are places of growth, not only for plants but for our souls as well. Creating an outdoor spiritual sanctuary, no matter how small, is now within every gardener’s reach.

As we enjoy the glorious unfolding of Spring, I invite you to acquaint yourself with Margaret Rose Realy's gifts through her book and blog. And if you're already a fan, why not tell a friend today about this special lady?

Order A Garden of Visible Prayer: Creating a Personal Sacred Space One Step at a Time and support CatholicMom.com with your purchase