Every Year it is the Same Battle!

As in years past, deer have found my roses, peppers, tomatoes and black-eyed susans. They are not that fond of my herbs, but really enjoy the Gerber daisies, apparently as a garnish to the potted geraniums nearby. Last weekend I saw a doe – fat and slick – languidly...

Fortieth Day of Lent: Reflections on the Cross

Cross of Glory This cross is fittingly used for Easter. It is a simple Latin Cross with a rising sun placed behind it. Like most every cross examined, this one too has many variations. In many traditions, as the sun rises, Gloria, an ancient Latin doxology, is sung...

Thirty-Ninth Day of Lent: Reflections of the Cross

The Arrow Cross This is also called a Cross Barby or Barbee in heraldry. In Christian use, the ends of this cross resemble the barbs of fish hooks, or fish spears. This alludes to the Ichthys symbol of Christ, and is suggestive of the “fishers of people”...

Thirty-Eighth Day of Lent: Reflections on the Cross

Cross of St. James The Cross of St. James is adapted from the Cross Fitchy by adding a cross fleury (the arms end in fleurs-de-lys) or a cross moline (the ends of the arms are forked and rounded). In heraldry, it is also called the Santiago Cross or the cruz espada....

Thirty-Seventh Day of Lent: Reflections of the Cross

The Cross Fitchy The name fitchy comes from the French for “fixed” referring to the distinctive pointed lower limb. It is thought that this design was for use by travelling Crusaders who would drive the cross in the ground. Its shape resembles a sword, symbolic of the...

Thirty-sixth Day of Lent: Reflections of the Cross

Consecration Cross Variations of this symbol have prehistoric origins and it has been suggested as one of the first symbols of the cross. Pagans used it as veneration of the sun, and therefore it is widely known as the Sun Cross, from which life is dependant....