Gardening the Soul: A Spiritual Daybook Through the Seasons - Hardcover

From the harvest of Autumn to the renewal of Spring, mediations through the seasons. In a series of mediations centred on the garden, Sister Stan offers a thought a day to guide us calmly through our ever-quickening world. Taking her cues from nature, she weaves her spiritual advice around the seasons we all share, reflecting on and contemplating the natural treasures that exist 'in our own back yard'. With literary quotes reflecting the breadth of her wisdom and written with her own distinctive brand of knowledge and quiet awareness, Sister Stan gives a different thought for each day of the year, whether contemplating Silence and Solitude in deepest winter or Harvest and Harmony in Autumn. Inspiring, comforting and soothing; whether you need spiritual comfort or just a pick-me-up through the day, this will be a book to treasure. 3 April - 'Nature has gentle moments: soft winds, sprinkling rain, warm sunshine, floating petals. But nature also has incredible power to harm and hurt: carthquakes, thunderstorms, floods, the constant cycle of predation and death, pain and disease. When we learn to recognise that this power and this gentleness are part of the same nature, we can begin to face the paradox of our own potential for gentleness and destructive power too.' 15 February - 'Recently 1 was helping to prepare a large room in a beautiful old house for use as a space for creative work. We took down the pictures, took up the carpet, painted the room white, sanded the wooden floor. And the uncluttered elegance of the bare room filled with emptiness, was stunning.'

Sr Stanislaus Kennedy was the first religious sister ever to receive an honorary Doctorate in Law from Trinity College, Dublin. She joined the Irish Sisters of Charity in 1958, and, since that time has been instrumental in developing and implementing social service programmes that have benefited thousands of needy people for which she has received many awards. Affectionately known as Sister Stan, she has made numerous appearances on national and international media on current affairs programmes, magazine programmes and celebrity shows.