Viriditas in the wild vol. 2

What's having greening power in my life these days

Apr 24, 2026

If Viriditas is God’s greening power in the world and in our lives, it only makes sense that the things that nurture our spirituality — those which enrich our self-understanding, drive us to create, and deepen our awareness of the Divine — are a form of that life giving power.

Here’s my list of how I’m experiencing viriditas in a very demanding season of life:

Raye’s new album This Music May Contain Hope has been my nonstop soundtrack this week. It is a cinematic masterpiece, one of those albums that deserves to be heard from start to finish. If you like her single Where is my Husband? you will love the album, and even if that song has become a source of annoyance, you will likely still like the album for it’s artistry. She incorporates R&B, blues, jazz, pop, soul, orchestral, and musical styles to weave her story. And it does what it says on the tin: contains hope. My favorites at the moment are Goodbye Henry (featuring Al Green), Click Clack Symphony (featuring Hans Zimmer!!), and Joy. Her first album is worth a listen to. (Worth it. is the ear worm I didn’t know I needed.)

In an interview for Flaunt Magazine, she was asked about the role of artists these days. What is art, if not a sign of viriditas?

“It’s a form of hope. When I think back to even, like, COVID times, everyone was really feeling it. That actually was a moment where I felt like, ‘Oh my gosh.’ You really realize when the world’s going through this, how all of this stuff is so important.”

If you would like to share in this hyper fixation, let me know. I am here for it.

I spent my first day off in three weeks planting seeds in the garden with my son, participcating in creation with God and hopefully nurturing some actual greening power. My list of tasks to catch up on was long, and I almost declined his offer to join him outside. But of course, that time spent together, teaching him about how to read seed packets, measure soil depth, and label our rows of seedlings was a much better way to pass the time on a Saturday afternoon. We’ve enjoyed seeing the first of the seedlings pop their heads out of the dirt, and we’re eager to see if our technically-expired seedlings have enough energy left to sprout despite the warning they won’t. Time will tell. I’ll let you know if those little buddies defy the odds. May Mexican sour gherkins be in our future

I was surprised and delighted to learn this morning that I am not a regular mom, I’m a cool mom.

In half an hour or so, I’ll head to meet up with my son’s third grade class to be a chaperone for their field trip. Another mom told me I am apparently the source of arguments amongst the children; they all want to be in my group. It only took me 30 some-odd years to be liked by third graders.

I am being a little silly, but the viriditas of it all is that this feels like the fruit of investment in our community and in my children. I have long hoped ours would be a home where our kids and their friends want to spend time. To see those efforts paying off in real time is a gift I don’t take for granted. I almost cancelled today, fearing I didn’t really have time to go to the zoo today (only a week after I accompanied senior adults to the zoo — remind me to tell you about the particular delight of a quartet of octogenarians riding a 30mph, 100ft high zip line), but this seemingly funny response actually means a great deal to me. It is a sincere hope that our children and their friends feel nurturing, viriditas-like love when they are with us. To be the preferred chaperone produces the same joy I felt seeding our seedlings reach for the sun.

receipts - someone else called me a cool chaplain so it must be true. Maybe the zoo is what brings it out of me?

I started reading Work in Progress: Confessions of a Busboy, Dishwasher, Caddy, Usher, Factory Worker, Bank Teller, Corporate Tool, and Priest by Fr. James Martin, SJ. I am only a few pages in, and it’s my first leisure read in months. I am excited to look for signs of viriditas in his many vocations, particularly as I come into my own priesthood, God willing and people consenting, later this year.