Why Fresh (or Printed) Flowers Belong in Catholic Homes
August finds us in the thick of fresh, summer blooms that overflow with brilliant hues and permeating fragrances. Humans in general—from the essential homemaker to the professional decorator—tend to concur on the introductory benefits of floral presence around our abodes: mood uplifting, room brighteners, built in air fresheners, and intentional touch. We can add further elements such as the gorgeous gifts they make for all occasions, the grounding and satisfaction from time spent floral arranging, or the decorative spacial elevation and symmetry a well placed and executed arrangement provides. Yet one aspect the post-Christian culture certainly misses—that adds a whole deeper dimension—is the place of florals in daily Catholic life.
Even with a deep devotion to someone like St. Therese of Lisieux and her connection to both roses and little flowers, it is easy to pass by the array of saints who likened not only themselves but virtues, graces, and prayers to various florals. For instance, St. Alphonsus Liguori, St. Gaspar del Bufalo, and St. Francis de Sales among others compare roses to charity, lilies to purity, and violets to modesty and humility. Daisies have come to symbolize innocence and contempt of worldly things. Wheat and corn stand for abundance and generosity. Other saints bring the idea beyond individual species to collectively liken a fruitful garden motif to the soul that harbors many virtues. A vast array of meditations and spiritual descriptions have been written with such a focus, but St. Francis de Sales has one beautiful quote on the soul and Christ that exemplifies this broader application:
“O my child, bethink you that just as the bee, having gathered heaven's dew and earth's sweetest juices from amid the flowers, carries it to her hive; so the Priest, having taken the Savior, God's Own Son, Who came down from Heaven, the Son of Mary, Who sprang up as earth's choicest flower, from the Altar, feeds you with that Bread of Sweetness and of all delight.”
It doesn’t stop with virtues and graces though. Various blooms become reminders for particular devotions. We find St. Dominic talking about Hail Mary’s as roses given to our Lady. St. Louis de Montfort takes that image even further by likening particular sets of Mysteries to different colored wreaths of roses we crown Our Lady with upon praying. Carnation arrangements have come to retain a beautiful nod to Our Lady’s Tears, especially when placed before her likenesses on Passion Friday (the Friday before Holy Week) and subsequent Fridays throughout the year.
Saints hold blooms as their particular symbols in church artwork. Classical paintings and statuary depict heavenly members and earthly artistic patrons presenting florals and other bouquets to members of the Holy Family, Holy Trinity, and the Madonna.
Beyond that, herbs, fruits, shrubs, and blooms nearly all suitable for garlands and arrangements within the home are tied not only to religious legend—think the blooming of St. Joseph’s staff at the Betrothal of the Holy Spouses—but have become traditional decorations for specific feasts throughout the year. Blackberries at Michaelmas, lilies at the Annunciation, and evergreens at Christmas are excellent fairly well known examples.
While many other botanical connotations have been lost to post modernism, there is still a whole treasure trove of seasonal and liturgical ties that can be dived into with a little sleuthing.
The briefest of studies clearly suggests that—despite how the past century of secularism has sought to remove the symbolic from the day-to-day and relegate it to outdated traditions of the past—these motifs do not belong only in antiquated churches but in the lively home, the domestic church, as well.
Catholic home culture and embracing florals go hand in hand then. Blooms and all their trappings become not only room styling opportunities and meaningful gifts. They are also ties through fresh vases, preserved arrangements, or artwork for our physical senses—well-placed visuals, feels, and smells that link daily life to the realms of Heaven. Whether reminders of the virtues or the spiritual fruitfulness we should like to achieve, whether festive conspirators with the current season, florals are a subtle yet mighty intimation that the world and all within in it are God’s and ought to be ordered for His Glory.
