If I mention a cherry tree, what comes to your mind? I used to think of George Washington even before pie, but that is changing. I once read an unforgettable story about cherries. You'll find it below. The Webmaster
The following story was written by Margaret Cisco of Mt. Clemens, Michigan, and was first published in the "Sunday Visitor," December 23, 1984:
"When my grandfather came to the United States he left a large farm in Czechoslovakia. He brought with him a deep faith. Every year around Christmas he would tell us the cherry tree story.
"When he was a young boy there was a huge, old cherry tree that had ceased blooming. One year after Midnight Mass, his father took him to that tree. Together, they shook the tree saying 'Wake up! Jesus is born!' The following season, Grandpa said, they had cherries....
"Grandpa began telling his tree story often in the summer of 1979 and decided to repeat the process with his own cherry tree that no longer bloomed. As "modern" grandchildren we were skeptical of his superstition but neither explanations of aging nor cross-pollination could dissuade him.
"After Midnight Mass, he rushed home, anxious to shake his tree. We laughed as we sat in the car, thinking about him going out back to the tree.
"Grandpa eventually stopped talking about it and gradually the incident was forgotten. Late in May, we were discussing the family when I suddenly remembered the tree. I asked what happened. It was then I heard: 'It was full of flowers...there were lots of cherries and Grandma made pies--miracle pies--for everyone.'"
I wish I could see every one of you this Christmas, wrap my arms around you and say, "Wake up! Jesus is born!" I wish we could all taste the fruits of righteousness together.
While that is not possible, for these words are literally read all over the world, I urge you to please gather around the manger in a "Stable" of the Lord near you to share the flowers there. And...if you think of it...give the others one for me.