If You Want Peace…Plant an Olive Tree

The olive tree — the tree of peace, a symbol so desperately needed in these times of war and diaspora. It was an olive branch the dove brought to Noah in Genesis. Two olive trees flank a gold lampstand in Zechariah 4. “I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God,” David marvels in Palms. Anointing oil continues to be honored in sacred rites and rituals. In America, the olive tree is an enduring legacy left by the Franciscan missionaries who established the California Missions in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. To this day those olive trees continue to thrive, and are so familiar in the Golden State it is easy for these spiritually rich trees to be overlooked. Indeed, California nurseries refer to them as the Mission Olive tree. Planting olive trees was just one way St. Junipero Serra and his companions were continuing a long tradition of propagating the faith. <a href="https://jamesfday.medium.com/if-you-want-peace-plant-an-olive-tree-0f81a22fa9c6">Visit Now</a>