A few odds and ends, beginning with the latest message from Medjugorje in Hercegovina, where the Virgin Mary has been appearing since 1981, the first week of which was authenticated by an official Vatican commission.

Said her missive a few days ago, on February 25: “Dear children! Pray and renew your heart so that the good which you have sown may bear the fruit of joy and oneness with God. Darnel has seized many hearts and they have become unfruitful; that is why, you little children, be light, love, and my outstretched hands in this world which yearns for God Who is love. Thank you for having responded to my call.”

Intriguing word, is it not: “darnel” (or in some spellings, “Darnell”).

What is it?

Scientifically known as Lolium temulentum, darnel is a species of ryegrass, commonly recognized as a weed with somewhat poisonous seeds that has been intertwined with human agriculture for thousands of years. In Jesus’s time and place it was known as “tares.”

It closely resembles wheat and other cereal grains, making it difficult for farmers to distinguish it from their crops.

This mimicry has earned it the nickname “false wheat”: It grows up to three feet tall and features a slender, hollow stem, flat leaves, and produces a spike of flowers that eventually turn into small, hard seeds. The plant thrives in temperate climates and is commonly found in Europe, North Africa, and parts of Asia.

Historically, darnel has been known for its toxic properties. Its seeds contain temuline, a narcotic alkaloid that can cause dizziness, nausea, and other symptoms if ingested in large quantities.

There are references in ancient texts to the intoxicating effects of darnel, and it is thought to have been used in traditional medicines for its sedative properties. However, its toxicity also made it a risk in times when grain cleaning techniques were less advanced, leading to accidental poisoning from contaminated flour.

And to cap it off, darnel is mentioned in the Bible, most notably in the parable of the wheat and the tares in the Gospel of Matthew, symbolizing the coexistence of good and evil in the world.

Relevance for Lent?

Noted a priest named Damien Feeney, some years back: “If we examine our consciences regularly, as we should, we will know that we aren’t perfect. We also know that we aren’t wholly evil either. We are capable of great good, and we are capable of harm as well. We give delight to God and those around us: we cause displeasure to God and to those around us. We have characters and personality traits that can keep us safe, or lead us astray.

“That’s because we’re human, and frail, the clay jars in which the Gospel gold is found. We are wheat, and we are darnel, and sometimes it’s hard to know which is which. Our confusing and confused world often can’t tell the difference between the good and the bad. The concept of ‘fake news’ is part of the darnel of our times. We can’t be certain who to trust anymore, and what is presented to us as Good News doesn’t always turn out to be.

“How careful we must be! Our capacity to distinguish good from bad is under threat from a force that undermines the rock on which we stand, that of faith in Jesus Christ, and the church which he founded. How carefully we should seek God’s will in our prayers, and the strength to do that will. And this matters for the small things in our lives every bit as much as the large ones.”

Signs from the deceased?

The morning after the recent death of a close relative, we spotted a sign at the exit of the church, following Mass. We have no idea how it got there. When we pulled closer, we saw it read:

That didn’t compute until we arrived home and were stopped dead in our tracks on the sidewalk next to our home as a flock and flurry of birds winged across our side lot, through tall pine trees, crisscrossing each other and circling above — a couple dozen of them — in a way we had never witnessed previously.

We stood there in awe for three or four minutes as the circling and whipped through vegetation continued.

(Have you seen similar signs? Let us know.)

On other matters, in the mail, Don Huffman writes: “I have before me an almanac for February 1985.