Everything is a caress of God (Pope Francis)

  Our insistence that each human being is an image of God should not make us overlook the fact that each creature has its own purpose.  None is superfluous.  The entire material universe speaks of God's love, his boundless affection for us.  Soil, water, mountains:  everything is, as it were, a caress of God (84).

  The universe unfolds in God, who fills it completely.  Hence, there is a mystical meaning to be found in a leaf, in a mountain trail, in a dewdrop, in a poor person's face.  The ideal is not only to pass from the exterior to the interior to discover the action of God in the soul, but also to discover God in all things.  Saint Bonaventure teaches us that contemplation deepens the more we feel the working of God's grace within our hearts, and the better we learn to encounter God in creatures outside ourselves (223).

(To download Pope Francis' Laudato Si, click here.)

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Quotation source:  Laudato Si

The Seamless Garment of God's Creation (Bartholomew I of Constantinople)

  Christians are called to accept the world as a sacrament of communion, as a way of sharing with God and our neighbors on a global scale.  It is our humble conviction that the divine and the human meet in the slightest detail in the seamless garment of God's creation, in the last speck of dust of our planet.  

--Patriarch Bartholomew I of Contantinople, 
quoted in Pope Francis' Laudato Si, paragraph 9.

(From his original text: 
"Global Responsibility and Ecological Sustainability," June 2012.)

To download the full text of Pope Francis' encyclical, Laudato Si, click here.

Image source (1):  Creation Tapestry, Girona Cathedral, Spain

Image source (2):  Michael Delman, Night Sky over Mount Tamalpais

For Delman's full one-minute video, click here.

What a Wonderful World (Sir David Attenborough)

   It seems to me that the natural world is the greatest source of excitement; the greatest source of visual beauty; the greatest source of intellectual interest.  It is the greatest source of so much in life that makes life worth living.  

--British naturalist Sir David Attenborough  

To sample the beauty of Sir Attenborough's film work 

with his own reading of What a Wonderful World, 

click on the video below: 

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Blessing of the Animals today at Our Lady of Mount Carmel!

 

   Today's the day!  Take a little time out during half time during the 49ers game and bring your pet to Our Lady of Mount Carmel to be blessed on this very special day, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, patron saint of animals and ecology!

    Our Lady of Mount Carmel's annual Blessing of the Animals will take place today, Sunday, October 4, 2015 at 4:00pm in the church parking lot.  Many Catholic churches around the world traditionally celebrate the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi with an invitation for their local community members to bring their pets for a communal blessing.  Fr. Pat, our pastor, notes that, “Francis saw God’s hand in every aspect of Creation.  In blessing our pets – those creatures of Divine Ingenuity – we give thanks for the blessings they are in our lives.”  St. Francis is said to have preached to and blessed attentive birds, tamed a wolf, and freed animals from traps.  In this event, we celebrate the many ways in which God’s care reaches beyond the human to encompass all of Creation.

   One parish friend remarked that, for animal lovers, “this blessing is a sight to see.” In addition to dogs and cats, past attendees have included fish, birds, guinea pigs, lizards and turtles; in the case of animals unable to travel or socialize, owners have brought pictures to share.

   Please note that you do not have to have a pet to attend.  All dogs must be on a leash; we recommend crating cats.

   Praised be you, my Lord, with all your Creatures.  –        St. Francis of Assisi

All is a Miracle (Thich Nhat Hanh)

 

  People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle.  But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth.  Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don't even recognize:  a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child -- our own two eyes.  All is a miracle.

--Thich Nhat Hanh

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Quote source:  Busted Halo, October 20, 2013

Canticle of the Creatures (St. Francis of Assisi)

Most high, all powerful, all good Lord!

All praise is Yours, all glory, all honor, and all blessing.

To You, alone, Most High, do they belong.

No mortal lips are worthy to pronounce Your name.

Be praised, my Lord, through all Your creatures,

especially through my lord Brother Sun,

who brings the day; and You give light through him.

And he is beautiful and radiant in all his splendor!

Of You, Most High, he bears the likeness.

Be praised, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars;

in the heavens You have made them bright, precious and beautiful.

Be praised, my Lord, through Brothers Wind and Air,

and clouds and storms, and all the weather

through which You give Your creatures sustenance.

Be praised, my Lord, through Sister Water;

she is very useful, and humble, and precious, and pure.

Be praised, my Lord, through Brother Fire,

through whom You brighten the night.

He is beautiful and cheerful, and powerful and strong.

Be praised, my Lord, through our sister Mother Earth,

who feeds us and rules us,

and produces various fruits with colored flowers and herbs.
Be praised, my Lord, though those who forgive for love of You;

through those who endure sickness and trial.

Happy those who endure in  peace,

for by You, Most High, they will be crowned.

Be praised, my Lord, through our sister Bodily Death,

from whose embrace no living person can escape.

Woe to those who die in mortal sin!

Happy those she finds doing Your most holy will.

The second death can do no harm to them.

Praise and bless my Lord, and give thanks,and serve Him with great humility.

To listen to composer Marty Haugen's sung version of this prayer, 

Canticle of the Sun, click on the video below:

Image source: Saint Anthony Shrine, Boston

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Sunday Gospel Reflection, October 4, 2015: Abounding joy in your presence!

Abounding joy in your presence…

Happy Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi!

The Archdiocese of San Francisco celebrates the feast of its patron saint, Francis of Assisi, this Sunday, October 4, 2015, with special readings chosen in his honor, readings that exemplify the virtues we have come to associate with the patron saint of animals and ecology:  poverty, humility, and joy-filled love!

Chapter 3 of the Book of Sirach reminds us that by the humble God is glorified:  true humility helps us to understand what we are capable of, as well as what is beyond our understanding; it helps us to stay on an even keel, a path always directed toward right relationship with God through our right relationship with other people.  This is the path to life described in Psalm 16, one in which we can trust fully in God, saying, my Lord are you, my only good.  Francis surely knew abounding joy in God's presence, and would boast only in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, as Paul writes to the Galatians, focusing not on this world, but entirely on God, eschewing all that might separate him from the Lord.

Meek and humble of heart, St. Francis of Assisi lived a life of simple poverty, accepting the yoke of Jesus that is the gracious will of the Father in Matthew's Gospel.  Francis' journey was a lifelong journey of radical discipleship, dedicated to teaching brotherly love, peace, and stewardship.  May his virtues be ours, as we commit ourselves to the joy of the gospel and the good of this planet that is God's beautiful Creation.

This post is based on OLMC's Thursday Scripture class.

Image source:  Wordle