Tag: Creation

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Meditation of the Day – A Beautiful Work of Creation, in Itself, is Nothing

“In contemplating a beautiful work of creation consider that, in itself, it is nothing. Let your thoughts soar to the great Hand that produced it; place all your delight in Him saying: “O my God! Sole Object of my desires! Universal Source of all good things! How delightful it is to consider that the perfections of creatures are but a faint image of Thy glory!” When you behold the verdant trees or plants and the beauty of flowers, remember that they possess life only through the will of that Divine Wisdom that, unseen by all, gives life to all things. Say to Him: “O Living God! O Sovereign Life! Thou delight of my soul! From Thee, in Thee and through Thee all things on earth live and flourish!” The sight of animals should lift your mind and heart to the Author of sensibility and motion. Say with respect and love: “Great God, Unmoved Mover of all things, how I rejoice when I consider the eternity of Thy existence, incapable of the slightest change!” When the beauty of mankind impresses you, you should immediately distinguish what is apparent to the eye from what is seen only by the mind. You must remember that all corporeal beauty flows from an invisible principle, the uncreated beauty of God. You must discern in this an almost imperceptible drop issuing from an endless source, an immense ocean from which numberless perfections continually flow. How my soul is ravished when I consider that Eternal Beauty, the Source of every beautiful thing!”— Dom Lorenzo Scupoli, p.68

//Catholic Company//

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Minute Meditation – Working with Creation

It is in work that we find the test of our relationship to the creation because work is the question of how we will use the creation. For Wendeell Berry, work done well brings us into a wholeness and cooperation with the creation in which we can find health. Bad work destroys the connections that make life possible. For Berry good work is like a prayer—it is an act of both gratitude and return. Good work accepts the gifts of creation and uses those gifts to further their givenness. There are seeds that lie for decades in the soil, waiting for the right conditions before springing to life. Good work is that which creates the conditions for such life to burst forth from the whole of the creation.

— from the book Wendell Berry and the Given Life by Ragan Sutterfield

//Franciscan Media//

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Minute Meditation – One With the Earth

As the Genesis creation story points to so poetically, we are literally made up of the Earth—every molecule of our being ultimately came from the Earth. We are children of Earth, flesh of the Earth’s flesh and bone of her bone. We are not some aliens that fate dropped onto this planet to make shift. We human animals are native to this place and have co-evolved with the Earth for millions of years. We may have isolated and insulated ourselves with technology, but deep in our collective psyche, deep in our instinctual drives and our inherited knowledge, we know that we belong. True, it can sometimes be a contentious relationship. The Earth can be cruel and unforgiving, and survival can be a struggle. But it is the struggle of family, not contention between strangers.

— from the book Making Room: Soul-Deep Satisfaction through Simple Living
by Kyle Kramer

//Franciscan Media//

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Minute Meditation – Probe for Inner Wisdom

We are told that in the beginning there was light. Ever since, all of God’s creation—plants, animals, we humans—are drawn to light. As we emerged from our mothers’ wombs and pushed our way through a dark and confining birth canal, we experienced light for the very first time. We have come to learn how light sustains us and calls us to life. We call Jesus “Light of the World,” and he invites us to be light for one another in ways of loving, caring, and serving. Without this light, ours would be a dark, fearful, oppressive journey. 

Move from contemplation to action and probe for inner wisdom. What kind of light do others see in you? Do you have enough light to see your way? How do you fill the oil in your lamp? Who needs you today to bring a bit of sunshine into their life? As you generously share your light, give thanks and praise in knowing and treasuring all that is gift. 

— from the book Eucharistic Adoration: Reflections in the Franciscan Tradition 

//Franciscan Media//

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Minute Meditation – Gazing on Christ

St. Clare of Assisi does not give us a set of prayers that she created, but in her writings we discover her spirituality and her path to God. She invites us to gaze, consider, contemplate, and imitate Christ. Clare gazes on all of creation because it has the potential to speak to her of God. She considers the experiences of her life in the light of the Gospels. She contemplates the crucified and glorified Christ and opens herself to be transformed by the Divine One who loves her. She deeply desires to imitate the One she loves to become the image of the Word of Love.

Images of Clare portray her holding the monstrance of the Eucharist, lifting Christ up for all to see. She shows the Most High God to the world. 

— from the book  Eucharistic Adoration: Reflections in the Franciscan Tradition 

//Franciscan Media//

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Minute Meditation – The Grace of Sabbath

We are reminded of the truth of the creation—that our work, though called and needed, is not necessary. The world will continue without us and came long before us. Our work is to live from and with these gifts so that we can use what time we have, what little time we have, to tend their flourishing rather than exploit them for the gains that will soon fade with the rot. The practice of Sabbath also has the effect of elevating the value of labor and of the people engaged in it. It is not a break so that we might become renewed and refreshed for more work, but is rather a time when we live in the simple reality that we are creatures whose lives are given by God. On the Sabbath, we are able to be apart from our achievements.

— from the book Wendell Berry and the Given Life,

by Ragan Sutterfield

//Franciscan Media//

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Minute Meditations – The Work That is Ours to Do

“Work is part of God’s loving plan, we are called to cultivate and care for all the goods of creation and in this way share in the work of creation! Work is fundamental to the dignity of a person. Work anoints us with dignity, fills us with dignity, makes us similar to God, who has worked and still works, who always acts.”—Pope Francis

As Jesus responds to those who question his identity as the Son of God, he puts it in terms of the work that God does in the world. From the beginning of creation, it is God’s work that keeps all the universe in existence. Jesus shares in that work. Pope Francis shows us by his deeds and occasionally by his words that his work as pope is to lead God’s people in the way of the Gospel. In any religious organization the foibles and weaknesses of human society can become more visible and at times more important than the underlying good work that’s being done. It’s part of the pope’s responsibility—any pope in history—to rise above the controversy and the squabbling to focus on doing God’s work in the world. We know that in our own lives—at home, at work, in school, in various organizations—that the less admirable behaviors can distract from the work at hand. We spend more time complaining about what other people are doing or not doing than we spend doing the work that is ours to do.

Reflect today on the work that you do, whatever that might be. Ask yourself how focusing on that work can keep you from falling into the various snares that Pope Francis often talks about— gossip, backbiting, jealousy, despair. How can your work help you to further the way of God in the world? When you feel disillusioned, remind yourself that it’s all about the work. With Jesus, you can say, “The Father is at work and I work, too.”

— from the book The Hope of Lent: Daily Reflections from Pope Francis 

by Diane M. Houdek

//Franciscan Media//