St. Francis and our Connection to the Earth
by Kevin McGrane,
Priest-in-Charge at Trinity Episcopal Church, St. James
and
Creation Care Ministry Chair
"So, why do we bless animals on the feast day of St. Francis?" you might ask. Lots of parishes did that over the weekend, but why? Well, we need to understand that Francis was more than a lover of animals. Francis re-animated an entire spirituality that had been buried under centuries of middle-ages scholasticism: a love for God's own created world.
Prior to Francis, Western spirituality was very cerebral, inward, and eschewed the tangible world, where we all actually live. Francis leap-frogged over an entire culture of "inwardness" and found God in the very world in which he lived - in the fields, streams, wildlife, even the people of central Italy, where he grew up and lived. He wrote about his perspective in his poem, "Canticle of Brother Sun", when he wrote in part...
"Praised be You my Lord through our Sister,
Mother Earth
who sustains and governs us,
producing varied fruits with coloured flowers and herbs.”
Many stories and legends are written about him preaching to the birds of the fields, taming a wild wolf call the Wolf of Gubbio, and many other encounters between Francis and God's nature. Prior to Francis, nature was humanity's enemy; in Franciscan theology, it is the manifestation of God's love for us.
So, when we blessed animals last weekend, we were continuing the sacred tradition of Francis and his sons and daughters by acknowledging our love and stewardship of God's world, and our love for our Creator who made us all. Creation Care Ministry continues in this spirituality, in its formation, conservation, and advocacy for the planet, our island home.
Visit our Creation Care Ministry web page to learn more and get resources.
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