by Sister Rose Jochmann
Sunday, Oct. 4, is a special day for us Franciscans. It is the Feast of our community's patron, St. Francis of Assisi. Appropriately, this Sunday's first reading is from the Book of Genesis which states, "the Lord God formed out of the ground various wild animals and various birds of the air ..." St. Francis had a great love and care for all creation. He saw creation as God's gift to us.
Our Holy Father, Pope Francis, recognizes St. Francis' love and care for creation in his recent encyclical letter, Laudato Si. The first line of this letter is "Praise to you, my Lord" which is taken from St. Francis' Canticle of Creatures. Pope Francis dedicates a section of chapter 1 to St. Francis of Assisi. He states, "Saint Francis, faithful to Scripture, invites us to see nature as a magnificent book in which God speaks to us and grants us a glimpse of his infinite beauty and goodness." In his letter, Pope Francis challenges us in many ways including saving natural resources, evaluating whether we are compulsive consumers, and learning how climate change affects the poor.
Nice reflection.
Good connections made with the readings and Pope Francis. Thought-provoking questions. Thanks.
A great way to connect Genesis with the encyclical.
This summer I bought a statue of St Francis for my patio. Three men in my life have the name Francis. My husband, father-in-law and my son. They all love nature and walks in the woods! My husband passed away last December, so the statue is special to me! "Bobbie"