Spiritual Gift of the Week
We pray for the grace to nurture the Kingdom within our hearts and to live by Jesus’ words that God’s will be done. As Pope Benedict XVI said, “Mary was the first person to take the “way” to enter the Kingdom of God that Christ opened, a way which is accessible to the humble, to all who trust in the word of God and endeavor to put it into practice.”
Spiritual Instruction of the Week
Give thanks for the beauty and blessing of creation! Pray the Psalms!
++++++++++++++++++++++
Dear Beautiful Daughters of Mary,
Wonder and awe is the starting point of joyful prayers of praise and thanksgiving to God!
We are grateful to Peggy Salisbury for her inspiring instruction on wonder and awe—praise and prayer. Read Peggy’s words here:
Three weeks ago my husband Charles and I took a trip to the Grand Canyon. Neither of us had ever seen it and we decided it was time to go. We arrived late in the evening when it was too dark to get a look that night, so we couldn’t wait for morning to arrive!
At the first sign of daylight, we hopped out of bed, dressed quickly, and headed out the door. Our hotel was right on the Southern rim of the Canyon. At first sight of the magnificence of this natural wonder I got an overwhelming feeling of being so tiny and insignificant, and I was filled with awe and wonder at the power of nature! I felt such an overwhelming gratefulness to God for creating such a beautiful world for us to enjoy. It was truly unbelievable and breathtaking to see. I got very teary eyed at how blessed I felt to have a God who is so mighty and powerful and who loves us so much! I just kept saying to myself, “Thank you, God. O Thank you, God.” I felt so lucky to be standing there and seeing such an amazing sight, a natural work of art that has been evolving for 70 million years. I kept thinking that only a loving, caring, beautiful and merciful God could create such an unbelievable world to share with his creatures. Are we not immeasurably blessed?
We walked miles around the rim, took a tour and kept taking more pictures because each new view seemed more beautiful than the one before it. I just kept repeating my praises of love, thankfulness, awe and adoration. On a clear night we walked outside and with the canyon area so very dark we could see millions of stars shining. The Milky Way was obvious. We tried picking out constellations. We sat and stared at the dark sky for at least an hour. I thought “How can one not see the hand of the Creator in this beautiful creation?” I really just wanted to shout for joy at the beauty of it all! My reactions to these sights were songs of praise that reminded me of the Psalms. I kept thinking of Mary’s Magnificat, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, My spirit rejoices in God my Saviour.”
Psalm 19 says “The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.”
We hear in Psalm 104:24 “O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.”
The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us “The world was made for the glory of God.” St. Bonaventure explained that God created all things ‘not to increase his glory, but to show it forth and to communicate it,’ for God has no other reason for creating than his love and goodness.” (CCC 293)
St. Francis of Assisi was so moved by the wonders of nature that he composed a beautiful poetic song entitled The Canticle of the Sun. In it he repeatedly says “Praise be You my Lord” addressing God’s creation of the earth, its animals, and the powerful forces it contains. St. Francis embraced the sun, moon, stars, water, fire, and wind – as intimate family, calling them Brother Sun, Sister Moon.
Pope Francis’ recent encyclical on the environment, Laudatio Si, which means “Praise be,” takes its name from the Canticle of the Sun. The Pope tells us in one of the passages that “Just as what happens when we fall in love with someone, whenever St. Francis would gaze at the sun, moon or the smallest of animals, he burst into song, drawing all other creatures into his praise. The Pope reminds us that we must all feel this way if we want to protect our environment.
Seeing God in the beauty of His creation has always been for me a stimulus to give praise, thanks and adoration. But, it doesn’t need to be something as grand as the Grand Canyon to recognize God’s handiwork. Like St. Francis, we can look around every day and see the beauty of a sunrise or sunset, a perfectly formed flower, the wonder of a little baby, or the majesty of a giant tree. These little moments can equally remind us of God’s infinite love.
When we feel the urge to sing to God in praise, the Psalms can give us the words. If you have never looked through The Book of Psalms, there are poetic songs fit for all sorts of situations: praise and thanksgiving, healing, trust, deliverance, penitence, mercy, and protection. They can be an excellent source for meditation by lectio divina.
Or when you feel moved, you can do like both St. Francis and I do and just make up your own psalms! I think God will definitely love it! (Submitted by Peggy Salisbury)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Please join me, during the month of November, as I pray for the grace to consciously embrace a life of fidelity to Christ. It is our desire to become more conscious of Christ’s faithfulness, Christ’s forgiveness and Christ’s mercy—that we may become more faithful, more forgiving, and more merciful to one another.
Preghiamo—Let us pray,
Deb
Author Info
