Today, October 4, we observe the Feast of St. Francis. This is also the last Sunday in the season of Creation Care we have been celebrating this past month, and it’s not a coincidence that these two are linked.
He saw the natural world and all its creatures as sacred gifts from God to be loved and cherished.
Francis devoted his life to living in harmony with the Created Order. He saw the natural world and all its creatures as sacred gifts from God to be loved and cherished, and he felt an intimate kinship with all parts of the natural world, even referring to Brother Sun and Sister Moon.
Francis’ reverence for nature inspired him to preach to his “little sisters,” the birds, reminding them of God’s gift of the freedom to fly, the trees to nest in, the mountains and valleys to forage in for food, and the brooks to drink from.
Francis invited his “little sisters” to praise God in gratitude for these wondrous gifts. He wrote:
Your creator loves you much,
since he has bestowed on you so many benefits.
And therefore beware, my little sisters,
of the sin of ingratitude, and study always to please God.
Francis’ voice for the importance of showing gratitude for God’s creation can be heard 800 years later in the writings of Robin Wall Kimmerer, a popular contemporary author on Creation Care, whose book, The Serviceberry, we read during this season.
She reaffirms this responsibility to show our joy to God in thanks for the precious gift of nature. Like Francis’ sermon to our little sisters, the birds, she urges acts of “sharing, respect, reciprocity [to give back], and gratitude” in response to receiving this gift of God’s love.
May Francis be our inspiration to reverence and respect all of God’s Creation, remembering that we are but one part of what Francis called the Great Chain of Being.
Painting: St Francis of Assisi by Peter Winfried (Canisius) Koenig
