A JPIC apostolate for Secular Franciscans, essential and unique to our order, is our ministry to our families. ... Our families are not just biological or relational connections. In Lumen Gentium, Family is described as “the domestic church” (LG, 11) because we share common beliefs, purpose, and life, in a family. “…[It] has been a treasure for the Church….
Remember the King in scripture who invited many guests to a wedding banquet for his son, but they would not come? (Matt: 22) The guests were “too busy, had to take care of business, or were away on a trip.” Remember all the excuses? Sound familiar? This occurs in families even now.
Francis never praises God’s works of creation; rather, he praises God the Creator per, or through, his works. When Francis looked at creation, he saw the Creator. Thomas of Celano emphasized this point: “In art he praises the Artist; whatever he discovers in creatures he guides to the Creator. He rejoices in all the works of the Lord's hands, and through their delightful display he gazes on their life-giving reason and cause.” (Second Life, Chapter 124, 165).
Francis used to say “At dawn, when the sun rises, everyone should praise God, who created it, because through it the eyes are lighted by day. And in the evening, when it becomes night, everyone should praise God for another creature, Brother Fire, because through it the eyes are lighted at night.” (Assisi Compilation #83)
You may be familiar with and donate to the H2O Project, the international project that helps promote Christian solidarity, advocacy and financial support for poor communities who have no access to clean drinking water.
We live in Hawaii, so the stanza on Brother Wind is particularly meaningful for us here. We are blessed to have the trade winds, which Hawaii is well-known for and which we experience very often in profound and beautiful ways.
In my life up to that point, I had not really internalized what appeared so obvious to St. Francis. When we gaze at the night sky and marvel at the self-evident hand of an amazing God, we are more than spectators. As we work in the name of Jesus, His co-eternal Son, to bring peace and justice and human dignity to this temporal world, we take our place in the great dance.
When I think about these events, I remember the amazing natural wonder of the eclipse and seeing the sun’s corona, but each one of these events was a time of human togetherness and shared experience. ... I think St. Francis would approve the idea of praising the glory of God’s creation with family, friends, and anyone else in the vicinity!
The first time I was introduced to the “Canticle of the Creatures,” I was easily captivated by its seemingly all-encompassing spirit of joy and praise of our good God. Without knowing Francis’ story well nor the context of this canticle’s writing, I imagined him frolicking through a vast field of flowers on a bright summer’s day, without a care in the world. Yes, a moment when the true blessings of the Lord can be so obvious, even to the most tepid of believers. What was this setting of inspiration? What treasure could so captivate St. Francis?
A common statement that we have all probably heard is, “The United States is a melting pot.” But that doesn’t really seem right if you think of what a melting pot does and what its contents looks like. A melting pot melts down everything in it into one single entity. I picture a glutinous unicolored mass. Not an attractive site at all.