Laudato Si

December 13.   Sister Mother Earth.     Canticle 7.    PRAISED BE YOU, my Lord, through our Sister Mother Earth who sustains and governs us, and who produces various fruit with coloured flowers and herbs.  …

December 12.  Brother Fire.    Canticle 6. PRAISED be YOU, my Lord through Brother Fire, through whom you light the night, and he is beautiful and playful and robust and strong.   While fire existed in nature the control of fire by early humans, from as early as a…

December 10.    Sister Water.     Canticle 5. PRAISED BE YOU, my Lord through Sister Water, who is very useful and humble and precious and chaste.   Water is absolutely essential for life throughout creation. Until…

December 9.     Brother Wind, air and pollution.   Canticle 4. PRAISED BE YOU, my Lord through Brother Wind, and through the air, cloudy and serene and every kind of weather, through whom You give sustenance to Your creatures. A guided…

December 8.  Francis in his final years, having already received the stigmata and already suffering severely with a sensitivity to light, which necessitated his living almost permanently in darkness, was inspired to compose the Canticle of the Creatures.  He…

December 7.  Creation. Francis was not the first to focus on and praise creation as he did in his Canticle of the Creatures. The Old Testament especially, contains numerous creation accounts and references, from within particular contexts and different…

December 5.    Incarnation – some new insights.  At the centre of the life of Francis is the Incarnate Crucified Lord of all creation, whom Francis called our “Elder Brother.” Francis had a great love for the infant Jesus. Although he was no…

December 4.   2nd Sunday of Advent B. Pope Francis’ call for Ecological Conversion.   It is really only in the last 50 years that we, as the human component of creation, have gradually become conscious of our negative impact and abuse of the…