Tag: Creator

The Earth Is Full of Your Creatures

I recently heard the testimony of a young woman who had grown up without any religious upbringing. She had no faith, since she had never come into contact with people of faith. One day, however, she took a short trip through Austria. She said, “When I saw the Alps—that mountain range—I knew—all of a sudden—very clearly: God exists!” From that moment on, she discovered the Christian faith and began to live it out. This story reminded me of my father, who always used to say, “And if you don’t believe in God—just look at nature; that’s the proof of God.” Sure, we know how nature came into being—namely, through an evolutionary process. But the question “Why at all?” remains unanswered by science. The young woman was able to recognize the Creator in one of His most beautiful creations: the mountains.

Yesterday morning we prayed Psalm 104, the famous long psalm that praises creation. For the first time, I noticed the verse, “The earth is full of your creatures.” I don’t know about you, but until now, whenever I thought of creation, I thought of individual creatures—especially human beings. Every man and every woman is created and formed by God. That is where their dignity and beauty lie. So, in my mind, the concept of creation referred to individual people: When I thought about the fact that he or she was created by God, it inspired respect in me and, if possible, love for that person. The same applies to nature: When I saw a beautiful flower, when I saw a fascinating animal—it pointed me to God, and I was filled with respect and awe.

But when I read, “The earth is full of your creatures,” I was able, so to speak, to contemplate all creatures together at once: they all come from God. I looked across to the other side of our monastic choir: it was overwhelming. God did not just create this or that person; no, he created them all—the whole world is full of his creatures. In this sense: God is present everywhere. How could anyone even overlook him? Everything belongs to him. Every little thing points to him, and all things together point to him even more clearly. He created this and that and everything together. His “signature” can be recognized everywhere. How much imagination and creativity, how much power and ingenuity, how much love! How could we overlook him?

Praise be to you, O Lord, for your love for us. We do not belong to ourselves. We belong to you. Let us enjoy your creation, treat it with care, nurture and protect it where necessary, honor it, and give thanks for it. You are great and wonderful. Amen

Instagram vs Deep Beauty

I recently distributed Holy Communion during Mass in a small town. As in many places in Europe, most of the faithful are quite old. It is always touching for me to see the hands that are stretched out to receive the Lord, hands that have been worked through and worked off. The faces too – in many of them you can see – or at least guess – the traces that life has left on people, you can see the traces of much suffering. And they all come to find relief and healing and comfort and the companionship of Christ.

When I saw the faces of the faithful, the Instagram network came into my mind, and I thought that none of them would meet its standards. When you look around the social networks, you realize how much beauty there is. Many people, most of them young or at least not old, show themselves in all their natural beauty. Some of them use a little help to beautify their faces and bodies. Some really remind me of Greek statues, so much beauty can be seen – as invented by our Creator.

But worn-out ones you can hardly find on Instagram. The ones who want to hide. Those who don’t find themselves beautiful. Those who don’t have time to show themselves or simply don’t think it’s necessary. Many feel too old. But I thought: these here, in the church, are indeed the beautiful ones. There is a beauty in them that is extraordinary, that comes from real moments in life, that shows their authentic face (why and what should one hide from Christ?). There was a beauty that comes from within, that comes from the true self, that comes from love for God, that comes from the courage to show ourselves as we are, not to show off or make up or correct or compensate. Everyone is beautiful — if only we look for that beauty. It is there. God sees it. Jesus sees it. We can learn to see it. It’s a beauty that goes deeper than Instagram. It is perhaps … permagram …

Lord, thank you for all the beauty you have created. I thank you that I can come to you even with my unattractive sides. And I thank you for my brothers and sisters, from whom I have nothing to hide. Thank you for seeing the beauty in everyone.