Deacon Tom Writes,
Cosmic Perspective
The first reading today is taken
from the Book of Wisdom. If you have an opportunity, treat yourself to some quiet
time. Take a few minutes to reread this passage (Wis11:22 – 12:2). If you have
seen any of the pictures from the Hubble telescope, you may realize the
challenge this reading presents us, visualizing the “whole universe as a grain from a balance or a drop of morning dew
before the Lord”. This insightful passage from the Old Testament helps open
our minds up to the immensity of the universe and of creation. A creation that gives
witness to the magnitude of God’s love for everything he has fashioned.
Astrophysicists now realize that
the universe is still expanding, is still being formed. Yet, as we read today,
it appears to God as but a small grain. More amazing still is that it is God’s very
gift to us. It is in our small part of the universe, mother earth, where we
come to know and experience the awesome wonder of God’s love for us who are the
masterpiece of his creation. The sacred writer tells us that God sustains
everything he has fashioned, all that he has brought into being; everything
that God willed to exist; otherwise, he would not have brought it into being.
It is truly amazing that the Creator
of all that is has so much love for his creation that he allows us to be co-Creators
with him. With that privilege comes the responsibility of being good stewards
of all that “the lover of soul” has brought
into being. Our Creator calls us to be good stewards of the environment and all
that it entails. Pope Francis affirms our need to be faithful stewards of the
environment in his Encyclical, Laudato Si,
calling us to, “a new dialogue about how we are shaping the future of our
planet. In addition to caring for the world around us, God also calls us to be
good stewards of his justice and peace, so that all can share equally in the
bounty of the earth’s abundance. He calls us to be good stewards of his
forgiveness so that wickedness may not occupy any space in our hearts. And, he calls
us to be good stewards of his love so that his Spirit can move among his
children and keep the fire of his love burning brightly.
Teilhard De Chardin, the visionary
French Jesuit, paleontologist, biologist, and philosopher had this to say in
regard to our use of God’s gifts: “Someday,
after mastering the winds, the waves, the tides and gravity, we shall harness
for God the energies of love, and then, for a second time in the history of the
world, man will have discovered fire”.
The next time you look at the sunset or the dark winter sky, be assured of God's presence and know that he created all this to remind us how great his love for us all.
The next time you look at the sunset or the dark winter sky, be assured of God's presence and know that he created all this to remind us how great his love for us all.
Enjoy the day!
Deacon Tom