Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name....
Glory be to God for dappled things –
For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;
For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;
Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches’ wings;
Landscape plotted and pieced – fold, fallow, and plough;
And áll trádes, their gear and tackle and trim.
All things counter, original, spare, strange;
Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?)
With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim;
He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change:
Praise him. (Gerard Manley Hopkins 1844–1889)
With the end of February and the first week of Lent we can begin to think about Spring, and "skies of couple-colour like a brinded cow," and the Father whom we praise.
Often, in our distracted neediness, we forget our first calling: we should praise God. But even when we're not especially needy, when things are moving along pretty well and the skies are clear of trouble, we're distracted and forget to praise him.
Praising God is the privilege of the wise. Well instructed in the truth, guided by impulses of the Holy Spirit, inspired by Jesus, Mary, the saints, and martyrs, exhilarated by revelations of the world around us -- all things counter, original, spare, strange -- how can we keep from singing?
Our prayer begins with Our Father: his presence, perfection, beauty, goodness, and authority which is both reassuring and absolute.
Saint Charles de Foucauld -- canonized by Pope Francis in 2022, feast day, December 1 -- recalling his journey from atheism to faith, said, "When I knew there is a God, I knew I must worship him."
God is more than a subject of skeptical speculation; he is not the One people speak of when they declare there is a god. If they do not believe in God; that is, if they're not willing to love the Lord with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength, they are not speaking of our God.
Our God is the One who exists necessarily, whereas we exist by the merciful will of God. We don't have to be. And it seems at times the planet might be better without us. But we are here by God's willing it, and Blessed be He!
When we consider the wonder of our being -- with all our trades, their gear and tackle and trim -- and our being molded in the image and likeness of God with infinite capacity for love, generosity, courage, creativity, and forgiveness -- we must praise him again.
What is man that you are mindful of him,
and a son of man that you care for him?
Yet you have made him little less than a god,
crowned him with glory and honor.
You have given him rule over the works of your hands,
put all things at his feet:
All sheep and oxen,
even the beasts of the field,
The birds of the air, the fish of the sea,
and whatever swims the paths of the seas.
O LORD, our Lord,
how awesome is your name through all the earth! (Psalm 8)
The Lord's prayer, among its many features, describes the wonder of my being, for we exist to praise God even as we ask forgiveness of our sins, a merciful heart, and daily bread.
We know we live at God's behest, "When you hide your face, they panic. Take away their breath, they perish and return to the dust." (Psalm 104: 29)
As the Spring renews the face of the earth, we return to the Lord's Prayer with gratitude and wonder, ready to follow him to Jerusalem, the Cenacle, Calvary, and Easter.
No comments:
Post a Comment
I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.