On Universal Harmony
From
the lovely simplicity of a flower in bloom,
To the beautiful grandeur of a waterfall,
The whole of nature is radiantly filled
With
glory, and that glory is of God.
For
the Creator in the production of creation,
Established a means to proclaim Himself,
And gave to all that is within creation,
Goodness and beauty which He unites to Himself.
Creation
is a manifestation of God:
It portrays the eternal contents,
Of His sublime and simple Mind,
Which are all united in Himself.
All
of creation shines with greatness,
Indwelling within it is a share of the divine,
From which all of creation shares,
And from which it gains its inherent existence.
Through
the tragedy of the universal fall,
That which was perfectly one was shattered,
And the links which underline all of creation,
Have been wounded and need to be healed.
The
Creator, Who saw the goodness of creation,
Did not desire it to be abolished,
Rather He desired it to be mended,
And restored to full unity with Himself.
From
all of creation, man as been chosen,
To become the vessel of restoration:
And so man is first restored to God,
In the mysterious hypostatic union of the Godman.
As
God has found the way to mediate with man,
So man now must find a way to be a mediator.
As God joins man with Himself,
So man must unite Himself with all of creation.
The
Incarnate One raises man above himself,
Man, who was established lower than angels,
Finds himself able to rise in the ranks,
And to be second to the Godman Himself.
Mary,
the Mother of the Godman,
Has in Her simple purity,
Shown us the height of man,
Being second to none in heaven.
If
man can be raised higher than angels,
Who can wonder if irrational beasts can be made,
Higher than what man is in his birth,
Through the same deifying grace given to man?
This
grace is given to man to distribute as mediator.
The one raised in God should not be greedy,
But rather he will seek,
To bring all of creation into common brotherhood.
God
has given us His glorious Saints,
As messengers of the newly established kingdom.
Their message is to man and beast alike,
Each are welcome in the kingdom of God.
The
Saints show this to us,
Through their life and deeds,
Who can forget the friendship they give,
To all life found throughout the earth?
Lions
are found to be the friend,
Of the man of God: Daniel
Is found to be in harmony with the beasts,
And the hermit Paul is given them as his funeral attendants.
Heretics
rejected St. Anthony of Padua,
And so he found fish to be his friends.
Can they be forsaken by God,
If they loved those He Himself loved?
Sheep
and wolves, fish and rabbits,
All found themselves in the heart,
Of their brother Francis,
Will Francis lose his brethren for eternity?
Why
would the representation of the Church,
The blessed ark of Noah,
Be a microcosm of the earth,
If those found within are unable to be saved?
We
must not even forget that the Saints,
Found glory in animals, and even in plants.
It is said that St. Francis, and even Mary,
Were given glory by these simple life forms.
Why
would this harmony found within creation,
Established by the Saints of God,
Be only temporal -- it would be a rejection of God,
To reject those who have any image of Him within.
All
creatures partake of existence from their creator,
Each have their image of God,
One more glorious than the next,
But yet, as it is an image, should it be destroyed?
Nay,
the Saints show us our brothers are looking,
Even when man is not,
For the glory God has given all of creation,
Through the blessings of the Incarnation.
Scripture
indicates all of creation,
Moaned for the glory of God.
They have a share in the promises of Christ,
For Christ is one with all of creation.
It
would be the sin of dualism,
To reject living creatures made by God.
It would be a rejection of the glory of life,
To say that most of life is damned to eternal death.
Shall
we deny the glory of God,
Or shall we find ourselves singing with St. Francis
The glories of Brother Sun and Sister Moon?
Let us join with our brothers before it is too late.
As
stewards of God, and mediators of restoration,
As a priestly people of the Lord,
Let us use our priestly gifts of grace,
To benefit all the little ones of God.