St.
Francis Day
“Praised
by you, my Lord, through Sister Mother Earth, who sustains us and governs us
and who produces varied fruits with colored flowers and herbs.
Blessed
are those who endure in peace for by You, most High, they shall be crowned.”
St.
Francis of Assisi (from song of praise to Brother Sun and Sister Moon)
October
4th (yesterday) is the day St. Francis is celebrated in the Catholic
church. I will never forget watching Brother Sun, Sister Moon, the 1972 film by
Franco Zeffirelli. The story was wonderful, but the lighting was magnificent.
The entire film was cast in a golden light that made all the characters glow.
It was beautiful. Who knows what the man, Francis, was truly like, but I love
the version of him with little animals all around and a bird on his shoulder.
In
Francis’ time, the world was a simpler place, agrarian and unspoiled, and what
could be more gorgeous than the hills of Italy as a setting for a beautiful
life. We live in a post-industrial era when few of us have access to the
natural beauty of planet earth. Even more reason to create as much green space as
we can, and preserve our wilderness for future generations.
There
are modern day St. Francises, who rescue lost animals off our highways and city
streets, and who make forays after wildfires to rescue animals. Here in
Alabama, volunteer wildlife-rescue teams hit the beaches after oil spills to
de-grease birds and waterfowl. Who can possibly forget the photos of the great
koala rescue in Australia during last year’s fires? All of us wanted to cuddle
those frightened animals. One of my treasured memories is watching the wild
horses of Ocracoke Island swimming across the intercoastal waterway ahead of a
hurricane? What a gift we have in our diverse wildlife, and how important it is
to protect and preserve what is left of it.
We can
honor St. Francis today by changing our relationship to the earth. We cannot go
back to pre-industrial times, but we can take care of our little piece of
ground and the wild birds and animals that live among us. I don’t know any
better way to do this than to get outside and get to know your neighborhood. It
may sound silly but talk to the creatures and the trees and the earth. Thank
them for their presence and the gift they are to your life. The more we come to
understand ourselves as brother and sister to the sun and the moon and stewards of all our wild relations, the more likely we are to take care of them. That is
what St. Francis came to teach us.
In
the Spirit,
Jane
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