Fed with the speech the wind makes
In the grand belfries of the sleepless timber.
He understands the lasting strife of tears,
And the way the world is strung;
He waits to warn all life with the tongue of March's
bugle,
Of the coming of the warrior sun.
When spring has garrisoned up her army of water,
A million grasses leave their tents, and stand in rows
To see their invincible brother.
Mending the winter's ruins with their laughter,
The flowers go out to their undestructive wars.
Walk in the woods and be witnesses,
You, the best of these poor children.
When Gabriel hit the bright shore of the world,
Yours were the eyes saw some
Star-sandalled stranger walk like lightning down the
air,
The morning the Mother of God
Loved and dreaded the message of an angel.
Musical Selection (Hildegard of Bingen)
O vos angeli,
qui custoditis populos,
quorum forma fulget in facie vestra,
et o vos Archangeli,
qui suscipitis animas iustorum,
et vos, Virtutues, Potestates,
Principatus, Dominationes et Throni,
qui estis computati
in quintum secretum numerum,
et o vos, Cherubin et Seraphin,
sigillum secretorum Dei,
sit laus vobis,
qui loculum antiqui cordis in fonte aspicitis.
Videtis enim interiorem vim Patris,
que de corde illius spirat
quasi facies.
Sit laus vobis …
O angels
who guard the peoples,
your beauty shining in your countenance;
and O Archangels
who receive the souls of the just,
and you as well, O Virtues, Powers,
Principalities, Dominations, and Thrones,
who are counted towards
the fifth secret number;
and you, O Cherubim and Seraphim,
seal of the secret things of God:
Praise to you,
who behold in the fountain the strongbox of the
ancient heart.
For you see the inward force of the Father,
which breathes from his heart
like a face.
Praise to you …
Meditation
At the same time, “the universe as a whole, in all its manifold relationships, shows forth the inexhaustible richness of God”. Hence, to be wise, “we need to grasp the variety of things in their multiple relationships”. Along this path of wisdom, it is not a matter of indifference to us that so many species are disappearing and that the climate crisis endangers the life of many other beings.
Jesus “was able to invite others to be attentive to the beauty that there is in the world because he himself was in constant touch with nature, lending it an attraction full of fondness and wonder. As he made his way throughout the land, he often stopped to contemplate the beauty sown by his Father, and invited his disciples to perceive a divine message in things”.(LD 63-64)
Prayer