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Day 4

Psalm 148:7-13

Praise the Lord from the earth,

sea creatures and all oceans,

fire and hail, snow and mist,

stormy winds that obey his word;

all mountains and hills,

all fruit trees and cedars,

beasts, wild and tame,

reptiles and birds on the wing;

all earth’s kings and peoples,

earth’s princes and rulers,

young men and maidens,

the old men together with children.

Let them praise the name of the Lord

for he alone is exalted.

The splendor of his name

reaches beyond heaven and earth.

Richer Berry (Jessica Powers)

Now that the bright red berries lend

Color to the June berry tree

My need is urgent to befriend

Denial and austerity.

I touch the fruit with lips of wish

And with the fingers of soft words,

And leave them, a delicious dish

In taste and substance to the birds.

From break of bloom till tide of frost

Summer has feasts on every hand

Spread with no evidence of cost

For any pilgrims to demand.

Yet I can see through wisdom's eyes

How when the first harsh cold begins,

She takes all fruit and merchandise

Save what is stored in memory's bins.

No husk, no shell after the rich

Full fruit shall dull my later day.

I shall take hunger first, on which

The spirit thrives best, anyway.

Musical Selection (Kathleen Deignan)

The bird is in the air
The fish is in the water
The worm is in the earth
The moth is in the fire.

All things breathing
All things seething
All things teething
All things a’grieving

The fish is in the air
The worm is in the water
The moth is in the earth
The bird is in the fire.

All things flying
All things crying
All things sighing
All things a’dying

The worm is in the air
The moth is in the water
The bird is in the earth
The fish is in the fire.

All things gliding
All things guiding
All things hiding
All things abiding.

The moth is in the air
The bird is in the water
The fish is in the earth
The worm is in the fire.

All things finning
All things singing
All things winging
All things digging.

The worm is in the fish
The air is in the water
The moth is in the bird
The earth is in the fire.

All things tweeting
All things bleating
All things eating
All things a’fleeting.

The bird is in the fish
The earth is in the water
The worm is in the moth
The air is in the fire.

All things mooing
All things chewing
All things cooing
All things a’stewing

The air is in the earth
The worm is in bird, and
The moth is in the fish
The water’s in the fire.

All things leaping
All things creeping
All things sleeping
All things a’weeping

Meditation

In order to ridicule those who speak of global warming, it is pointed out that intermittent periods of extreme cold regularly occur. One fails to mention that this and other extraordinary symptoms are nothing but diverse alternative expressions of the same cause: the global imbalance that is provoking the warming of the planet. Droughts and floods, the dried-up lakes, communities swept away by seaquakes and flooding ultimately have the same origin. At the same time, if we speak of a global phenomenon, we cannot confuse this with sporadic events explained in good part by local factors.

Lack of information leads to confusion between large-scale climate projections that involve long periods of time – we are talking about decades at least – with weather forecasts that at most can cover a few weeks. When we speak of climate change, we are referring to a global reality – and constant local variations – that persists for several decades. (LD 7-8)

Prayer

O Great Spirit, Whose voice I hear in the winds,
and whose breath gives life to all the world,
hear me, I come before you, one of your children.
I am small and weak. I need your strength and wisdom.
Let me walk in beauty and make my eyes
ever behold the red and purple sunset.
Make my hands respect the things you have made,
my ears sharp to hear your voice.
Make me wise so that I may know the things you
have taught my people,
the lesson you have hidden in every leaf and rock.
I seek strength not to be superior to my brothers,
but to be able to fight my greatest enemy, myself.
Make me ever ready to come to you with clean hands and straight eyes,
so when life fades as a fading sunset,
my spirit may come to you without shame.

— Chief Yellow Hawk

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