Lectio Divina - prayer contemplating the “Work of Creation”

The first is thanks be to God for creating all things, beautiful and useful. Above is the clear blue sky, with playing clouds, surrounded by fresh and cool air. I took a deep breath to feel the fresh air entering my body; it turned the black blood to the red blood that brought life to the body. I thank God that He always generously provides an abundant source of oxygen, while many people are living in urban areas, hot and polluted environments. Especially the brothers and sisters infected with Covid are in need of oxygen, ventilators; they are struggling between life and death, while I have a wonderful sky. Have I stopped to thanks God for the life and breath I have?

Oh look! A gentle breeze brushed through the hair and gently played on the cheek. Thank you for the tenderness of God, He is caring and nurturing me. How warm the sun is today! The sunlight is full of energy. I am living under the clear sky, green trees, birds chirping/singing, "creation" is giving thanks to God, I am so happy, my heart is filled with gratitude, thanks God for the many blessings God has given me, because the sun has made all things and trees beautiful, shimmering, green, and colorful, making them shine with the unique and distinctive beauty of each species.

So beautiful! There were still tiny dew drops on the other grass; I felt the life of God present everywhere. In the tiny dewdrops, it is only a drop of water, it does not know how stunning it is, but God made it so, the more I look at it, the more magnificent I realize it. I see the vitality, the breath of God in every branch, blade of grass, in the creatures, they live to the fullest, without worries, they were born to live and fulfill their duties. Thanks God, because God never forgets a single "creation". What's more, man was created by God in His own image; God will certainly taking care of and nurture it. Many times, I myself do not have enough faith and love to trust God's loving providence, do not believe that God will take care of me, providing me with enough food, clothing, and peace, etc. On the contrary, I still worry about too many things.

In the distance, there is the song of birds, the buzzing of bees, the chirping of crickets, the sound of insects calling deep in the ground, everything seems to be in harmony in a beautiful chorus praising God. In reality, many times I do not realize it, because I am overwhelmed by the noise of construction works, traffic noise, and worries about my daily work.

The old trees are spreading their canopy to shade the children growing below; the peanut grass is interspersed with gotu kola, dandelion (I named it as a lonely flower) and many species of grass, other wild animals, etc. Each tree, each thing has been created by God with noble functions. Big trees give shade, gotu kola and dandelions make medicine, food, etc. Everything God created has its own use, only we don't know how to appreciate God's gift, killing so many species, so the nature lost its balance. That brings the consequences are epidemics, natural disasters, floods, etc. When humans destroy nature, nature will turn against humans. May God help us to appreciate and preserve what God has given us, and also to share our gifts with those less fortunate.

The more I admire God's creation, the more I find myself ignoring the beauty of nature, to the "Creator". Along with the attitude of enjoying God’s creature, there are time I see the exploiting, the abusing and owning the common resources of everyone. When everything is living as it is, in solidarity and mutual assistance, people only know how to save and enjoy for their selfish. May God have mercy on us and heal our iniquities.

Pope Francis invited us all to contemplate creation in his encyclical Laudato Si': " There is a mystical meaning to be found in a leaf, in a mountain trail, in a dewdrop, in a poor person’s face." (LS 233). May each person live their fully vocation, so that we may find God in our daily lives, in "creation", making the "common home" become one: the "healthy planet" to nurture "healthy people".

Recorder

Anna Tran Hang