Prayer with Nature
O LORD, our Lord, how awesome is your name through all the earth!
When I see your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and stars that you set in place,
What is man that you are mindful of him, and a son of man that you care for him?
Yet you have made him little less than the angels, crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him rule over the works of your hands, put all things at his feet.
(Psalm 8)
Dear friend, Beauty is the worship that nature gives to the Supreme Master of the Universe.
Beauty is the divine language in form. True beauty is discovered in wonder, being open and universal, just as it is. It is the best temple in which to contemplate God in His splendor and greatness.
I invite you to step into a natural setting; it could be a garden, a forest, the sea… and if you can’t, at least look at the sky, the clouds, the birds… a flower… and take some time to just observe, to simply perceive. Perception and contemplation are a more direct path to God than mental discourse.
Ask the Holy Spirit to help you pause, to immerse yourself in contemplating everything your eyes take in, so you can experience beauty and lift your heart toward God.
Get ready by doing a prayerful reading of this prayer:
How good it is to stop…!
Lord, I would like to slow down right now.
Why so much commotion?
Why so much frenzy?
I don’t know how to stop.
I’ve forgotten to pray.
Now I close my eyes and
I want to talk to You, Lord.
I wish to open up myself to your universe,
but my eyes cannot bear to stay closed.
I feel a frantic agitation
invade my entire body;
it comes and goes, a prisoner of haste.
Lord, I would like to stop right now.
Why such a hurry?
Why such unrest?
I cannot save the world.
I merely a drop of water
in the immense ocean
of your marvelous creation.
What is really important
Is to seek your presence.
What is really important
is to stop from time to time,
and to proclaim your Greatness,
your Beauty, your splendor
and your Love.
What is urgent is to listen to You
and to let You speak within me,
to live in the depth of things
and to make the time to constantly
look for You in the mystery.
My heart continues to beat,
but in a different way.
I am doing nothing, I am not hurrying,
I am simply before You, Lord.
And how good it is to be before You. Amen
Be Still E-40
Dear friend, right now I invite you to just perceive. Perception does not tire, thinking and doing do.
In contemplation, we don’t need to achieve anything. We are free from being effective. Even when praying, being effective is irrelevant.
In this moment, set aside your thoughts and considerations to dedicate yourself just to perceiving: Listen to that chirping of birds… Look at that blue sky or the one with clouds… watch how the clouds move… Observe the hustle of those ants… of that little bird that perches on the branch… contemplate the beauty of that flower… Feel the air on your face, in your hair… listen to the murmur of the water, the bark of a dog, the engine of a passing car… Observe and also notice the effects on yourself…
Also turn inward, and observe your feelings… the anxiety… the rush… the tedium… the boredom… Don’t be afraid, just observe it calmly and then return to focusing on nature… Don’t worry if you get distracted either. Very gently, resume the contemplation, without analyzing, without judging… Just perceiving…
Stay in this attitude as long as you can, knowing that you are also being lovingly watched by Father God.
And now, before returning to your active life, pray this Canticle to the Creatures; and as you recite it, continue also contemplating what your lips are naming:
Allow us to praise You, o God,
in all the worlds You have created.
Allow us to praise You,
in the depths
of the fire of the glistening stars.
Allow us to praise You, O God,
with the twittering,
noisy and multicolored birds
that delights our eyes and ears
Allow us to praise You, O God,
for nests in the trees,
where fledglings lift
their bare necks
to their mothers who bring them food.
Allow us to praise You, O God,
with mighty birds
that fly over the seas
and take wing towards
the ever-snow-capped glaciers.
Allow us to praise You, O God,
for the animals on the earth,
big and small, full of tenderness,
full of indomitable power,
Do not allow them to be exterminated,
let them live.
And may new generations arrive, in their turn,
to praise You.
Psalm of Creation (The Path-9)
Final Song: “Time to Praise God”
Now it’s time to praise God, in the presence of the Comforter.
Focus on Him, start singing, His powerful presence will come down.
Glory to God! Glory to God!
He dwells in the praise of His people; He delights in hearing our cry.
Focus on Him, start singing, His powerful presence will come down.
Glory to God! Glory to God!