Creationtide

Opening Prayer

Creator God,. Heavenly Father,

You have taught us, through your servant St Francis,

That all creation is your handiwork.

Grant us your grace that we may

Exercise wise stewardship of this Earth;

Tread lightly upon it;

And cherish its resources;

That our children may enjoy its riches, throughout all generations,

And your name be glorified through all that you have made.

Amen. Rt Revd David Walker Bishop of Manchester

Reflections

Today as we are in the season of Creationtide we are looking at God’s creation with a view to our care and respect of it. Genesis tells us that we are to care for the world and all its creatures, but do we? We have all witnessed the unbearable heat this summer and horrific wildfires across Europe -are we really taking care of God’s creation?  Judy will be covering this aspect more deeply at a Quite Spaces she is preparing for a couple of months’ time.

Tara Brach brings an interesting perspective. She cites the rapid rise of humans to the top of the food chain as a factor; thus the rest of the ecosystem had less time to adapt to our dominance and find strategies. There was a balance that prevented too much of a wreaking of havoc from those on top. An interesting thought.

I believe there is no better person that St Francis of Assisi to demonstrate care for creation so I will be focussing quite a bit on his writings. I happen to also feel a real affirmation and connection with him.  However are these stories true or are they myth? We don’t know. However, I don’t believe it matters – as all myths convey a truthful message.

St Francis His radical reverence for the natural world—viewing nature not as a resource to be exploited, but as a sister and a fellow worshiper of God—has made him the patron saint of ecologists.  We will read you some exerts from the wisdom literature book ‘Chasing Francis’

One day as Francis was walking with a group of friars, he saw a huge flock of crows and doves at the base of a big holm oak. When he ran down to greet them, none of them flew away; they could tell Francis was different from other people. So he gathered them all together and began to preach to them.”

“My brother birds, make a point of always praising the Creator. He clothed you in feathers and gave you wings to fly in the kingdom of the air. Remember that no matter what happens, he will provide for you, even though you don’t know how to sow or reap. So worry for nothing, and rejoice in the One who made you.”

Cron, Ian Morgan. Chasing Francis: A Pilgrim’s Tale (p. 80). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

“The birds stretched out their necks, flapped their wings with delight, and refused to leave until he’d made the sign of the cross over each of them. After the birds had listened so reverently to the word of God, he began to accuse himself of negligence because he had not preached to them before. From that day on, he carefully exhorted all birds, all animals, all reptiles, and also insensible creatures, to love the Creator, because daily, invoking the name of the Savior, he observed their obedience in his own experience.

 “Jesus instructed the disciples to ‘go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.’ Francis took those words literally. Francis knew it wasn’t just people who were waiting in anticipation for creation to be liberated from sin, but the entire Great Chain of Being as well…. We think we’re the centre of the universe, and that God is only interested in saving individual souls rather than all of creation.

Cron, Ian Morgan. Chasing Francis: A Pilgrim’s Tale (p. 81). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

Francis was more than just a nature mystic. It can be argued that he was the first environmental activist. Adrian House writes about Francis’s intervening with political authorities and serving as an advocate for God’s creatures: “He once said, ‘If I ever talk to the emperor I will implore him, for the love of God, to decree that no one should trap or in any way harm our sisters the larks. Likewise, the lord of every town and village, and every podestà, should see that all their people scatter the road with grains for the birds on Christmas Day’ ” (Adrian House, Francis of Assisi: A Revolutionary Life, 250).

Cron, Ian Morgan. Chasing Francis: A Pilgrim’s Tale (p. 224). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

A boy of the town of Siena caught a number of turtle doves in a snare, and he was carrying them all alive to the market to sell them. But St. Francis, who was always very kind and wonderfully compassionate, especially toward gentle animals and little birds, was stirred by love and pity on seeing the doves. And he said to the boy who was carrying the doves: “Good boy, please give me those doves so that such innocent birds, which in Holy Scripture are symbols of pure, humble, and faithful souls, will not fall into the hands of cruel men who will kill them.”

The boy was then inspired by God to give all the doves to St. Francis. When the kind Father had gathered them to his bosom, he began to talk to them in a very gentle way, saying: “My simple, chaste, and innocent Sister Doves, why did you let yourselves be caught? I want to rescue you from death and make nests for you where you can lay your eggs and fulfill the Creator’s commandment to multiply.” And St. Francis took them with him and made a nest for all of them. (RAPHAEL BROWN, The Little Flowers of St. Francis, p. 91)

Cron, Ian Morgan. Chasing Francis: A Pilgrim’s Tale (p. 225). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

The Wolf of Gubbio refers to a legendary ferocious, starving wolf featured in a 13th-century Franciscan hagiographic tale, where it terrorized the Italian town of Gubbio by attacking livestock and people until it was miraculously tamed by St. Francis of Assisi through a pact of peace.

According to the account in The Little Flowers of St. Francis compiled in the early 14th century, the wolf, driven by hunger, had instilled such fear that residents rarely ventured outside the city walls, arming themselves futilely against its assaults. Moved by compassion, St. Francis ventured alone to confront the wolf, invoking Christ's name and addressing it as "Brother Wolf" to halt its charge; The wolf then submitted meekly, allowing Francis to negotiate: in exchange for the townspeople providing it daily food, the wolf would cease all harm to humans and animals. Francis led the pacified wolf back to Gubbio, where he preached to the gathered people on repentance, and secured the community's promise to honour the pact.

The wolf reportedly lived peacefully in Gubbio for two more years, wandering harmlessly among the people who fed it without fear, and was mourned upon its natural death as a symbol of Francis's sanctity. Though no contemporary records from Francis's era confirm the incident, the legend—rooted in oral traditions—first appeared in writing over a century after his death and endures as a cornerstone of Franciscan spirituality, illustrating themes of harmony with nature, non-violence, and divine mercy

https://grokipedia.com/page/the_wolf_of_gubbio (adapted slightly)

Psychologist and spiritual writer Tara Brach retells a story by writer Fran Peavey about a captive female chimpanzee in Thailand. Fran Peavey was visiting a marketplace in Thailand where chimpanzees were being used for entertainment. A crowd had gathered to watch a performance, and among the animals was a female chimpanzee who had spent years being abused and held captive by chains. During the event, the female chimpanzee suddenly yanked her chain out of a male chimpanzee's grasp. Instead of lashing out at the crowd, she walked directly through the onlookers, straight over to Fran, and took her hand. The chimpanzee then led Fran across the circle to the only other two women in the crowd, took one of their hands, and joined them all together. The three women and the chimpanzee stood together in a physical circle of solidarity.

Tara Brach uses this story to recognise our shared vulnerability. She states that even though the chimpanzee was chained, abused, and separated by millions of years of evolution, she recognised a shared sense of safety, gender, and vulnerability in the human women. She reached across the divide to form her own support group.

This reminds us that humans often default to a mindset that separates us from each other—and from nature. The chained ape's ability to reach out teaches us that true freedom comes from a courageous presence that connects us to all living things.

This Franciscan legacy is actively studied and cited in modern ecological theology, including Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato Si'. Pope Francis stated in the Laudate Si:

1. “LAUDATO SI’, mi’ Signore” – “Praise be to you, my Lord”. In the words of this beautiful canticle, Saint Francis of Assisi reminds us that our common home is like a sister with whom we share our life and a beautiful mother who opens her arms to embrace us. “Praise be to you, my Lord, through our Sister, Mother Earth, who sustains and governs us, and who produces various fruit with coloured flowers and herbs”.[1]

2. This sister now cries out to us because of the harm we have inflicted on her by our irresponsible use and abuse of the goods with which God has endowed her. We have come to see ourselves as her lords and masters, entitled to plunder her at will. The violence present in our hearts, wounded by sin, is also reflected in the symptoms of sickness evident in the soil, in the water, in the air and in all forms of life. This is why the earth herself, burdened and laid waste, is among the most abandoned and maltreated of our poor; she “groans in travail” (Rom 8:22). We have forgotten that we ourselves are dust of the earth (cf. Gen 2:7); our very bodies are made up of her elements, we breathe her air and we receive life and refreshment from her waters.

12. What is more, Saint Francis, faithful to Scripture, invites us to see nature as a magnificent book in which God speaks to us and grants us a glimpse of his infinite beauty and goodness. “Through the greatness and the beauty of creatures one comes to know by analogy their maker” (Wis 13:5); indeed, “his eternal power and divinity have been made known through his works since the creation of the world” (Rom 1:20). For this reason, Francis asked that part of the friary garden always be left untouched, so that wild flowers and herbs could grow there, and those who saw them could raise their minds to God, the Creator of such beauty.[21] Rather than a problem to be solved, the world is a joyful mystery to be contemplated with gladness and praise.

LAUDATO Si, https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si.html accessed 2 July 2026

We will now read some poetry and prayers.

Earth Teach Me to Remember    Earth teach me stillness    as the grasses are stilled with light.    Earth teach me suffering    as old stones suffer with memory.    Earth teach me humility    as blossoms are humble with beginning.    Earth Teach me caring    as the mother who secures her young.    Earth teach me courage    as the tree which stands alone.    Earth teach me limitation

as the ant which crawls on the ground.    Earth teach me freedom    as the eagle which soars in the sky.    Earth teach me resignation    as the leaves which die in the fall.    Earth teach me regeneration    as the seed which rises in the spring.    Earth teach me to forget myself    as melted snow forgets its life.    Earth teach me to remember kindness    as dry fields weep in the rain.    Ute, North America

Prayer For Nature

Grant me the ability to be alone;

may it be my custom to go outdoors each day

among the trees and grass - among all growing things

and there may I be alone, and enter into prayer,

to talk with the One to whom I belong.

May I express there everything in my heart,

and may all the foliage of the field -

all grasses, trees, and plants -

awake at my coming,

to send the powers of their life into the words of my prayer

so that my prayer and speech are made whole

through the life and spirit of all growing things,

which are made as one by their transcendent Source.

May I then pour out the words of my heart

before your Presence like water, O L-rd,

and lift up my hands to You in worship,

on my behalf, and that of my children!

Rabbi Nachman of Bratzlav

Introduction to Silence

Blessing

Apache Blessing

May the sun bring you new energy by day,

May the moon softly restore you by night,

May the rain wash away your worries,

May the breeze blow new strength into your being,

May you walk gently through the world and know its beauty all the days of your life.

Thoughts to Ponder

The poet John O’Donohue writes about the beauty of the world and profoundly states  ‘When beauty becomes an acquisition it brings no delight’

John O’Donohue states:  ‘The traditional structures of shelter are shaking, their foundations revealed to be no longer stone but sand …. now might be the time to invoke and awaken beauty …there is nowhere else to turn and we are desperate.’ O'Donohue, John. Divine Beauty

This is my Father’s world, and to my listening ears

All nature sings, and ‘round me rings the music of the spheres.

This is my Father’s world: I rest me in the thought

Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas;

His hand the wonders wrought.

This is my Father’s world, the birds their carols raise,

The morning light, the lily white, declare their Maker’s praise.

This is my Father’s world:  He shines in all that’s fair;

In the rustling grass I hear Him pass, He speaks to me everywhere.

Cron, Ian Morgan. Chasing Francis: A Pilgrim’s Tale (p. 85). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

Genesis 2:15: "The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it."

Psalm 24:1: "The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it."

Job 12:7-8: "But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you."

Genesis 2:15  The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.

The Canticle of the Creatures by St. Francis of Assisi

Most High, all-powerful, good Lord, yours is the praise, the glory and the honor and every blessing. To you alone, Most High, do they belong, and no one is worthy to speak your name. Praised be you, my Lord with all your creatures, especially Sir Brother Sun, who is the day through whom you bring us light. And he is lovely, shining with great splendor, for he heralds you, Most High. Praised be you, my Lord, through Sister Moon and Stars. In heaven you have formed them, lightsome and precious and fair.

And praised be you, my Lord, through Brother Wind, through air and cloud, through calm and every weather by which you sustain your creatures. Praised be you, my Lord, through Sister Water, so very useful and humble, precious and chaste. Praised be you, my Lord through Brother Fire, by whom you light up the night, and he is handsome and merry, robust and strong. Praised be you, my Lord, through our Sister, Mother Earth, who sustains us and directs us bringing forth all kinds of fruits and coloured flowers and herbs

Praised be you, my Lord through those who forgive for your love and who bear sickness and trial. Blessed are those who endure in peace, for by you, Most High, they will be crowned. Praised be you, my Lord, through our Sister Bodily Death from whom no living being can escape. How dreadful for those who die in mortal sin! How blessed are those she finds in your most holy will for the second death can do them no harm. O praise and bless my Lord, thank him and serve him humbly but grandly!

A Blessing with Roots Tug at this blessing and you will find it is a thing with roots. This is a blessing that has gone deep into good soil, into the sacred dark, into the luminous hidden. It has been months since the ground gathered the seed of this blessing into itself, years since the earth enfolded it. Sometimes that’s how long a blessing takes.

And the fact that this blessing should finally show its first fruits on the day you happened by— well, perhaps we shall simply call the timing of this ripening a mystery and a sweet grace. Take all you want of this blessing. Take every morsel that you need for the path ahead. Let its fruits fall into your hands; gather them into the basket of your arms.

Let this blessing be one place where you are willing to receive in unmeasured portions, to lay aside for a moment the way you ration your delights. Let yourself accept its inexplicable plenitude; allow it to give itself to sustain you not simply for yourself— though on this bright day I might be persuaded to think that would be enough—

but that you may gather its seeds into yourself like the ground where this blessing began and wait with the patience of seasons and of years to bear forth in the fullness of time a stunning harvest, a plenteous feast.

Jan Richardson, https://paintedprayerbook.com/2011/07/05/a-blessing-with-roots/

Psalm 8 “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?”

‘Nothing I say can explain to you Divine Love. Yet all of creation cannot seem to stop talking about it.’ Rumi

The Christian of tomorrow will be a mystic, one who has experienced something, or he will be nothing. Karl Rahner

Francis didn’t worship God as creation; he worshiped God through creation. For him, the world was a prayer book where the vestigia Dei, the footprints of God, could be found everywhere.

Cron, Ian Morgan. Chasing Francis: A Pilgrim’s Tale (p. 78). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.