By Katie Beckmann Mahon, Communications Manager
This week’s “Embracing Faith” article will focus on Embracing Faith through Reflection.
“The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.” -Job 33:4
Spiritual creation is a topic that is often discussed and with a meaning that can be interpreted differently by each person.
For Sr. Anne Daniel Young, OP, of the Sisters of Saint Dominic of Blauvelt, New York, she views this topic as “a process that happens every day if we accept and welcome it as the gift that it is.”
In the most recent episode of the Hearts Afire Podcast, Sr. Anne Daniel further reflected on this topic and shared how she interprets the meaning of creation, both in scripture and in her life.
“If we look at the old Baltimore catechism’s definition of sacrament as the outward sign instituted by Christ to give grace, we can readily accept the fact that all of creation should be viewed as a sacramental expression of God’s infinite love for us because all around us, creation calls.
Nothing exists autonomously or independently, but rather everything is related to everything else. We journey through life with the creations of God and thereby come to know him more intimately through them.
Each and everything then, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant, is of infinite value because it images God in its own unique being. If we are to see the goodness of God through every aspect of creation, the whole of creation, then is a place to encounter God.
Even the secular world recognized this connection between God and his creation. The Russian writer Dostoevsky says it so beautifully. He writes “love every leaf, every ray of God’s light. Love persons and animals, love plants and love each thing. If you truly love each thing, you will perceive the mystery of God in all things. Once you have perceived it, you will begin tirelessly to perceive more and more of it each day. And you will come at last to love the whole world with an entire, universal love.”
I think that is what we are called to if we truly wish to find God in the everyday and in the everyway. I think of creation as the visible reality of God’s infinite love for us expressed in every element of creation; God wants to be known and celebrated;
His love can’t be hoarded or self-contained; it is designed to be shared because it has meaning and purpose for all of life. Creation comes from God, reflects the glory of God, and is intended to return to God.”
To hear the remainder of Sr. Anne Daniel’s thoughts, watch or listen to her episode of the Hearts Afire Podcast on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Audible.