Franciscans and Creation
The Vestiges of the Creator
Francis bore a very great affection for all things
that are God’s. He contemplated with
ineffable sweetness the wisdom, power, and goodness of the Creator in creatures. Just as is related in the Book of Daniel of
the three youths in the fiery furnace who invited all creatures to praise and
glorify the Creator of the universe, so also Francis never ceased to adore the
Lord in all things, in all the elements and creatures. He used to gather the worms from the road,
for he had read this about Christ: “I am a worm, not a man.” Likewise bees and
flowers and every creature received his reverence.
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While Christianity was still very young,
the Gnostic heresy arose. Different
variations of it have arisen throughout the centuries and, taken together, form
a pattern in which one can observe a principle in clear opposition to Saint
Francis’ view of creation. This heresy
emphasized the mind and the spiritual to the extent that material reality was
considered worthless, even evil. It has
struck some as strange that corruptible things could be traced back to a Good
God. There have been attempts to live by
the mind, or to travel about in a disembodied soul before one’s own death. Manichaeism,
with which Saint Augustine
Saint Francis had a pure and firm faith in
God as Origin, Creator, and Sovereign over all that exists. God is from Eternity, without beginning, and
without change. He created the heavens
and the earth, the seas and the dry land, and all that is in them. He formed man out of the slime of the earth
and breathed into him a living soul. He
saw that all this was very good. God Himself,
as fullness of Being, is the center and origin of all Goodness, Beauty,
Strength, and Life. Death and decay have
no part in Him, and indeed, death and decay are the natural consequence of
separation from Him. God does not create
evil. In fact, it is impossible for evil
to have a creator. Why? Evil is that which is not, a corruption of
that which is, a nothingness where something once was, a lack of the fullness
of being. It comes from turning from the wholesomeness of God and seeking a
false alternative which can only end in total deterioration.
This view led Saint Francis to see the world
as sacred, as the property of God Himself.
Who would face the Lord of all Creation and despise or mistreat the work
of His Hands? Moreover, it is necessary
for the rational creature to adore the Creator in all His Works. One who does not see God in those things that
He has made lacks knowledge and understanding of Him, while the one who truly
knows God will recognize Him in everything. He will note in the smallest flower
the exquisite and incomparable touch of the Divine Artist. He will sense in the varied songs and swift
flight of birds the soaring melody of the Eternal One. For Saint Francis, failure to attribute even
the smallest detail of creation to the Creator is robbery.
A Poor Clare grows, matures, and blossoms in
the presence of nature. She finds in it
the healing balm of the reality of God’s Goodness and Beauty. As a poor and humble pilgrim on this earth
she basks in the sun that He makes to
rise upon the good and bad alike. As
a daughter in the Father’s House she freely partakes of the abundance of His
Gifts which no human hands could fashion.
With her own hands she tenderly cultivates such plants and flowers as
the Lord will provide, and treats every creature with respect. To her eyes every sunset sky and every
blossoming tree are the artistry of her Bridegroom given as a pledge of His
Enduring Love. Like Saint Francis, his
Poor Clare daughters come to surpassing joy, gratitude, and reverence by
finding God in the wonders of His World.
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