Book of God

The very form of creation is a great book: behold it, examine it, read it from the top to the bottom. God did not make it of letters of ink by which you might know him; he set before your eyes the very things he made. Why do you seek greater tesimony? Heaven and earth cry out to you: “God made me!” (Sermon, Matt 11:25-26) ~ St. Augustine

Hugh of St. Victor (12th cent.) writes: This whole visible world is like a book written by the finger of God -  that is, created by divine power; and individual creatures are figures . . . established by the divine will to show forth the wisdom of the invisible things of God.

The main biblical sources for the idea of the Book of Nature are St. Paul’s declaration that “ever since the creation of the world [God's] invisible nature, namely His eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made (Rom.1:20) and the grand words of Ps.19, which speak of the whole cosmos as an eloquent, though silent, witness of God’s glory! (Also see Wisd. 13:1-9)

Praise be to God!

Fr. Robert

“Bethel”

This morning I am reminded by the Word of God that God chooses the time and place of His “Bethel” – the “stone” of His House and Presence: “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” (Gen.28:16) And yet, I think of the Mother of my Lord, who gave my Incarnate Lord, the place of her womb for nine months. Saying yes, the “ordinary” is sanctified and history is an event forever! “From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me.” (Luk.1:48-49)
From the ordinary to the sublime – the action of grace. But, the “ordinary” was in reality the extraordinary!