Five Ways Into Sunday’s Scripture: Taking Seriously a Commitment to the Whole of Creation

Canticle of the Sun

Most High, all powerful, good Lord, 
Yours are the praises, the glory, the honour, and all blessing.

To You alone, Most High, do they belong, 
and no man is worthy to mention Your name.

Be praised, my Lord, through all your creatures, 
especially through my lord Brother Sun, 
who brings the day; and you give light through him. 
And he is beautiful and radiant in all his splendour! 
Of you, Most High, he bears the likeness.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars, 
in heaven you formed them clear and precious and beautiful.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother Wind, 
and through the air, cloudy and serene, 
and every kind of weather through which 
You give sustenance to Your creatures.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Water,
which is very useful and humble and precious and chaste.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother Fire, 
through whom you light the night and he is beautiful 
and playful and robust and strong.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Mother Earth, 
who sustains us and governs us and who produces 
varied fruits with coloured flowers and herbs.

Praised be You, my Lord, 
through those who give pardon for Your love, 
and bear infirmity and tribulation.

Blessed are those who endure in peace 
for by You, Most High, they shall be crowned.

Praised be You, my Lord, 
through our Sister Bodily Death, 
from whom no living man can escape.

Woe to those who die in mortal sin. 
Blessed are those who will 
find Your most holy will, 
for the second death shall do them no harm.

Praise and bless my Lord, 
and give Him thanks 
and serve Him with great humility.

—St. Francis of Assisi

This coming Sunday, October 2…Trinity will celebrate “The Blessing of the Animals” in a special service at 4pm in the North Churchyard. You can expect to see lots of lovable creatures, great and small, parading around the grounds — and plenty of treats for pets and humans alike. The Blessing of the Animals commemorates the life of St. Francis, who famously preached to the birds, thought of rabbits as his kin, and considered all of God’s creation both beautiful and blessed. At Trinity, we hope to live by Francis’ example by taking seriously a commitment to the whole of creation. To that end, we will be looking this fall at Environmental Justice issues from several angles, through our upcoming Trinity Talks event with artist Makoto Fujiumura (October 23, 1pm), and a series for Discovery with Biblical scholar Dr. Ellen Davis (November 6, 13, 10am). You can register for those events through the links.

We hope to see you — and your furry family member — this Sunday!

—Summerlee Staten

THEOLOGY

Rev. Rhonda Mawhood Lee encourages us to follow St. Francis’ example and “Go a little crazy” on this upcoming St. Francis Day.

SOCIAL JUSTICE

Some resources from the Episcopal Church on “Listening to the Voice of Creation.”  

Also, Trinity’s own Environmental Justice Group will be hosting: Climate Change: How to Talk About It & Motivate People to Act, Saturdays, October 8 and 29, 9–10:30am online.

POETRY

The poet Seamus Heaney turns his gaze to St. Francis:

SAINT FRANCIS AND THE BIRDS

When Francis preached love to the birds
They listened, fluttered, throttled up
Into the blue like a flock of words
Released for fun from his holy lips. 
Then wheeled back, whirred about his head, 
Pirouetted on brothers' capes. 
Danced on the wing, for sheer joy played
And sang, like images took flight. 
Which was the best poem Francis made, 
His argument true, his tone light.

VISUAL ART AND MUSIC

Christopher Snow Hopkins considers Bellini’s famous painting, “St. Francis in the Desert.” Check it out in the link below, or at the Frick Collection if you are in New York this fall.

Enjoy the composer Sofia Gubaidulina’s “Canticle of the Sun.”

Coming Soon

Discovery returns this Sunday at 10am with a new series: Ordinary and Extraordinary Saints. In this series, we’ll learn about the lives of people who served, sacrificed, and followed their faith calling and explore what they can teach us about our own life of faith.

Children’s Time returns for Pre-K–5th grade students Sunday at 10am in Trinity Commons on the Mezzanine and Nursery Care for babies and toddlers is back 11am for parents attending the 11:15am Holy Eucharist in Trinity Church. If you haven’t already, enroll your child(ren) now to make check-in a breeze.