Kathy Coffey

Because Saint Francis saw the world with more than “intellectual appreciation or economic calculus,” he would sometimes sing in wonder at moon, stars or sun.

The calming effects of water on the human spirit are well known. Clean water is too precious to take for granted; much of the world thirsts for it, and climate change threatens the water supply for the poorest.

St. Bonaventure said that creation was God’s first book, leading us back to God if we “read” it properly. Jesus said “consider the lilies”—not look at them or smell them, but reflect on them. What do they show you about God?

The way we see others is determined by the lens through which we look. Perhaps a previous experience shades this one, or the other person is influenced by some other event or action, not necessarily mine.

We need not only appreciate the gifts of earth, water, and air, but learn to care for them. If we simply fear climate change and planetary destruction, it freezes our creativity.

Through Elizabeth Ann Seton, we see poignantly the motherly face of God. As St. Anselm wrote, “Christ my mother, you gather your chickens under your wings.”

It’s harder to show compassion if we disconnect from our own wisdom and experience—perhaps rejecting some part of ourselves we think is shameful. The key to loving another is the ability to love all of ourselves—being flawed but fully human, whole.