Things visible are only for the purpose of leading us to an understanding of things invisible. ~Paul Claudel
One afternoon last week, out of nowhere, the skies grew dark, the winds picked up and the clouds opened up with torrential rain. I stood at my window watching the wind bend the tree limbs and shake the fence. After a quick prayer for protection, my thoughts wandered to the wind. I thought of who is behind the power of the wind — the Creator of all things, God Almighty. Through the invisible strong winds, I experienced God’s infinite power.
Where or when have you felt the presence of God in His creation? For example, sitting quietly before the Blessed Sacrament, in the delicate colors of a flower, the trusting gaze of a baby, the fearful eyes of a sick person, the glory of a sunset and, of course, in the strong winds. Unfortunately, I think many people today have forgotten (or chose to forget) that God is almighty, the Lord of the universe. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us:
“If God is almighty ‘in heaven and on earth,’ it is because he made them.105 Nothing is impossible with God, who disposes his works according to his will.106He is the Lord of the universe, whose order he established and which remains wholly subject to him and at his disposal. (CCCC, no. 269)
Next time your eyes turn to God’s creation, say a prayer of thanksgiving. Here’s a short one from The Catholic Prayer Book, compiled by Msgr. Michael Buckley.
Thank you, Father, for having created us and given us to each other in the human family. Thank you for being with us in all our joys and sorrows, for your comfort in our sadness, your companionship in our loneliness. Thank you for yesterday, today, tomorrow and for the whole of our lives. Thank you for friends, for health and for grace. May we live this and every day conscious of all that has been given to us.