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James Martin, S.J.September 10, 2009

Okay, I know it's not going to convince any hardcore atheists or maybe even to wavering agnostics.  But it's hard to look at these photos from the newly restored Hubble telescope and not wonder how someone can still doubt God's hand in something like this.  Random this isn't.  For the believer it's hard not to think of Psalm 8.  When I was in theology studies in Cambridge, Mass., I used to pass through Harvard Yard on the way to Weston Jesuit, and read these verses, portions of which were inscribed above the entrance to Emerson Hall:

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars that you have established;

what are human beings that you are mindful of them,

mortals that you care for them?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And--sorry, I was just on retreat and spent lots of time among flora and fauna so bear with me--but even the commonplace Goldenrod (bane of allergy sufferers but beautiful nonetheless) doesn't seem random.

From the colossal star factories light years away to the lowly plants of the field visible in our backyards: beauty and order everywhere.  What are human beings that God is mindful of us, after all?  Grateful perhaps.

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15 years 10 months ago
Thank you, Father, for a beautiful reflection.  I have a dear friend who is a member of AA and once told me that the key to her sobriety has been to follow the AA dictum of finding gratitude in something every day.  In doing so, she has also recovered her deep Catholic faith.  Paraphrasing what she once advised me:  He is everywhere, you just have to look in different and unexpected ways.
15 years 10 months ago
Despite all that, people have the audacity to promulgate laws that support abortion and in so doing defy the rights and insult the greatness of the Creator.  You are right Father.  For those who believe, no proof is necessary.  For those who don't, no proof is sufficient.  But these reflections in nature provide true hope to those who are blessed with faith in Him.
15 years 10 months ago
A wonderful little piece.
15 years 10 months ago
Thank you, Father, for this reflection and for the breathtaking photos...
And hope your retreat went beautifully. It is good to have you back!
15 years 10 months ago
An alert reader wrote to remind me that on the red-stone walls of Emerson Hall is written, of course, "What is man that thou art mindful of him?"  Inclusive language they had not in those days at Harvard. 
15 years 10 months ago
St. Ignatius would look at the stars and weep tears of joy because he "saw" God.  Imagine if he could see the images from Hubble.  And yet, as vast as the cosmos and as immeasurable the beauty in the material world, how humbling to know that it all was created for us.  Created for us, in the words of St. Ignatius, to use in so far as it helps us move towards the end for which we were created.  The beautiful creations of God, in which we "see" God, created for us to help us move towards God.  Clearly, as Pope Benedict XVI has said, "only where God is seen does life truly begin. Only when we meet the living God in Christ do we know what life is.  We are not some casual and meaningless product of evolution."
15 years 10 months ago
Earth's crammed with heaven
And every common bush aflame with God
But only he who sees takes off his shoes
 
From Elizabeth Barrett Browning "Aurora Leight"
15 years 10 months ago
''All is grace,'' the dying words of the young priest in Bernanos's ''Diary of a Country Priest'' as he finally grasps the transcendent reality behind all physical reality, would be a fitting alternative title for Fr. Martin's poignant reflection.
15 years 10 months ago
Was up at the farm this last weekend and always marvel at the gifts of nature we are given on a daily basis.  Early in the morning with the fog and dew I photographed some of the intricate spider webs hanging on the grasses.  Pure Joy!

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