Finding Happiness in all of God's Creation

In 1226, St. Francis died while preaching Psalm141. I just find that amazing. He served the Lord until his last breath. What lead me to reflect on St. Francis is because of a statue of him that I saw in the venue of our planning in Bohol. He was among the different animals, particularly a hawk and a monkey. It was told that St. Francis preached even to birds and a particular wolf, calling them sister bird and brother wolf. " Francis preached the teaching of the Catholic Church, that the world was created good and beautiful by God but suffers a need for redemption because of the primordial sin of man. He preached to man and beast the universal ability and duty of all creatures to praise God (a common theme in the Psalms) and the duty of men to protect and enjoy nature as both the stewards of God's creation and as creatures ourselves (Wikipedia)."

Have you ever stood on an overlooking view of God's mighty creation? The scene just takes your breath away. Like St. Francis, we have to appreciate God in all His creation. By having this outlook we become grateful people. As I am writing this reflection, I am at sea on the way to Cebu from Bohol. I thank God for the vastness of the sea and the life that is in it.

Without a grateful heart, we become perenial complainers. The danger is when complaining becomes a habit for us. It's when we find fault in almost any situation or discontent with what we have been blessed. We have to develop an appreciation for God's everyday miracles. Francis' outlook was of joy and great appreciation for all of the life God created. He even referred to the sun and moon as Brother Sun and Sister Moon. There is nothing that can rob God's joy from this saint.

What makes you truly happy?

We realize that the things that give us real joy are given by God for free. For me, my heart bursts with joy when I am with my family. Happiness that is born out of greed or lust are temporary and are meant to lure and trap us. Francis found the ultimate happiness, the love of Christ. many of us have already found Christ, it is just a matter now of seeing Christ in all of God's creation.