"What does it mean for us as followers of Francis of Assisi to take a contemplative approach to our modern-day ecological crises? If we dare to look and really see, we encounter Creation crucified - at our hands . . . If Francis were to walk our earth today, he would encounter for the first time his Sister Mother Earth, Brother Wind and Sister Water polluted and desecrated, the creatures he loved endangered and some gone forever . . . The story of Francis' encounter with a leper offers powerful guidance here . . . He saw in the leper's eyes that God 'humbly bends low in love and hides in weak and fragile forms' . . . Like Francis in his encounter with the leper, we must learn how to gaze upon our damaged, disfigured and disregarded Earth with contemplative eyes, for when we hold within our hearts the pain of our world long enough for it to transform us, we discover the courage and hope needed to act on behalf of creation."
Sister Ilia Delio, Order of St. Francis
Photo: When I backpacked up to Four-Mile Lake in Colorado's San Juan Mountains on July 2, 2011, I realized to my dismay that almost every tree around the lake was dead, victims of a massive epidemic of bark beetles. This disease is spreading all over the Western U.S. in part because of global warming. I awoke at 6:00 A.M. the next morning to the sound of a tree crashing to the ground nearby, even though there was no wind present. Realizing this was a dangerous place to remain, I immediately broke camp and moved on.
The haze evident here is from forest fire smoke originating in northern New Mexico, the result of an intense drought.
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