SACRAMENTALITY OF CREATION

From the awesome power of the ocean, to the tiniest grain of sand; from the warmth and brilliance of the sun, to the slender blade of grass; from the surprising speed of the wind, to the simple beauty of the tree; from the chaos and grandeur of the storm, to the calm and quiet of the stream.

In each of these experiences it is not difficult to sense the divine, to encounter Christ in all things, and to see the glory of God’s creation anew. When Moses experienced God’s presence in the simplicity of the Burning Bush, it is not that God was there in that place and time and then left; every bush is on fire with the presence of God. As St Bonaventure taught us, the footsteps of God, vestigia dei, are visible in all creation.

There is no question that the Sacrament of the Eucharist is the source and summit of Christian life, and it is through this ancient and sacred liturgical ritual that we receive Christ. But as St Paul wrote in his Epistle to the Philippians: “Christ is in all things”. In this Christ-soaked world, we experience the sacramentality of creation. Indeed, life itself is a Sacrament. A perfect gift. 

May we cherish and hold sacred the sacramentality of this divine gift; in all of its beauty, wonder, ecstasy, joy, hurt, pain, suffering, confusion, complexity, simplicity, surprise, splendour, magnificence, turmoil, challenge, futility, failure, struggle, success, growth, charity, love, and hope. That is the promise of a full life.

“I have come that you may have life, and have it to the full.” - John 10:10

Mr Casimir Douglas

Wednesday 14th May, 2025

Image of Aurora Australis in Franklin, Tasmania

Taken by Gill Dayton, March 2023