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the Earth is full of Soul

At the time of this writing there is no resolve to the gushing of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. During the days of dreaded news reports and catastrophic unfolding, I was reading John O’Donohue’s “Anam Cara” where I am drawn by his poetic expressions and stories about the beauty and loveliness and sacredness of life, and of death. His reflections stir in me a particular emotional response as I am invited to enter into the divine ordinary. In a chapter that might otherwise arouse memories and images of nature at her most pristine and beautiful, I found myself struggling to find a resting place amid my restlessness of feelings. All I could imagine was the oil drenched horizon as I contemplated O’Donohue’s secrets of the soul of God’s creation:

All around, life is framed by the horizon. The horizon shelters life yet constantly calls the eye to new frontiers and possibilities. The mystery of this landscape is further intensified by the presence of the ocean ....It feels as if a wild, surrealistic God laid down the whole landscape.....All life came out of the ocean; each one of us comes out of the waters of the womb; the ebb and flow of the tides is alive in the ebb and flow of our breathing. When you are in rhythm with your nature, nothing destructive can touch you. Providence is at one with you; it minds you and brings you to your new horizons. To be spiritual is to be in rhythm ....The silence of landscape conceals vast presence. Place is not simply location. A place is a profound individuality. The shape of a landscape is an ancient and silent form of consciousness. Rivers and streams offer voice; they are the tears of the earth’s joy and despair. The earth is full of soul. (p. 78-79, 84-85)

Our spiritual journeys will always lead us into deeper relationship, communion and participation with the whole of creation. And it is no small encounter to enter into consciousness with peoples and places in desperation. How might contemporary prophetic writers give meaningful interpretation to this shadow-side of Western development, to today’s environmental crises and concerns? The dilemma does not begin with a tragic oil rig explosion, and it will not likely end with a successful clean-up and restored confidence and vitality.

Anyone in love relationship knows that the secret language of the heart is revealed in a myriad of expressions: a kiss, embrace, gaze, smile, tears. What is the language of nature’s heart and how do we comfort and console? These are painful and profoundly spiritual questions. There will hopefully be an answer for stopping the immediate flow of oil, but answers come too late for damage done, lives and livelihood lost. In our all too common conditions of uncertainty we must wrestle with the questions. And if we are to see God in all things our question begins with how to respond as bearers of God’s expression and mission in the world. Persons and communities of faith have the potential to influence, at every level of society, a creative and radical gospel vision, and to move peoples beyond grief and limitations. I am ever grateful and inspired by the most powerful affirmation of hope in the countless persons and groups who, at Mercy Center, examine “new frontiers and possibilities” for illuminating the spirit and life of the gospel and, in turn, invite a new creation. Let’s pray in remembrance that we are stewards over all that God saw was good.