I had the great good fortune to read Ilia Delio’s book ‘Compassion: Living in the spirit of St Francis’. A reflection question at the end of a chapter encouraged the reader to write their own ‘Canticle of the Sun’. Below is my attempt.

Loving God there is so much in the world

For which to give you thanks.

I am so grateful for life

The wonder of waking each day

And interacting with other people and the world.

This life journey I have been on

Has taught me much – and there is much still to learn.

Not the least of those being my efforts to be my best self, daily. 

I am deeply grateful for the joy and delight of living and loving 

My darling wife and our precious sons.

I am grateful for the gift of travel

That has opened me up

To new ways of being 

as well as natural beauty that has so many different faces.

The grace of my years of ministry

Encouraging young people to be their best.

The privilege of working alongside

So many gifted educators

Across 41 years.

Working to make hearts and minds

More receptive to your presence in their lives.

The privilege of supporting and journeying with 

young and older through vulnerable moments.

I try to keep my mind and heart open to beauty around me.

There is so much of which to speak…

So, in no particular order: 

I delight in humanity

Especially art, music, writing & poetry, 

Drama and spirituality

Which are humanity’s attempts to explore itself and

Point towards what is true and good.

I delight in young children

Who are windows into humanity at its best.

Thank you God whose love suffuses and animates all that is!

I marvel at

The sky with its infinite variations and combinations

Of blue and grey.

Whether bright or sombre

The seemingly infinite variety of clouds

Along with the reds, pastels and golds

Of morning and evening

Portray your majesty and glory.

Such majesty is heightened

By the sea which has its own colours and moods.

Thank you God whose love suffuses and animates all that is!

I wonder at all of the animals

Those that are cute

And others that leave me wondering.

The variety of insects and spiders

And other smaller creatures

That play vital roles in food chains

Whether I know it or not.

There are also all of the unseen creatures

Whether they are underground,

In deep oceans

Or they are microorganisms.

Thank you God whose love suffuses and animates all that is!

Humanity has a headlong desire

To grow and improve.

In our hubris, we thought the Earth was just for us.

We are only just learning about the subtle complexity

Of the water cycle, carbon cycle, nitrogen cycle

And the other subtle ways 

That you have helped the Earth sustain itself over millennia.

Those natural cycles care for us too – without our realising.

Thank you God whose love suffuses and animates all that is!

While humans love the sun,

We need the wind and rain and storms.

As do the trees, plants and flowers

In all their shapes, sizes and colours

That daily perform the miracle of making their own food.

In their turn they give us the oxygen we need.

Thank you God whose love suffuses and animates all that is!

I marvel at the tectonic forces

At work across and underneath our world.

Such forces create land and destroy it,

Giving rise to volcanoes, earthquakes and tsunamis.

Such forces change the Earth as we know it

And have done so for millions of years.

Then there are the fossils that display

The jaw-dropping panoply of life over millennia.

Thank you God whose love suffuses and animates all that is!

When I look out and up

I see the Moon and stars

Other planets in our solar system

There is the Milky Way, other galaxies

Which give rise to unimaginable forces

In a space so vast it makes one’s head spin

As well as sub-atomic particles.

Humans have learned so much.

Has our wisdom grown too?

Amidst every thing, you are present

Thus everything is a sacrament.

For all of this and so much more

Thank you God whose love suffuses and animates all that is!