I've Got the Whole World!

So is this how God sees us?  I don't think so...

OK, I was just ready for a change.  And, is the world awesome or not?!  Consider that word "awesome".  Break it down some.  Awe: "a feeling of amazement and respect mixed with fear that is often coupled with a feeling of personal insignificance or powerlessness" Well, I don't know about the dread part, but Earth is awesome when you really think about it.  (Wow, I think God's the smartest person around.  :P)  Did you ever really think about Creation? 

At the Fr. D. retreat, there were talks on the Theology of the Body.  I'm not a big fan of it.  However, the retreat master talked about Theology of the Body being an examination of who we are - of what it means to be human.  In talking about the Creation story, I was amazed all over again.  God truly made us in His Divine Image and created the world perfectly!

Now, in today's language, we could call anything and everything "perfect", but it can never be perfect unless it is made by God, the only Perfect One.  Therefore, Earth was created perfect - it is not sinful.  The Evil One and his followers have corrupted parts and aspects of the world, but not its creation: its essence as a created thing. 

I think that we should embrace the world.  (I'm not talking about becoming tree-huggers :D)  Treat it as we were meant to, with love and respect and reflection towards Heaven, the glorified Earth.  Those of us working in the world should view every person as a vital organ of the Body of Christ.  And, this is our home!  God made the Earth to feed us and clothe us and provide for our every need.  The world is not something bad to be feared, but something to be loved because it is a gift from God. 

One complaint I've heard personally about the religious life is that you are completely abandoning the world.  In living a life consecrated to God, you do not abandon the world, but travel to its heart.  Religious spend each day on Earth as images of what we were created for at the Garden of Eden - to love God above all and each other more than ourselves.  Just as the mother superior says in the Sound of Music, the convent is not someplace to hide from the world, but a place to witness our higher calling and serve those in the world.  And so...

 Introduing...
            The Earth.