Hearing the heavens declaring God’s glory
November 17, 2023 - Friday, Memorial of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, Religious
Psalm 19:2-3, 4-5ab
Psalm 19 is usually divided into three parts. The first part declares the greatness of God (see Ps 19:2-7), the second part praises the Lord for the gift of the Torah - the teaching of the Lord (Ps 19:8-11), and in the last part the psalmist asks for forgiveness and protection from wilful sins (Ps 19:12-15). The fragment that we hear today comes from the first part: “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims his handiwork” (Ps 19:2).
I am writing this reflection from Ruifang in Taiwan surrounded by the mountains and the ocean. Nearly every day I take I walk along a river that passes through our town. There are different kinds of birds and fish, and the banks of the river are surrounded by greenery - trees, bushes, and grass. When I walk in the evening I can see stars in the cloudless sky and in the morning the rising sun over the mountains warms my body and renews my energy.
In his encyclical letter, “Laudato Is”, Pope Francis provides beautiful quotes from bishops of Canada and Japan regarding the beauty of creation. They are worth quoting here as well. The Canadian bishops said: “From panoramic vistas to the tiniest living form, nature is a constant source of wonder and awe. It is also a continuing revelation of the divine”. Then, the bishops of Japan said: “To sense each creature singing the hymn of its existence is to live joyfully in God’s love and hope” (Laudato Is, 85). These quotes are placed in a part of the pope’s letter that is titled “The message of each creature in the harmony of creation”. The Pontiff tries to make us aware that “the universe as a whole, in all its manifold relationships, shows forth the inexhaustible riches of God” (Laudato Is, 86).
The psalmist states that “the heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims his handiwork” (Psalm 19:2). But I have doubts whether we still can hear it. In our unrestrained capitalist world, where profit tramples everything, most of us do not hear this music of the spheres. What is even more disturbing is the fact that due to our greed and selfishness, this music may cease and cease very soon. In his recent adhortation that came out on the Feast of St. Francis, October 4, 2023, Pope Francis sounds apocalyptic. The Pontiff writes that “the world in which we live is collapsing and may be nearing the breaking point” (Laudate Deum, 2). And he is not the only one. The vast majority of climate scientists make it clear that we are running out of time when comes to solving ecological crises.
“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims his handiwork” (Psalm 19:2). I grew up in a Salesian region of Poland that was rich with coal. For over twenty years I seldom saw a blue sky. During winter, the burning coal from private houses and factories created a smog cloud that hovered over our region. But, coal was the source of energy and mining companies provided work for the majority of people in that region. Today, most of those coal mines are closed. Now, when I visit my hometown I can breathe fresh air and sea blue sky.
If we want to continue hearing the heavens declaring God’s glory, we need to change our pattern of life. Greed, selfishness, and love of money have to be replaced with generosity, sharing of resources and love for God, for other human beings, and the entire creation.