"Our Common Home Is Like a Sister"
A St. Francis Anniversary
Last week, I had car time with friend Jim from Charles City, down Avenue of the Saints for a lunch meeting in Waterloo. On our drive, Jim mentioned the 800th anniversary of “Canticle of Creation,” (a/k/a/ Canticle of the Creatures” and Canticle of the Sun”) the first I’d heard of this.
After asking several questions, Jim responded (appropriately), “You can google it.” I did, partially reflecting my fondness for anniversaries. As often happens, cursory research sent me whirling down an information vortex. (“Wait, maybe there’s one more website that MIGHT have additional meaningful material.”) Finally… enough searching. Several days of rumination. Here’s my readout:
Saint Francis of Assisi created this magnificent canticle in 1224 and 1225*. (Precise dates are murky, but after eight centuries, who cares?) He begins, “Most High, all-powerful, good Lord, / Yours are the praises, the glory, and the honor, and all blessing, / To You alone, Most High, do they belong, / and no human is worthy to mention Your name.”
Among my favorite verses: “Be praised, my Lord, / for Sister Earth, our Mother, / who nourishes us and sustains us, / bringing forth fruits and vegetables of many kinds / and flowers of many colors.”
Ten years ago this week, motivated by his name saint, Pope Francis offered an encyclical letter, entitled “Laudato Si”, about care for our common home. He begins, “’Praise be to you, my Lord’. In the words of this beautiful canticle, Saint Francis of Assisi reminds us that our common home is like a sister with whom we share our life and a beautiful mother who opens her arms to embrace us. ‘Praise be to you, my Lord, through our Sister, Mother Earth, who sustains and governs us…’”
I’m not Roman Catholic and frankly have been slow to learn about Saint Francis. I recall the movie, “Brother Sun, Sister Moon,” released in 1972, with dramatic license and ample creative liberties regarding Francis. Not a documentary, nevertheless a start. About the same time, I first heard the Prayer of St. Francis (“Lord, make me an instrument of your peace…”) which – spoiler alert – was NOT written by Francis, but by a combination priest / magazine editor in 1912.
About the canticle: In spring, 1225, Francis, almost blind and hobbled with other infirmities, spent 50+ days at the Monastery of San Damiano. There, St. Clare, inspired by Francis, had established the first Poor Sisters, a/k/a, the “Poor Clares” or the “Order of St. Clare”. (Yes, she’s in the movie.) Because light hurt his eyes, Francis remained in darkness inside his small quarters. Then, during a night of suffering, Francis was visited by the Lord, which prompted his authorship.
Francis’ text is both a poetic prayer AND a profound theological statement, celebrating nature and the interconnectedness of all things. He invites humans to care for creation and to live harmoniously with the natural world, offered in a spirit of gratitude and humility. Written in the Umbrian dialect, it’s among the oldest texts in Italian literature, the first Italian writing with a known author.
The canticle’s 23 verses employ evocative language and imagery, drawing perhaps on Psalm 148, calling out various natural elements: sun and moon, wind and water. Francis saw God in everything, both living and inanimate – ALL the Creator’s gifts.
My initial, admittedly indirect contact with this canticle was in the early 1960s, in my rural Lutheran church, singing a paraphrase hymn, “All Creatures of our God and King,” seven glorious verses. Verses one and six (foreshadowing in six): “All creatures of our God and King, / Lift up your voice and with us sing: / Alleluia, alleluia! / Thou burning sun with golden beams, / Thou silver moon with softer gleams, / O praise him, O praise him, / Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia! ... And thou, most kind and gentle death, / Waiting to hush our final breath, / O praise him, alleluia! / Thou leadest home the child of God, / And Christ our Lord the way has trod:/ O praise him, O praise him, / Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!”
In 1226, one year after creating the canticle, St. Francis died.
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*https://www.allcreation.org/home/stfrancis-canticle
I’m pleased to be part of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. These are my colleagues:
Thank you for this beautiful story, Kurt. (I googled "canticle" at the top and learned it's another word for hymn.)