The Song of the Creatures

The Canticle of the Creatures
by Francis of Assisi (1181-1226)

Most High, all-powerful, all-good Lord,
All praise is Yours, all glory, honor and blessings.
To you alone, Most High, do they belong;
no mortal lips are worthy to pronounce Your Name.

We praise You, Lord, for all Your creatures,
especially for Brother Sun,
who is the day through whom You give us light.
And he is beautiful and radiant with great splendor,
of You Most High, he bears your likeness.

We praise You, Lord, for Sister Moon and the stars,
in the heavens you have made them bright, precious and fair.

We praise You, Lord, for Brothers Wind and Air,
fair and stormy, all weather's moods,
by which You cherish all that You have made.

We praise You, Lord, for Sister Water,
so useful, humble, precious and pure.

We praise You, Lord, for Brother Fire,
through whom You light the night.
He is beautiful, playful, robust, and strong.

We praise You, Lord, for Sister Earth,
who sustains us
with her fruits, colored flowers, and herbs.

We praise You, Lord, for those who pardon,
for love of You bear sickness and trial.
Blessed are those who endure in peace,
by You Most High, they will be crowned.

We praise You, Lord, for Sister Death,
from whom no-one living can escape.
Woe to those who die in their sins!
Blessed are those that She finds doing Your Will.
No second death can do them harm.

We praise and bless You, Lord, and give You thanks,
and serve You in all humility.


I like this prayer a lot and wish I could hear it sung the way he wrote it 800 years ago. Once upon a time this was a common song that people sang. I wonder what the melody was like.

In the early 70's I belonged to a church that had many musicians. They often put music to bible passages, and we would sing those songs in church. I liked that a lot.

My study of mediaeval history has helped me to better understand and appreciate the poems, songs, and prayers written during that time period. At that time people were more in tune with, and felt a closer connection to, the natural world around them.

I found that song at this web page.
http://prayerfoundation.org/canticle_of_brother_sun.htm

There was a movie made in 1972 named ‘Brother Sun Sister Moon' about Francis of Assisi. It's a very good movie.
He taught repentance, humility, and non-violence.

The painting shows Francis of Assisi renouncing his worldly goods, and is attributed to Giotto di Bondone around the year 1300.
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I love hunting and 18th century English.

"The housekeeper at Netherfield had received orders to prepare for the arrival of her master, who was coming down in a day or two, to shoot there for several weeks."
-- Chapter 53 of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.

There are very few modern movies or TV shows that I like, and I really miss my Netflix subscription which allowed me to watch the movies that I like. This evening I was flipping through the channels looking for something to watch and I found the movie Pride and Prejudice and watched it. I enjoy this movie. I really like the clothing they wear, and their customs. The artwork and the scenery is spectacular. But most of all, I absolutely love the language. Their speech is like music to my ears. I think the BBC version of this movie is even better than the Hollywood version.

This past week I have been very sick every day and not able to hardly anything. But this morning I woke up feeling a lot better; so I cooked myself a breakfast of bacon and eggs and toast, and drank a cup of strong coffee to give me more energy. It is a rare thing for me to feel well enough to cook and eat a real breakfast like that. Then I got all bundled up in my warmest winter clothing and went hunting. Last night we had about 3/4" of fresh snow, the temperature today was 21 degrees, and there was a cold north wind blowing; a perfect day for bird hunting but I don't know of any places to hunt pheasants around here, so I went rabbit hunting in the public recreation area about a mile away on the edge of town. I started hunting around 11:00 and quit at 1:00 because I was too fatigued to do more. I carry a small cushion with me and I have to stop every so often and sit on my cushion for a while to rest.

I frightened away four deer that were bedded down for the day. I never saw them, just their fresh beds and their tracks. I think that is the place where some bucks bed down. I would like to go deer hunting but I can't afford a deer tag.

There is a big rabbit that lives in a large patch of blackberry bushes and the last three times I went hunting he has eluded me and ran away. So today I approached his hideout from the other side and slowly walked through the bushes but I could not see him. Then I turned around and started walking back and he ran out from under a bush that I had just walked by. But he was too fast for me and was out of sight before I could shoot.

I saw several squirrels running from me, but much too far away to shoot at. Eventually I came upon a squirrel who was on the ground not fifty feet away. We both saw each other at the same time and he took off running. I fired a shot at him but it was a clean miss.

Hunting is my favorite thing to do, especially hunting with antique muzzleloading guns like they used in the 18th century. Even though I came home empty handed, I had a very enjoyable time stalking through the woods, and seeing the wildlife. This did a lot to lift my spirits. I slept all afternoon and my depression was gone.

God loves poor people

Its the Christmas season and I've been thinking about the Christmas story, and specifically about all those angels appearing to some shepherds to announce the birth of Jesus. What an awesome experience that must have been! Out of all the people on earth, why did God choose to tell some poor shepherds? They smelled like sheep, they were unshaven, dirty, and wearing their work clothes, yet these shepherds of Judea were the only guests invited by angels to come and worship the newborn savior of the world. One of the lessons I learn from this story is that God loves poor people.

The story I'm referring to is in the gospel of Luke, chapter 2, verses 8 to 18.

I have a keen interest in all things medieval, including medieval art. This painting titled Adoration of the Shepherds, is by the Italian painter Antonio da Correggio, dated 1530.