Viewing Creation through the Lens of St. Francis’ Canticle of the Creatures

Laudato Si, the title of Pope Francis’ encyclical, means “Praise be to you” in Italian. It is taken from St. Francis’ Canticle of the Creatures, which includes the following:

Praised be You, my Lord, with all Your creatures,
especially Sir Brother Sun…
And he is beautiful and radiant with great splendor,
and bears a likeness to You, Most High One.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the Stars in heaven.
You formed them clear and precious and beautiful.

For the full text of Laudato Si, see St. Francis of Assisi's The Canticle of the Creatures (aka The Song of Brother Sun).

In calling the various parts of God’s creation his brother or sister, St. Francis calls us to reevaluate our relationship to the world around us as well as to each other. In noting that the sun bears a likeness to God, St. Francis reminds us that the entirety of God’s creation, and not only humankind, bears some form of the divine image. As creatures, we live in a world with other creatures created by God; our relationship is one of interdependence, not of superordination. The dominion given to humankind (Genesis 1:26,28) is not a right of ownership, but a responsibility to keep God’s creation (Genesis 2:15). We are not only our brother’s keeper, as Genesis 4:8-12 reminds us, but the steward of God’s creation. We are intimately connected not only to God, but also to each other, to all living things, and to God’s entire creation. Yet today, we’ve lost that sense of connection and instead see ourselves as rulers over God’s creation, able to do with it what we please. The result is that we as a people are profoundly divided from one another, and that our common home -- the home that sustains life for all -- is dying. Pope Francis calls on us to reflect on St. Francis’ Canticle of the Creatures as part of redefining our relationship to God’s creation so that we can become effective defenders of a beleaguered humanity and our endangered mother earth.

For an extended discussion of St. Francis’ Canticle of the Creatures, see minutes 4:32 to 43:41 of Laudato Si: Introduction to the Encyclical on the SJV Kirkland Adult Faith Formation channel on YouTube.