Behold the Humility of God

by Sister Brenda Rose Szegedy, OSF

Throughout the beautiful Motherhouse grounds of the Sisters of St. Francis, Sylvania, Ohio it’s rather easy to see how every aspect of creation reflects God’s total Self-Gift. Nature beckons us to pause wherever we are and behold the humility of God.  I remember years ago during a community-wide retreat, I experienced an unexpected gift on my walk one day.  It was truly a graced moment when I spotted several rustic paths in the woods leading to and from our beautiful prayer garden, the “Canticle of Praise.”   Each path invited me to enter nature’s contemplative prayer of praise.  One of the paths is located behind the shrine of Our Lady of Grace Hall.  In walking this path on the way to the garden, I came upon a lovely year-round outdoor Nativity with a wooden plaque that read:

“Let us remember that our Creator has given us the sun and the moon and the stars…
and the earth with its forests and mountains and oceans…
and all that lives and moves upon them.
God has given us all green things and everything that blossoms and bears fruit…
and all that we quarrel about and all that we have misused…
and to save us from our own foolishness, from all our sins,
God came down and gave us Himself.”  (S. Undset)

I remember simply pausing there before the manger in a stance of silent wonder beholding the humility of God, the power of Love that gives itself away.  A second rustic path in the woods located behind the shrine of Our Lady of Sylvania offers a reflective meditation on the Way of the Cross. Once again, I found myself stopping momentarily at each station to contemplate the Mystery of God’s total Self-Gift.

It’s been a long time since I walked these paths or sat in the prayer garden, but they remain in my soul’s storehouse of memory.  Treasured places and treasured moments that even today rekindle my spirit and move me beyond myself!   How grateful we all are to our Sisters Jeremias and Grace Ellen for creating and maintaining these sacred icons!

As we celebrate this glorious Easter season may we behold the humility of God in the beauty of creation recommitting ourselves in the spirit of Francis of Assisi to live the Gospel in joyful servanthood among all people.