The Canticle of Brother Sun
May 2nd, 2008 at 12:01am Mark Noonan
A poem by St. Francis of Assisi:
Most High, Omnipotent, Good Lord,
Thine be the praises, the glory, and the honor and every blessing.To Thee alone, Most High, do they belong
and no man is worthy to mention Thee.May Thou be praised, my Lord, with all Thy creatures,
especially mister brother sun,
of whom is the day, and Thou enlightens us through him.And he is beautiful and radiant with a great splendor,
of Thee, Most High, does he convey the meaningMay Thou be praised, my Lord, for sister moon and the stars,
in heaven Thou has made them clear and precious and beautifulMay Thou be praised, my Lord, for brother wind,
and for the air and the cloudy and the clear weather and every weather, through which to all Thy creatures Thou gives sustenanceMay Thou be praised, my Lord, for sister water,
who is very useful and humble and precious and chasteMay Thou be praised, my lord, for brother fire,
through whom Thou illumines the night,
and he is handsome and jocund and robust and strongMay Thou be praised, my Lord, for our sister, mother earth,
who sustains us and governs,
and produces various fruits with colored flowers and green plantsMay Thou be praised, my Lord, for those who forgive for the sake of Thy love,
and endure infirmity and tribulationBlessed those who endure them in peace,
because by Thee, Most High, will they be crownedMay Thou be praised, my Lord, for our sister, bodily death,
whom no man living can escapeWoe to those, who die in mortal sin:
blessed those whom she will find in Thy most holy desires,
because the second death will do them no evilPraise and bless my Lord,
and give Him thanks and serve Him with great humility!
Entry Filed under: Literature
7 Comments
1. Dennis | May 2nd, 2008 at 4:32 am
Atmospheric Romance
by Dirck Swensen
The sun is sometimes a vain fellow,
winking and trysting in reckless abandon
with oceans and lakes and rivers at random.
The clouds take a dim view of such deception,
ignoring the facts of their own conception.
The wind merely sighs in resignation,
While the many faces of the mistress below signal her pleasure
with quickening pulse,
fiery glances of admiration.
2. js | May 2nd, 2008 at 6:58 am
it is a gift to be able to praise God….not many people have that ability….and those who do really are fishers of men…
3. Firnwood | May 2nd, 2008 at 7:41 am
OK, beautiful poem but what is it doing on a blog by and for cons. Assi would not take comfort in the Republicans relaxing laws and oversight so that oil companies can reap bigger profits at the expense of the environment. Assi himself would probably pitch a tent in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) demanding to be heard that a refuge for some of Gods most vulnerable creatures is just that a refuge from man.
He too possibly wept, as the last great hope for freedom preemptively invaded and now occupies another country
4. Bigfoot | May 2nd, 2008 at 9:16 am
Assi would not take comfort in the Republicans relaxing laws and oversight so that oil companies can reap bigger profits at the expense of the environment.
Excuse me while I roll over with laughter.
Yeah, those dratted Repubs have relaxed laws on behalf of oil companies. That’s why we’ve been drilling in ANWR, expanded offshore drilling, and constructed all those new refineries, much-needed after a 30+ year moratorium.
Uh, wait a minute. You mean, like, none of that has happened? Hmmm, looks like San Francisco’s namesake has been sleeping a bit more peacefully than at least one person seems to think.
He too possibly wept, as the last great hope for freedom preemptively invaded and now occupies another country
If St. Francis were to pitch his tent in Iraq, the people fighting against the occupiers (when they’re not attacking unarmed innocent civilians) would behead him for not being muslim, which would effectively remove the possibility of weeping.
5. Danish Artist | May 2nd, 2008 at 9:46 am
The portion of ANWR that was allocated for drilling is a wasteland, a tundra. It is only habitable for a portion of the year.
St. Francis of Assisi would have a hard time pitching a tent in solid ice and high winds or during the “habitable” times finding food.
Mother earth provides sustenance for us and no matter how you look at it, OIL is part of that sustenance and any other type of fuel that is harnessed.
6. Mark Noonan | May 3rd, 2008 at 3:12 am
Firnwood,
Curiously, it is Dennis who really gets why I put these poems up…in order to just have a bit of high culture come to us. Perhaps spark a gentle debate about life and love and the ways of the world…you come here as a bull in a china shop and try to make it a debate about oil…
7. Mark&hellip | June 6th, 2008 at 8:13 pm
Mark
Just wanted to drop a note to let you know what a great site you have. It is a great resource and a great place to drop by.