{"id":5600,"date":"2016-08-31T03:30:08","date_gmt":"2016-08-31T08:30:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicbookblogger\/?p=5600"},"modified":"2016-08-21T10:20:58","modified_gmt":"2016-08-21T15:20:58","slug":"all-creation-gives-thanks-to-god-angels-day-041","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicbookblogger\/2016\/08\/31\/all-creation-gives-thanks-to-god-angels-day-041\/","title":{"rendered":"All creation gives thanks to God, Angels: Day 041"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"angels_augustine_1\"<\/a>All creation gives thanks to God<\/strong><\/p>\n

All God\u2019s works <\/em>give thanks to him, the psalm says. How? St. Augustine <\/em>a<\/em>sks<\/em>.\u00a0<\/em>Not because stones and trees can speak, but because the perfectly ordered <\/em>b<\/em>eauty <\/em>of creation <\/em>makes God\u2019s <\/em>intelligent creatures praise <\/em>h<\/em>im.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cAll your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord, and all thy saints shall bless thee!\u201d (Ps. 145:10).<\/p>\n

\u201cAll your works shall give thanks to you.\u201d How will they give thanks? Isn\u2019t the earth his work? Aren\u2019t the trees his work? Cattle, animals, fish, birds\u2014aren\u2019t they his works? Of course they are. So how will they give thanks to him?<\/p>\n

Certainly I can see how the angels give thanks to him. The angels are his works, and we are his works. When we give thanks to him, his works give thanks to him. But do trees and stones have a voice to give thanks? Yes, they certainly have: \u201cAll <\/em>your works shall give thanks to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, no one should think that speechless stones or animals have an intelli- gence that can comprehend God. Anyone who thinks this strays far from the truth. God has arranged everything and made everything: he has given sense and under- standing and immortality to some, such as the angels; to others he has given sense and understanding with mortality; and to some he has given neither sense, under- standing, nor immortality, such as plants, trees, and stones. But even these cannot be lacking in their kind, and by degrees he has ordered his creation, from Earth up to Heaven, from visible to invisible, from mortal to immortal. This framework of creation\u2014this most perfectly ordered beauty\u2014ascending from lowest to highest, descending from highest to lowest, never broken, but compounded of dissimilar things\u2014all of it praises God.<\/p>\n

Why does it all praise God? Because when you think about it, and see its beauty, in it you praise God.\u00a0\u2013St. Augustine, Exposition on Ps. 145<\/em>, 13<\/p>\n

IN GOD\u2019S PRESENCE, CONSIDER . . .<\/strong><\/p>\n

Have I taken time lately to enjoy the wonders of God\u2019s creation\u2014by a walk in the park, for example, or a look at the stars, or reading and thinking about the angels\u2014and to praise God for it?<\/p>\n

CLOSING PRAYER<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lord, <\/em>I praise you for your creation, from the most glorious angels to the humblest and tiniest stones.<\/em><\/p>\n

___________________________________________________________________________________________
\nRemember to subscribe to my feed so you will not miss a day! This recurring feature at The Catholic Blogger is possible through the cooperation of author Mike Aquilina and publisher Saint Benedict Press. To get your own copy of this book, click below.
\n