While thinking ahead about my annual summer vacation out of town, I was reflecting on the fact that nature is one of the ways we get to know God. The Catechism teaches us that we can come to know God through the world’s beauty and order.
When we let the earth speak to us, it tells us of God.
I’m keeping this in mind while my wife, three kids, and I decide whether this year's vacation we’ll be camping on the beach or standing in awe of a west Texas sunset. There are a lot of choices for us. I read an article in today’s news that reminded me of the many choices I have. Some of the things I’ve already done, and some I may never get around to doing, but all of them resonated with me.
Living in Texas has always been a source for me of the natural beauty and order that is in nature. Also, I take a certain pride, in the sense of a joyous celebratory spirit, in where I live. Moreover, I celebrate the history and culture of the people of this state, being myself a seventh generation native Texan with family roots here since 1828 – when it was still Mexico and my ancestors were Texians.
I believe that, when we make our Lord part of our daily living, Christ definitely enters our culture, wherever and whatever it is, and makes our experience of it holy. For me it’s hard, if not impossible, to separate the beauty of nature from the beauty of culture.
I always look forward to whatever embraces both. When I add the dimension of experiencing nature and culture with my family, the holy purposes of God, of the vocation of marriage, seem to resonate in the experience with unequalled unity.
It is a great blessing indeed to see God in the common things of our daily living.
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