With October in full force, the beauty of fall is apparent all around us. The trees seem laden with rich reds, oranges, and gold. Each morning brings soft cool blues, while the setting sun sets the evenings ablaze with warm tones and golden hues.
Autumn’s beauty is a touching reminder of the beauty of creation and the power of our Creator. The Catholic poet Gerad Manley Hopkins powerfully captured the role nature can play in our prayer life and relationship with the Father in his poem God’s Grandeur:
The world is charged with the grandeur of God.
It will flame out, like shining from shook foil;
It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil
Crushed. Why do men then now not reck his rod?
Generations have trod, have trod, have trod;
And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil;
And wears man’s smudge and shares man’s smell: the soil
Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod.
And for all this, nature is never spent;
There lives the dearest freshness deep down things;
And though the last lights off the black West went
Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs—
Because the Holy Ghost over the bent
World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings.
Like Gerad Manley Hopkins, we too are called to prayerfully see the Creator in the beauty of His creation. However, this can be increasingly difficult as our lives become increasingly busy and inundated with media. The noise and distractions of our modern lives can make it difficult to notice the subtle changing of leaves or the soft chirping of the morning birds. But we do not need to worry–Sacred Scripture itself can beautifully heal our distracted state of mind.
The Psalms in particular are beautiful poetry that provide an education in the power of prayer and the majesty and mercy of the Creator. Our Book of Psalms Color Journal is a fun way to incorporate both the beauty of the Psalms and the beauty of nature into your daily routine! With 365 daily psalms, this book is an easy way to spend time each day meditating on Scripture while cultivating your eye for the beauty of God’s creation. Available today at The Catholic Company!
