Richard Ho Lung THE RUSTLING of the branches fills the air with its soothing sound as the wind gusts steadily through the trees. The majestic clouds sweep over the mountains and down into the valleys.
The atmosphere is cool, so fresh and so pure. Birdsong can be heard in the distance. All of this along with my heart and soul cry out to our God, so majestic and awesome, "O Lord my God, how great thou art."
Yes, indeed, our God is Great and so is His Creation. Life in the mountains is so different from our busy daily life in the city. The contemplative character of this setting lifts the soul up to the Divine so as to make us one with Him.
In our country, so full of turmoil and division because of politics, violence, loose living, and selfishness, we have another side which can soothe the soul. In the everyday lives of many of our citizens God is literally absent. We are so busy that there is no time left for God.
On the other hand, when we look at the mountaintops, wreathed in clouds, with the sun in all its array, we can't help but think of someone greater than "I", and to whom all glory should be given - our Mighty Creator.
HIS GLORIOUS CREATION
We spend so much time watching television, partying, gambling, seeking ways to satisfy all our physical cravings, why not go to the hills for a change to spend time with the Lord. Seek Him in His glorious Creation; and seek also within your soul for Him who created you.
Recently, the Brothers and I went to the Blue Mountains to a home, "Above Concerns," owned by a good friend of ours. There we stayed for eight days in prayer and silence. It was the perfect atmosphere to commune with our Lord.
I not only encountered God in His Creation, but also in the very depths of my soul. Made in His image and likeness, we all carry the life of God within ourselves. We only need to discover Him there. Sadly, lost in selfishness, God is no longer sought within our own being. And if we cannot find Him within ourselves it is because we give the priority to our own desires, constantly seeking to satisfy self. So, in order to find God we must die to self.
Look at the mountains, the birds, the clouds, the seas! What do they do? They give glory to God by being what they were created to be. What about us? It should be even more so because we are made in His image and likeness. Why did God create man? For man to know Him, love Him, and serve Him in this life, and to be with Him forever in the next! Then let us live in the manner God wants us to, to do what He expects of us. Let us stop fooling ourselves by rationalising and compromising instead of living the Truth. Christ came and showed us the way. Let us follow His example and thus "become perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect."
Yes, the mountains and clouds are glorious and majestic, and lift our souls to the Divine. But there is something even more glorious and majestic in God's sight. And that is YOU. "Thou hast made man little less than a God; with glory and honour thou has crowned Him." (Psalms 8:5)
Fr Richard Ho Lung, M.O.P., is Founder and Superior General of the Missionaries of the Poor.
