Brother Richard

Aware of the sheer biological life of my own being.

The rise and fall of the breath.

But now feeling every level permeated with grace, with peace.

with divine love.

I feel every soul around me as a fellow temple of the divine.

I feel every cell within me filled with divine light.

and gently then allowing the breath to guide me back into the present moment, into the awareness of the body.

I begin to feel again the chair beneath me, the cushion supporting me, the floor holding me.

I take a moment to make the intention to bring this awareness into the rest of the day,

I move fingers and toes.

I yawn or I stretch.

And I allow the sound of the bell to draw me back to today's activities.

Thank you.

Welcome back.

In today's meditation, we're going to take as a point of consideration one of the most important teachings within the Franciscan tradition.

This is the understanding of what we call the ladder of creation.

This is particularly true with regard to the animals.

While Saint Francis is known especially for his love of animals,

It's the recognition that each of these beings is in some way a lesson to us, is in some way an invitation to us to learn deeply the lessons of creation.

So let's begin.