This Mom Cares for Creation
- Susan Hines-Brigger
- Sep 3
- 2 min read
Updated: Sep 19
Most of the time when people speak of creation in October, it’s in reference to St. Francis of Assisi. He is, after all, the patron saint of ecology and animals, and October 4 marks his feast day. So, it would make perfect sense that I would be talking about the many ways in which St. Francis reminds us to be good stewards of the earth and its inhabitants.
But I’m not. Well, not exactly.
No, I’m taking the concept of caring for creation back a bit further—to the very beginning, in fact. I’m going back to the Book of Genesis, where we read, “God created mankind in his image; in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them” (1:27). So there you have it: caring for creation also means caring for ourselves. Sit with that for a minute.
A New Concept
I suspect that, for some of us, the idea of honoring ourselves as part of creation might seem foreign. Yet just as God did with the earth and the waters and the animals, God also created us, “and found it very good.”
Pope Francis enforced this idea of caring for ourselves when he said during a general audience in May 2014, “In the eyes of God, we are the most beautiful thing, the greatest, the best of creation.” Isn’t it time, then, that we started acting accordingly?
How often do we succumb to our fast-paced, fast-food, high-stress society simply because it’s easier that way? In the midst of work, activities, family obligations, and any number of other things that seem to pop up, I know I’m guilty. But easier doesn’t mean better, and we deserve better simply by being who we are.
Caring for ourselves as creations of God means treating our whole person with the same awe and wonder as our creator did. It is not selfish. It is honoring the glorious creation we are. How we do that is up to us. We can do it through properly nourishing our bodies and minds. Or we can try to focus less on our flaws and more on our God-given assets.
A wonderful byproduct of treating ourselves in such a way is the example it then sets for others. In fact, caring for yourself may be just the example that other people need in order to see themselves through the eyes of God.
This first appeared in St. Anthony Messenger magazine.
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