The World Is Great With God

“THE WORLD IS GREAT WITH GOD” …Bl. Angela of Foligno

Originally appeared in The Catholic Times, January 13, 2013 issue.

When my column deadline approaches, I usually look to a number of places for inspiration. I check the Universalis site, one of my favorites, for an overview of the liturgical feasts that come immediately before and after the date of publication. I read morning and evening prayers of those days as well as the daily Mass readings. Sometimes, Mass readings for the Sunday following the column provide a topic. Current news also feeds the muse.

This column falls between two great feasts, Epiphany and Baptism of the Lord. Checking Universalis, I found today’s date surrounded by blanks on the liturgical calendar. No big saints around which to fashion a column. I plunged deeper, using another favorite prayer guide, “Give Us This Day,” published by Liturgical Press.

I found the introductory quote in the “Blessed Among Us” feature, written by Robert Ellsberg, author of “All Saints.” I knew nothing of Angela, a thirteenth century wife, mother, and mystic. A third order Franciscan, she gave herself to charitable works. Her phrase “The world is great with God,” spoke poignantly to me after having celebrated Christmas, when a teenaged woman, great with child, delivered her son.

I continued reading and praying through the week’s readings. Gospel after gospel told stories of Jesus caring for those around him, curing the sick and speaking to those who followed him hoping for words that would help them make sense of life and the world they in which they lived. He fed thousands from their own meager resources, love making them more than enough. Interrupting times of prayer to respond to people’s needs was his way, even walking across stormy seas to calm his disciples as well as the waves. And, when he arrived in his home territory, he went to the synagogue and read from Isaiah: He was here to proclaim liberty to the captives, to give sight to the blind, to grant freedom to the oppressed.

Clearly, Jesus saw the world “great with God” and embraced it.“The kingdom of heaven is at hand,” he said. It is here. It is now as well as not yet. His living showed us how to respond to that truth: Not by amassing wealth, but by sharing it. Not by courting power, but by standing with the powerless. Not by walling out, but by inviting in. Jesus got his hands dirty. He chose the marginalized as friends and coworkers for the kingdom. I am sure he spent time with the privileged as well, though the gospels don’t tell as many stories about those encounters.

The world is “great with God.” Every person, every place, is infused with Divine Life, and we are called to love it all. That includes each of us. Sometimes, the most difficult place to see God is in ourselves. We know our faults too well, and others can be quick to point them out. We take our measure against others or society’s values, and find ourselves coming out short. What could we possibly do to continue Jesus’ living for the Kingdom?

The fisherman, women, sick, poor, fringe people who ran into Jesus might well have asked the same question. Today, we are still finding inspiration in their stories. Seeing the world through the eyes of Jesus as precious, created for love and justice can help guide us as we begin the new year.

God gives us Love to share with our families, communities, nation, and world. Needs are great. Preparing for this column, I read news articles. Many were political. Some were about averting the “fiscal cliff.” Another was about the House of Representatives letting the Violence Against Women Act expire largely because the revised Act’s included LGBT persons, aliens, and Native American women. Another was about the House failing to bring to a vote the relief bill for victims of Hurricane Sandy.

The challenge of seeing the world “great with God,” is to work for the common good. My prayer for 2013 is that people at all levels embrace this work, one that people of faith understand as essential.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech