St Francis, this is essentially Religious Naturalism at its finest, though this perrenial philosophy really wouldn't have a beginning since the great reality is "life" is a continuum which is an emergence as we all plainly see now, just how far back things really go.
One would imagine easily from the first domestication of animals & caring/interacting with them more intimately, came greater demands of organization,responsibility,sensibility, love affection,veneration pride & self-awareness. Their most noble qualities reflected in us, so their worst are too, as the hatred of swine or the veneration of horses, we see following this the rise of human culture & civilization. How men so loved the land to, their olive trees & grapevines so carefully tended, the river's water, this was their very survival & life blood in the cycle of the great continuum that is "life".
"As a friend of the poor who was loved by God's creatures, Saint Francis invited all of creation – animals, plants, natural forces, even Brother Sun and Sister Moon – to give honor and praise to the Lord. The poor man of Assisi gives us striking witness that when we are at peace with God we are better able to devote ourselves to building up that peace with all creation which is inseparable from peace among all peoples of the earth" |
