1) The Sanctity of Nature

Nature is sacred; all creatures great and small are endowed with God’s life and a modicum of God’s spirit. This insight, shared by all religious traditions, is the basis of reverence and respect for all living things. In the Abrahamic religions, God created every creature according to His purpose and imbued with His loving heart. Therefore, every existence, down to a grain of sand or a blade of grass, contains elements of the divine. Furthermore, nature exhibits a marvelous balance. Hence, nature is a reliable source of poetic and religious inspiration. By contemplating nature in its original purity, we can touch God.

As sensitive people recognize, all creatures possess some level of conscious awareness. The diverse species of animals and plants form tribes and nations like the races and nations of man. They are our brothers and sisters, supported by the same Mother Earth that lent us the elements that constitute our bodies and sustain our life. When thinking of all the things nature provides, we have much to be thankful for. Not only that; as Father Moon teaches, each creature, a precious living masterpiece of God, exists for me—for my enjoyment, inspiration and instruction, to love and care for.