God brought things into being so that his goodness may be communicated to and be represented by them. He produced many and diverse creatures. "The goodness, which in God is simple and uniform, in creatures is manifold and divided." – Thomas Aquinas
Each and every creature is a unique word of God, with its own message, its own metaphor, its own energetic style, and its own way of showing forth goodness, beauty, and participation in the Great Mystery. To be contemplative is to be able to see each epiphany, enjoy it, protect it, and draw upon it for the common good.
The world is created as a means of God’s self-revelation so that, like a mirror, it might lead us to love and praise the Creator. We are created to read nature, the book of creation, so that we may know the Author of Life. This book of creation is an expression of who God is and is meant to lead humans to what it signifies, the eternal Trinity of dynamic, self-diffusive love.
The eminent Master of Theology, Meister Eckhart, says it even more directly: “Anyone who truly knows creatures may be excused from listening to sermons, for every creature is full of God, and is a book.”
Job 12:7-10 “Just ask the animals, and they will teach you. Ask the birds of the sky, and they will tell you. Speak to the earth, and it will instruct you. Let the fish in the sea speak to you. For they all know that my disaster has come from the hand of the Lord. For the life of every living thing is in his hand, and the breath of every human being.”
