VIRIDITAS: SOUL GREENING
Interviewed by Sister Malia Dominica Wong, OP
Hawaii Catholic Herald
Saint Francis of Assisi has been a great inspiration to me. He was a lover of nature, and found God in even the smallest flower. For many of us, the tiny flowers that come out especially during summer may not seem to hold any importance. We often walk by them without notice. But, they are amazingly important as God put each one there. I love to be in touch with nature and find that life takes on more meaning when I recognize the presence of God in the greatness of all he created.
My attraction to nature began when I was small. Although I grew up in the city, because my father was a farmer he would take me to the farm with him on the weekends. I enjoyed fishing and swimming in the river as he tended to the coconut trees. Later, when I became a seminarian I started to read books on the lives of the saints. Some priests also gave homilies on St. Francis, increasing my desire to know more about him. The little knowledge that I was able to gather about this lover of all creation was just enough for me to get in touch with who he was. What really mattered is that I could relate to him through my own experiences that drew me closer to God.
One of the guiding prayers in my life since I entered the seminary is the prayer of Jesus himself, “That all may be one.” (John 17:21) I don’t literally see this as all people becoming one as there will always be diversity among us. But my understanding of this oneness relates to the context, the eyes through which St. Francis saw creation itself. As human beings, we are also a part of nature. God has created each of us and delights in us all. Of course, we cannot avoid that there is violence in the world and separation between people and difficult people. But, what we are called to do is to take these difficulties with us to prayer. When we can become one with this reality, life is easier to understand, accept and embrace as it is. Thus, it is not according to what I want, but according to how God designed things to be.
How can we do this? Just be in prayer, without thinking, rationalizing, or analyzing situations or people. Be like a vacuum which can potentially be filled with anything God wants to fill in you. Even though struggles will always be there, there is no point in trying to take them away. Rather, allow yourself to be filled in with God’s grace and mercy, whatever you need. Because, as a vacuum is nothing, how can you take away something from that which is nothing? Taking it away, is like running away. It will keep following you like a shadow wherever you go. Thus, it’s important to fill it in by being in touch with what God has created. Through the example of his life, we can see how Saint Francis was emptied of everything that he could be completely filled in oneness with God.
Father Emerson Delos Reyes is a diocesan priest from Tagum Diocese in the Philippines where he served 18 years as rector of the seminary. He is 26 years ordained. He arrived in Hawaii in July 2015 and served at St. Michael Parish in Kona, Big Island, for 10 months before being assigned as administrator of St. Theresa Parish in Kekaha, Kauai, where he resides.
