Why, he's at our very fingertips. At our eyes, ears, noses and on the tips of our tongues. We know Him through the world He created for us.



We know Him also through our intellects and imaginations. And once we really know Him, we can feel Him -- His love, His presence -- in our hearts.

A year or so ago I learned that St. Francis of Assisi did not write the prayer we most often identify with him: Lord, make me a channel of your peace ? But he produced a great many other prayers and writings, fruits of the many hours he spent in contemplation.

One in particular, Prayer Before a Crucifix, speaks to my heart. There are many translations, but the one that engages me speaks of knowing God through ?sense and imagination.? What a powerful concept.

Prayer Before a Crucifix

Most high, glorious God,

Enlighten the darkness of my heart

And give me, Lord,

A correct faith,

A certain hope,

A perfect charity,

Sense and imagination,

So that I may carry out

Your holy and true command.

Amen

Like St. Francis, we come to know God through His creation, through the wondrous things we see, hear and feel. The morning breeze. The cicadas? song at dusk. The smell of freshly mown hay. We discern God's will through the wonders of our minds, by meditating, contemplating, engaging our imaginations. It's an age-old exercise too seldom observed in our action-oriented world.

It is, in fact, a practice some spiritual directors teach at retreats ? putting ourselves in the time of the gospels, for example, and encountering Jesus as others did. We may imagine ourselves at the River Jordan with John the Baptist, or in the storm at sea with Simon, Andrew and the fishermen. What would we feel if we were there now ? doubts, fears, awe? What would we learn about God and his love for each of us?.

Once we know God through our senses and our imaginations, we can then express that knowledge in a way that helps others know God. It's well within the power of everyone who puts pen to paper, brush to canvas or voice to chorus.

Think of all the great works of literature, art, architecture and music. There's more than talent behind such creations. There is another intangible, one that each of us has in abundance. Imagination. A gift from our Creator.

Shall we use this gift for good or for naught?

St. Francis was a youth of privilege, a partygoer who wore fine clothes and sang French madrigals. But he put all that behind him to live simply and deeply.

God is not asking us all to live as Francis did, in a cave on the side of Mount Subasio. But we can all learn to live more simply and more deeply.

If we just keep going and doing without reflection, we're like the willful young Francis, centered on immediate wants and needs. In this long-distance marathon that is our life, we're running in place and getting nowhere. Where we want to go is forward, toward the light that is God.

So where do we start? With our favorite prayer or scriptural passage, savoring the words, losing ourselves in the message. Or by stepping outside, being still and listening. Then expressing our thoughts as best we can.

Listen once more to the words of St. Francis, who did not reject the world around him but embraced it. Be praised, my Lord, through all your creatures, especially through my lord Brother Sun ? through Sister Moon and the stars. ... through Brother Wind, and through the air, cloudy and serene, and every kind of weather through which You give sustenance to Your creatures. ? Praise and bless my Lord, and give Him thanks and serve Him with great humility. Amen.