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Creatures / Creation
(Misc.)
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"But the poor man had nothing at all
except one little ewe lamb that he had bought. He nourished her,
and she grew up with him and his children. She shared the little
food he had and drank from his cup and slept in his bosom. She was
like a daughter to him." (2 Sam. 12:3) "But now ask the beasts
to teach you, and the birds of the air to tell you; Or the
reptiles on earth to instruct you, and the fish of the sea to
inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of God
has done this? In his hand is the soul of every living thing, and
the life breath of all mankind." (Job. 12:7-10)
"Before all things else
wisdom was created; and prudent understanding, from eternity.
To whom has wisdom's root been revealed? Who knows her
subtleties? There is but one, wise and truly
awe-inspiring, seated upon his throne: It is the LORD; he
created her, has seen her and taken note of her. He has
poured her forth upon all his works, upon every living thing
according to his bounty; he has lavished her upon his
friends." (Sirach 1:4-8)
"Hear, O heavens, and listen, O earth, for the
LORD speaks: Sons have I raised and reared, but they have disowned
me! An ox knows its owner, and an ass, its master's manger; But
Israel does not know, my people has not understood." (Isa.
1:2-3)
"You fool! What you sow
is not brought to life unless it dies. And what you sow is not the
body that is to be but a bare kernel of wheat, perhaps, or of some
other kind; but God gives it a body as he chooses, and to each of
the seeds its own body. Not all flesh is the same, but there is
one kind for human beings, another kind of flesh for animals,
another kind of flesh for birds, and another for fish. There are
both heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the brightness of the
heavenly is one kind and that of the earthly another. The
brightness of the sun is one kind, the brightness of the moon
another, and the brightness of the stars another. For star differs
from star in brightness. So also is the resurrection of the dead.
It is sown corruptible; it is raised incorruptible. It is sown
dishonorable; it is raised glorious. It is sown weak; it is raised
powerful. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual
body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual one."
(1 Cor. 15:36-44)
"For every kind of beast
and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been
tamed by the human species" (Jms. 3:7)
"St. Bonaventure
calls all the creatures on earth (pure matter, plants and animals) 'vestigia
Dei,' ('traces of God')." (Von Hildebrand)
"[T]he picture of creation, the work of God. He Himself admired its substantial beauty as an external reflection of His wisdom and power."
(Pope Paul VI)
"Since
everything that issues from God is good and loveable, it follows that
everything in the creature that is good and loveable issues from God as
its first source" (St. Francis de Sales, Doctor of the Church)
"God
is love, St. John affirms (1 Jn. 4:8). Everything that exists is a
reflection of the free love of God, and therefore every creature
expresses in some way its infinite splendor." (Pope John Paul II)
"God,
therefore, knew everything He made before He made it. For we cannot say
that He made things He did not know and that He would not have known them
unless He had made them." (St. Augustine, Doctor of the Church, circa 415 A.D.)
"God
feeds the fowls, and daily sustenance is furnished the sparrows, and to
those creatures who have no sense of things Christian, do you think that
to a servant of God, do you think that to one devoted to good works, do
you think that to one dear to the Lord anything will be lacking?"
(St. Cyprian of Carthage)
"In all things that so great and wise a God has
created there must be many beneficial secrets, and those who understand
them do benefit, although I believe that in each little thing created by
God there is more than what is understood, even if it is a little
ant." (St. Theresa of Avila, Doctor of the Church)
"Distinction and variety in the world is intended by the First
Cause. God brings things into existence in order that His goodness may
be communicated and manifested. One solitary creature would not suffice.
Therefore He makes creatures many and diverse, that what is wanting in
one may be supplied by another." (St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and
"greatest theologian in the history of the Church")
"Even
other animals have not at birth such a perfect use of their natural
powers as they have later on. This is clear from the fact that birds
teach their young to fly; and the like may be observed in other
animals." (St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and
"greatest theologian in the history of the Church")
"Sometimes,
however, it is on account of a perfection, when we find the generic
nature completely in one species and not in another; thus animal is
named from soul [anima], and this belongs to an animate body, which is
the genus of animal; yet animation is not found perfectly in those
animate beings that are not animals." (St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and
"greatest theologian in the history of the Church")
"For
man consists of soul and body, but so do the beasts. There is no doubt
that in the natural order the soul is superior to the body. But in the
soul of man there is reason, which is not present in the beast.
Therefore, just as the soul is superior to the body, so too in the soul
itself reason is superior, by the law of nature, to those other parts
which the beasts also have." (St. Augustine, Doctor of the Church, circa 400 A.D.)
"The
young ravens are said to call upon God, on account of the natural desire
whereby all things, each in its own way, desire to attain the Divine
goodness. Thus too dumb animals are said to obey God, on account of the
natural instinct whereby they are moved by God." (St. Thomas
Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and "greatest theologian in the
history of the Church")
"Now
whereas our Lord might have taken an example from the men who have cared
least about earthly things, such as Elias, Moses, and John, and the
like, He made mention of the birds, following the Old Testament, which
sends us to the bee and the ant, and others of the same kind, in whom
the Creator has implanted certain natural dispositions (cf. Lk.
12:24-26)." (St. Cyril, Doctor of the Church)
"By
the words, 'opening the womb', he signifies the first-born both of man
and beast, and each one of which was, according to the commandment, to
be called holy to the Lord, and therefore to become the property of the
priest, that is, so far that he was to receive a price for every
first-born of man, and oblige every unclean animal to be ransomed."
(St. Bede the Venerable, Doctor of the Church)
"And
as in animals the vital principle is unseen and invisible, and is
evidenced and manifested by the movements and action of the members, so
the principle of supernatural life in the Church is clearly shown in
that which is done by it." (Pope Leo XIII, "Satis Cognitum", 1896
A.D.)
"[N]ature
does not incline thereto in the same way in all animals; since there are
animals whose offspring are able to seek food immediately after birth,
or are sufficiently fed by their mother; and in these there is no tie
between male and female; whereas in those whose offspring needs the
support of both parents, although for a short time, there is a certain
tie, as may be seen in certain birds." (St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor
of the Church and "greatest theologian in the history of the
Church")
"...let
us consider how the Divine Infant lies in the Crib of a Stable, and is
warned by the breath of the Ox and the Ass, as Isaias had foretold: The
ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib; but Israel hath not
known me. Thus does the great God enter that world which his own hands
have created! The dwellings of men are refused him, for man has a hard
heart for his God, and an indifference which is a real contempt. The
only shelter he can find to be born in is a Stable; and that
necessitates his coming into the world in the company of [animals]" (Gueranger)
"Now
the reason that he omits mention of the other birds, and speaks only of
the ravens (cf. Lk.12:24-26), is, that the young of the ravens are by an
especial providence fed by God. For the ravens produce indeed, but do
not feed, but neglect their young, to who in a marvelous manner from the
air their food comes, brought as it were by the wind, which they receive
having their mouths open, and so are nourished. Perhaps also such things
were spoken by synecdoche, i.e. the whole signified by a part. Hence in
Matthew our Lord refers to the birds of the air, but here more
particularly to the ravens, as being more greedy and ravenous than
others." (St. Theophylact)
"Individual
creatures, therefore, are created according to fit reasons. But where
must it be judged that these reasons reside, except in the mind itself
of the Creator? For He did not contemplate something located outside
Himself as a model by which He might fashion that which He fashioned; to
think that would be sacrilege. But if the reason for all things created
and about to be created are contained in the mind of God, and if in the
divine mind there can be nothing that is not eternal and
unchangeable...they are not only ideas but hey are real, because they
are eternal and at the same time they remain unchangeable. It is by
participation in these that it comes about that a thing is whatever it
is in whatever way it is." (St. Augustine, Doctor of the Church, circa 393 A.D.)
"But
it is a great thing to follow up this example in faith (cf. Lk.
12:24-26). For to the birds of the air who have no labor of tilling, no
produce from the fruitfulness of crops, Divine Providence grants an
unfailing sustenance. It is true then that the cause of our poverty
seems to be covetousness. For they have for this reason a toiless and
abundant use of food, because they think not of claiming to themselves
by any special right fruits given for common food. We have lost what
things were common by claiming them as our own. For neither is any thing
a man's own, where nothing is perpetual, nor is supply certain when the
end is uncertain." (St. Ambrose, Doctor of the Church)
"The Incarnation of God the Son signifies the taking up into unity with
God not only of human nature, but in this human nature, in a sense, of
everything that is 'flesh': the whole of humanity, the entire visible
and material world. The Incarnation, then, also has a cosmic
significance, a cosmic dimension. The 'first-born of all creation,'
becoming incarnate in the individual humanity of Christ, unites himself
in some way with the entire reality of man, which is also 'flesh' - and
in this reality with all 'flesh,' with the whole of creation." (Pope John
Paul II, 1986 A.D.) Also
See: Animals
in Church History | Prayers
for Animals | "Scripture
for Animal Lovers"
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