Nature Spirituality

Praying with Wind, Water, Earth, Fire

The presence of the Divine is everywhere. That is both a comfort and a challenge. We are consoled to know that God is with us, but being human we need a sign, something to touch, see, hear, taste, smell. We need something of the ordinary to name the non-touchable, invisible, unable-to-be-heard, tasteless, odorless God's presence with us. So, we employ metaphors, figures of speech which literally denote one kind of object in place of another, to suggest a likeness or analogy. In this book, the metaphors used for God come out of the Bible; they are the four elements of nature for the Greeks: wind, water, earth, and fire. Wind is a metaphor for God's Spirit. Water refers to God as the source of life. Earth, from which we are created, bears God's fingerprints and footprints. And fire reminds us of the God who purifies and draws all creation to himself. This nature spirituality book consists of four chapters--wind, water, earth, fire--each of which contains twenty, four-part exercises of prayer: a few verses from Scripture, a reflection, a journal exercise, and a concluding prayer.