When the new Roman Missal was published in 2011, I was pleasantly surprised to see a passage in the Third Eucharistic Prayer, which was a change from what was in the former Sacramentary. The prayer is in praise of God and contains these words: “. . . through your Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, by the power and working of the Holy Spirit, you give life to all things and make them holy . . .” It is stating that God makes all things holy. All things: not merely religious things, religious articles, religious art, but all things.

I recall being pleased to see those words for the first times I used that prayer, pleased at the implications. There is a holiness in things. Of course, those of us influenced by the Franciscan view of things are accustomed to seeing nature as reflective of God and to see a relationship with natural things. “Brother Sun and Sister Moon.” But it seems a step further to see things as actually holy. Perhaps, indeed, that is what St. Francis believed. I am not sure of that.

I resonated with that statement in the Eucharistic Prayer because as the years have gone on, I have come to see more and more things as holy. The boundary between material and spiritual, secular and sacred has become thinner. Part of the reason for that may be my many years of living at our retreat centers, located on beautiful pieces of property, with lawns, wooded areas, and small bodies of water. And then there were the resident animals and birds that added to the natural qualities of these places. Since these places were retreat centers, dedicated to providing an atmosphere for prayer and reflection, the properties and living creatures blended in to the purpose of the centers. “All things holy” easily fits the combinations of all these elements.

All of this might lead to a discussion of the nature of holiness. What does “holy” mean?

In the Bible, the idea of God as holy points to God’s “otherness” from us, pointing beyond what we see in our material world. And yet, Biblical language also tells us to “be holy as your heavenly Father is holy.” And so there is to be a participation in the life of God. That seems to be one of the reasons of the Incarnation, Jesus coming to be with us. And so, whatever “holy” means, it seems to be a pointing beyond what we see and hear and feel. It is hard to finally put one’s finger on what it means to be holy.

Over the years it has become easier for me to appreciate things as holy, especially as many people have become more and more concerned about the earth and how it is suffering from climate change and various forms of pollution and destruction. There has been the encouragement of Pope Francis’ encyclical, Laudato Si, to take care of the earth as our common home. If the earth and all the universe can be seen as a gift of God, why cannot it therefore be considered holy?

One of my favorite photos of myself is of me hugging a redwood tree in the John Muir Forest in California. If someone were to call me a “tree hugger,” I would take it as a compliment.

And going beyond the things of nature, I have also come to see some of the works of people as holy, such as great art: music, visual arts, literature, poetry. There seems something almost holy about the discipline of an orchestra playing a great symphony. And I can easily consider people like Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, and Schubert, and so many more, as holy, not so much from their personal character, but in that they seem to be conduits for something beautiful – again, perhaps the gifts of God. I would also include my favorite poet, Mary Oliver.

These are my opinions and I am not suggesting that everyone “should” think in this way. But I offer my comments for consideration. The more we can grow in our consideration and appreciation of things of nature and of people as “holy”, perhaps we will treat nature and all our brothers and sisters with greater respect, peace, and trust.

– Fr. Tom Zelinski