Daylight Savings Time begins this week. For all of us we gain an extra hour of daylight at the end of each day. This time adjustment is particularly helpful to some business and for everyone who may have the chance to benefit by having that extra hour of daylight.

I would like to suggest that each of us take a small portion of that extra hour of daylight at the end of each day, for a little extra prayer time, time with God. Perhaps if we took 15 minutes in some quiet place to give thanks to God for our many hours of daylight, to tell our loving Father how much we love Him and depend on him for every hour of our time on this earth!

In our spiritual journey to God, it is always easy to find ourselves coming closer to God by reading an inspiring book, reading Scripture, reflecting on the lives of the Saints. It is easy if we stay within the realm of “pleasant” things.

However, we would do well to remember almost all of the saints formed that close relationship with God through the holy cross or our Lord. The crucifix of our Lord is our eternal sign of the absolute selflessness of our Lord Jesus. The world does not talk much about the cross these days. What an absolute pity! Without the cross of our Lord, we cannot be one with him.

Whenever someone is interested in learning the art of creative writing, one of the first things to learn is to write about the ordinary, everyday things in life. The simple things that all go into who we really are.

I also feel that this is a good point for us to remember in our relationship with God. God is not really interested in grandiose or exciting stories about events in our lives. Rather He is interested in the deepest honesty between Himself and us. It is on this level that the truest and most secure relationship with God can be found.

Franciscans are often referred to as “tree huggers!” The great love Saint Francis of Assisi had for all of God’s creation is a beautiful part of our heritage as Franciscan Friars. This fact should be a great assist to all of us, Franciscans or not Franciscans, as we continue our pilgrimage in this life.

Saint Francis was blessed with a deep understanding that what ever it may be which is a part of our created world, is touched and sanctified by God. If we look around us and see everything in our world as indeed, touched by God, we all will have a deeper appreciation of our world and all it contains.