Last week’s “Something to think and pray about each day this week” in Sacred Space was about lifting our minds and hearts to God in the midst of competition – advertisements tempting us to “buy, buy, buy!”, the latest gadgets, internet/computer games, daily TV fare, movies, sales in the malls, etc. Sacred Space suggests that we take control of our minds and hearts and filter all distractions so we can pay attention to our experiences and notice the Lord in our lives and in our formal prayer periods. For after all, as St. Augustine tells the Lord, “our hearts are restless till they rest in you.”

How can we stay connected to the Lord? Where and how can we meet God? Where does God reveal Godself? We all know that God is revealed in Sacred Scripture and we all try our best to pray regularly on the Scripture passages of the day. We may feel consoled or disturbed by the Bible passages depending on our disposition.  
But perhaps we have forgotten that God has revealed Godself first in creation, in nature. For example, those who have taken their retreat in Sacred Heart Novitiate cannot deny that they have been touched by God just by sitting under a tree or looking at the sun’s rays streaming through the leaves of the balete tree or feeling the gusty wind as they relaxed on the bench. Another retreatant, taking a walk in Ateneo, soaking in the sight of the field and the trees, suddenly felt one with all of God’s creatures and was filled with deep gratitude to God.  
Perhaps we have our own memories of being touched by God in nature. Have you ever been so absorbed by the vast expanse of the sea that you forgot yourself and whatever was making you anxious? Have you ever experienced feeling down and watching a glorious sunset somehow made you feel God’s constant love? If so, you are truly blessed. Those are moments of grace that will stay with you for a long time.
What about our children or grandchildren? How connected are they to nature? Do they marvel at a flowering tree as they pass it on the way to school? Do they notice the rainbow after a storm has passed? If not, maybe we are not providing enough opportunities for our children to really experience nature. And we are just as guilty as they are in making them disconnected by filling their lives with the latest technological gadget or spending every family outing at the mall.    
Fr. Ruben’s teaching in this month’s community celebration reminds us of how disconnected we may have become from nature and perhaps from each other as we allow ourselves to be distracted by all our gadgets and preoccupations. While we recognize the benefits of technology, we can overuse it to the detriment of relating personally with each other, with nature and even with God.  
Being in touch with nature allows us to experience one of the humbling and fundamental truths of our faith – that God is our creator and we are his creatures. We are not masters of the universe, God is. We are united with God’s creation and we are its stewards.  
When we loose touch with nature, we are closing one of the channels of God’s revelation. We are limiting the flow of God’s grace. We begin to think we are the center of the universe and can manage without God. Do we really want this for our children?  
As parents and grandparents, we need to be strong and courageous to be the examples for the young.  We need to go out of our way to create more opportunities for our children to be in touch with nature, to relate more personally with us, with each other and with God.  And perhaps, our youth may find within our Christian faith, a spirituality that will truly touch their hearts.