This article is part of a series of reflections written by our International Board of Directors to celebrate the 800 year anniversary of the Canticle of Creatures.
To this day the Canticle of the Creatures fascinates with its originality, its evocative creativity. In composing it, at first, Brother Francis follows the classic enumeration of the elements in the sequence with which his contemporaries are familiar: after the cosmic elements of sun, moon and stars, he mentions “brother wind” together with his allies “air, clouds, serene and all weather”; then follows “Sister Water” in the traditionally corresponding place. But immediately Brother Francis surrounds her with characteristics of particular poetic and spiritual density. He states that Sister Water is “useful and humble and precious and chaste”. Harmonious consonance of usefulness, humility, preciousness, chastity – cadence of respectful service in favor of life in its beauty and fragility. She does not claim to be “life” herself, but without the discreet assistance of Sister Water, no form of life on our earth is possible. Her “useful, humble, precious, chaste” presence is only intended to help unfold the hidden powers of beauty in every living being. The “preciousness” of Sister Water is condensed in her generous and discreet service to beauty and life.
I would like to share a simple experience of how a small fountain, possibly the most mysterious and enchanting representation of our Sister Water, becomes an invitation to get in touch with the hidden sources of life and resilience in adolescent girls marked by unjust wounds/hurts.
The “Kawsay Network – Consecrated Life for a Society without Human Trafficking”, an initiative of Peruvian religious men and women, offers recreational and formative workshops for survivors of human trafficking and sexual violence. In one of our workshops, “Camino hacia la fuente, mi manantial interior” (path towards the wellspring, my inner fountain), we walk with teenage participants to visit a small spring in the town of Chucuito, Puno, in the surroundings of Lake Titicaca. The ascent is demanding, even though the view of the majestic lake that accompanies the path against the current gives us new strength with each step. Fascinating is the “contrast” between the splendorous Titicaca below and the humble stream that shows us the tortuous path upwards, towards its mysterious origin among the rocks at the foot of the “Atojja” mountain!
Upon arrival, we use a guiding text and shared questions to reflect on the enigmatic contrast between the multiplicity of forms of water. It is not only the small stream against the backdrop of the gigantic lake that helps us reflect on the unique essence of always being “water”; mist, waterfall, snow, ice, and ocean reveal this same precious beauty. Our girls immediately discover the parallels with their own lives: the multiplicity of our changing emotions; of our fears; reflections of abuses, sufferings, and scorns that cannot erase the unique and indestructible dignity, the beauty, the desire to live that God has indelibly deposited in our souls.
There is a deeper truth here: the path “against the current” is not easy and the temptation to abandon the search for the “fountain” is sometimes almost insurmountable. After all, the demanding walk against the small stream running downhill turns into a symbol of the challenge to stand up to the dominant culture that frequently reduces people to objects of “use and disposal”.
On the other hand, the inner fountain, in spite of all the “contaminations” that may have accumulated during the course of the torrent, flows imperturbably faithful and clean, never tiring to offer its pure water to quench our thirst.
And there are also people from whom flow living fountains (Jn. 4, 14), from whose waters we are allowed to draw new strength! If we look around us we can identify them and be grateful for their presence. And what if we ourselves, according to the Lord’s promise, can one day become sources of hope for others because our wounds have healed and become an inspiration?
Our workshop ends with a simple exercise of silence and interiorization. We listen to the verse of the Canticle of the Creatures referring to Sister Water. Her preciousness reflects our own. Her humility is truly stronger than the destructive presumption of the abusers. Her chastity refers us to our unrenounceable dignity. Her usefulness is humble service in favor of life.
Fr. Vicente Imhof OFMConv