Pope Francis, Saint Francis, and Mentor Headlands

Just Thoughts: Laudati Si’--Praise Be to You Lord

Walking on Mentor Headlands Beach the other day brought to mind Pope Francis and his great concern for the environment. He has shown this so clearly by taking the name Francis, after Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of environmentalism, and by the title and theme of the Pope’s great encyclical, Laudati Si’. For the title of the encyclical, the Pope actually borrowed the first two words of St. Francis’ Canticle of the Sun, written in his own Umbrian dialect of Italian. In the Canticle of the Sun, Francis wrote, “Praise be to you, My Lord, for Brother Sun . . . Sister Moon . . .  Brother Fire . . . Mother Earth.”

The reason St. Francis and Pope Francis came to mind when walking on the beach is because in Ohio we have done such a terrible job of caring for Brothers Wind and Air, and Sister Water. At Mentor Headlands the water was filthy with debris; a sign was posted saying the water quality was poor and that there was a risk of toxic poisoning from algae blooms. The sand was also filled with garbage. The bathrooms were filthy and unmaintained. What a judgement on us and the State of Ohio, allowing for such a tragedy to befall Ohio’s most magnificent beach, on one of the world’s great treasures--Lake Erie, the 12th largest lake in the world.

It doesn’t have to be this way. An hour and a half east on I-90 is the magnificent Presque Isle, just off Erie, PA. There are over 20 beaches on this peninsula, clean, cared for, with maintained changing facilities and bathrooms. Ohio’s Lake Erie shores could be like this.

St. Francis wrote, “Be praised, my Lord, through Sister Water; she is very useful, and humble, and precious, and pure.“ But Lake Erie is not clean or pure. In many places it is shameful and an abuse of God’s creation.

Let us work to clean up this resource. It is a matter of political will. Let us follow Pope Francis and Saint Francis on caring for our home, the Earth, and our back yard, Lake Erie.

Summer Solstice Memory on Winter Solstice

Summer Solstice on Lake Erie--off Mentor Headlands, Ohio

Perfect Day on Lake Erie

Yesterday was hot in Northeast Ohio so we decided to head for the Big Lake. We arrived at Mentor Headlands around 4:30 PM and there were hundreds--probably thousands-- of people there already. The huge sandy beech, about a mile long and a 100 yards wide, could easily accommodate everyone. The Lake was calm, the only ruffles created by the many jet skis and boats out on the water. The sky was blue and cloudless. The air temperature near the lake was about 85 degrees and the sand was scalding hot. We set up right near the wild east end of the beach, next to the sand dunes.

I had to get into that water right away. The water at first felt chilly, though it was said to be 75 degrees. But soon I was in and swimming around, as was Linda. In the next few hours we were in and out of the water several times. There were lots of families around; there was a large group of teenagers, maybe a high school graduation class. As far as you could see there were people, both on the beach and in the water. More than I've seen in years. Around 6:30 we had a little supper--sandwiches, grapes, a peach, and a pop. Around 7:30 we made our last foray into the water. I put my eyes right at water level and looked in all directions. I thought, this is one of the most perfect moments of my life (The German line from Goethe's Faust entered my mind: "Verweile doch, du bist so schoen!" Please stay! Thou art so beautiful!").

After leaving the water and sitting back in our chairs, Linda noticed that Colin, our 2-year-old grandson., was coming with his parents, Julia and Ed. When he saw us, he began to run. He actually ran right past Linda, whom he calls "Nana," and to me, whom he calls "Brrr." For some reason, I have become his favorite lately. Colin started collecting lucky stones, the rounded milky quartz peculiar to the Chagrin and Grand River watersheds. He knew to give them to me; he knows I like lucky stones.

Soon the sun was beginning to set, this orange-red ball sinking into Lake Erie.The time of the sunset was strikingly early, about 8:13--summer is about over. Though we didn't see the "green flash," we did see one of the most beautiful Lake Erie sunsets ever. The picture below was taken 4 years ago at the same spot. And that's what sunset looked like last night--the perfect day on Lake Erie.

Summer Solstice Sunset on Lake Erie

These photos show the sunset over Lake Erie on the Summer Solstice, 2008, from Mentor Headlands State Park. The photos were taken with a Canon digital camera, and the images were not manipulated in any way.

[Photos copyrighted 2008 by Robert M. Coughlin.]