Friday, May 22, 2009

FRIDAY FAIR - IN A PEAR TREE

The partridge can represent the Devil or in more general terms deceit and theft. But can that explain the ratings of the television show?

The sparrow is one of my favorites. Sitting at an outdoor table of a coffee shop they come and keep company and clean up any crumbs I might accidently drop. Very serviceable, humble, and friendly bird. It may not surprise you then that it is the very symbol of humility because of its ordinariness and brown color. Perhaps that is why he is so often associated with Saint Francis; they have the same tailor. This bird also represents the humble who are none-the-less special in God’s eyes and are under his protection.

In the news yesterday there was word that there is a falcon close by that has built his nest too close to the ground and is terrorizing the neighborhood. We have two that have taken up residence in our big bell tower. I think I’ll keep my distance until the little ones have flown away so no more bell tower parties. Wild falcons represent the evil of man who follows his passions. A tame falcon represents the spiritually refined person who has brought his animal instincts under God’s control.

2 comments:

Pat said...

Dear Father, Funny you should talk about birds today. This morning I was late for Mass because I needed to chase a little bird out of the garage. It was trapped, tapping on the window and disoriented. Poor thing. Finally, it figured out that the big door was now open. Maybe the Lord is trying to tell me something.

knuckledragger said...

Behind the humble countenance of your coffee shop companions lurks a malevolent heart. These are English sparrows, aka house sparrows. Actually a type of weaver finch, these birds are foreign invaders brought to these shores because some well intentioned soul thought they would be good at controlling insect pest populations. These bellicose cavity nesters literally kill the competition for nesting sites and are responsible for the decline of eastern bluebirds and purple martins. English sparrows enjoyed their greatest heyday when horse manure covered the streets; today they make do with french fries at the McDonald's parking lot or crumbs at the coffee shop.
The true sparrows, on the other hand, are good to have around. ;^)