understanding of man was dimmed and he failed in the interpretation of
nature. Instead of being led to God through it, he allowed himself to
become estranged, and from a master became the slave of nature.

Then Christ came and redeemed the world from the slavery of sin and
again granted to man the clear conception of the true God, as also the
right understanding of nature. This is verified in the saints and we
have a beautiful example in St. Francis of Assisi. About his
interpretation and meditation of nature St. Bonaventure says: "He
considered all things created as original from God, and saw in each
creature the Creator and Preserver."

Everything in nature was to him a symbol of spiritual life. He took
delight especially in flowers, because they reminded him of the flower
from the root of Jesse, which refreshens and gladdens the whole world.

See, my dear brethren, this is the correct, the Christian way of
contemplating nature. The spiritual world is reflected in the visible.

And Jesus being the King and Mary the Queen in the realm of grace and
glory, nature contains symbols that refer to Jesus and Mary. All things
of this creation: from the flowers of the valley to the brilliant stars
that illumine the night, all things in nature are symbols of the
glorious mother of God. Among many such symbols used in Holy Scripture
we find Mary called the mystical rose. The Church therefore regards the
rose as a symbol of Mary. Let us see in what the likeness consists.

If on a summer's day we enter a garden, where various flowers through
their form, color and sweet odor delight and refresh us, our eye is
chiefly attracted by the rose. We are especially well pleased with it.