Richard Louv asked me if I had considered interviewing the theologian Thomas Berry for Behold the Earth. I had, but knew that he was in his 90’s.

Two days ago, Thomas Berry died in the morning, after sunrise. Age 94. Yesterday, Richard shared a beautiful piece of writing he did, called The Giftedness. He includes an excerpt from Berry’s writing, which described a “beholding” moment of Berry’s childhood: “It was an early afternoon in May when I first looked down over the scene and saw the meadow,” Thomas Berry wrote, “A magic moment, this experience gave to my life something, I know not what, that seems to explain my life at a more profound level than almost any other experience I can remember….”

And an excerpt from a visit: “There are ways of doing things that require paying attention to a world that is beyond the human mind… In our later years, we feel a return. To be gifted with delight as a child, the giftedness should continue. The aging process is full of excitement that comes along with the pain of going through the changes. The giftedness continues.”

Posted on June 3rd, 2009 in Christians, Environmentalists, Parents