When I open my eyes in the morning, I open the window and look outside. A small forest comes into view. It’s nice to start my day by looking at the ‘morning forest.’ I like forests, but I don’t enjoy hiking. That’s why I used to say that forests are something to look at. Still, I sometimes see people walking along the forest paths.
However, even though I’ve entered the forest, I don’t feel gratitude for the trees that emit oxygen. This is because most people are not interested in the trees that make up the forest. So, even if the forest speaks to them, they don’t listen. Now, I’ve entered the forest that I used to just look at. It’s to listen to what the forest is saying.
I became a forest interpreter. Someone has explained: “A forest interpreter is someone who connects the forest and people by interpreting the ecological language contained in the colors and shapes of nature into human language.” Here, as a priest, a forest interpreter is someone who “recognizes that all creatures sing their own existence and lives joyfully in the love and hope of God” (see “Laudato Si” No. 85). He is someone who listens to the message the forest delivers and interprets its paradoxical, unspoken voice into human language. However, speaking through the forest should convey the voice of God, not your own voice. This is something to be careful about.
Come to think of it, there are so many small but beautiful, fresh, and prepared forests around us. I am grateful to see a healthy forest spread out before me every morning, no, always. Why do I spend my time in the forest, and why does the forest capture my heart?
It is good to think about the forest and talk about the forest. That is the happy moment when the forest and I become one. In it, I realize the mystery of creation, and I am happy when I open my ears to hear God speaking to me through various trees. I am grateful to God for giving me health so that I can interpret the language of the forest into the language of faith. God has given me such a good part. I am a priest and a forest interpreter.
