The occasional, often ill-considered thoughts of a Roman Catholic permanent deacon who is ever grateful to God for his existence. Despite the strangeness we encounter in this life, all the suffering we witness and endure, being is good, so good I am sometimes unable to contain my joy. Deo gratias!


Although I am an ordained deacon of the Catholic Church, the opinions expressed in this blog are my personal opinions. In offering these personal opinions I am not acting as a representative of the Church or any Church organization.

Saturday, February 20, 2010

The Giraffe: A Mythical Beast

I've always been fond of giraffes -- not that I've known any personally, but I can never resist visiting them when I find myself in a zoo. They are just such odd creatures. Tall and gangly and awkward looking, with those long, skinny legs and that remarkably long neck, they are simply unique in the animal kingdom. And they have such interesting faces, topped off by two stubby horns that just seem so out of place. Their coloring, too, is different, as if it were designed by a military camouflage expert. It is this oddness, this otherness, that makes the giraffe another reason why I believe in God. Such an animal could not have been the result of an evolutionary accident. The giraffe simply had to be created.

G. K. Chesterton once made a wonderful comment about the giraffe: "When first the giraffe was described by travelers it was treated as a lie. Now it is in the Zoological Gardens; but it still looks like a lie." 

In honor of this beautiful creature of God, I have included several photos I have taken of giraffes in recent years. I hope you enjoy them.
Bless the creatures, great and small.

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