Admiration is an act of the human spirit; animals can be surprised, they can feel comfortable, but only humans can admire. We can freely say that admiration is not only a capability of the human spirit but also a spiritual need. People who admire nothing are poor, while we all love those who can admire because admiration affirms the value of what we admire. We appreciate people who correctly recognize and affirm values and who can sincerely marvel. Sometimes, admiration even prompts us to act, to commit ourselves to what deserves admiration and attention. Properly cultivating and directing this ability can make us better individuals.

Children are particularly adept at admiring because their gaze is pure and open, while adults often wish to return to childhood to rediscover this capacity. Nature frequently inspires admiration because it truly deserves it. However, we tend to admire nature easily as it is familiar and tangible. For this reason, many people remain focused solely on physical and occasional psychological needs while neglecting their spirit due to a lack of understanding. To admire what surrounds us correctly, we must first thoroughly know ourselves. Only then can we discern what is truly admirable.

Knowing oneself means understanding who we are and where we come from, not just physically but existentially. So, where do we come from?

We often admire nature, which is indeed magnificent and worthy of admiration, but we should ask ourselves: if the created world inspires such awe, how much more does its Creator deserve admiration? No one can create something that they do not already possess within themselves in some way. This is true for humans, too: in creating, we necessarily transmit part of ourselves—our thoughts, ideas, traits, and abilities. If nature is so beautiful, how much more beautiful and valuable is its Creator?

To the question of where we come from, we can clearly answer by asking where we feel at home. When encountering the majestic expressions of nature, we feel closer to home, closer to that sincere childlike wonder and joy, and we feel a sense of belonging. We sense something greater above us, calling us to admire.

C.S. Lewis writes that God is closer to us than we think and that when we meet Him face-to-face, we will not encounter a stranger but a friendly face we have always known and recognized in various places on earth, in life’s situations, and in the movements of our spirit, even if not always consciously. God’s traces are everywhere around us, even in the very capacity and need to admire.

Saint Cancian, to whom this church is dedicated, is one of the many saints from Roman times who chose to die rather than renounce their faith. Accounts of saints who endured martyrdom often intimidate us, but we seldom consider that perhaps they were people of admiration, not just martyrdom. Perhaps they could recognize with their hearts what we only faintly perceive in the grandeur of creation. They saw further than we do and rejoiced most of all in the fullness of encountering God’s friendly face, more than anything else they could have been offered.

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Mt 5:8). This promise does not only pertain to a distant future; it begins to manifest even now through our openness to knowing and recognizing God. Humans are more than earthly beings; let us remember this whenever we encounter earthly realities worthy of admiration.