Caring for our common home - Creation is a precious gift from God
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, “Praise be to you, my Lord, through our Sister, Mother Earth, who sustains and governs us, and who produces various fruitwith colored flowers and herbs.” St. Francis of Assisi penned these words in his Canticle of the Creatures. It is with these words thatPope Francis begins his encyclical Laudato Si’, which is Italian for “praise be to you.” In this amazing declaration, Pope Francis uses the image of the earth as our sister who has been pillaged and damaged. This is a moving metaphor because, if we think of any one of our family being seriously wounded, it immediately evokes anger. The emotions of sadness and anger are exactly what the Holy Father is seeking to evoke in us when we ponder the damage that has been done to our planet and, by extension, to all of us.
In Laudato Si’ the pope is not making scientific, economic or political arguments. Rather, he speaks the language of faith to explain that creation is a holy and precious gift from God to be reverenced by all men and women. He points out that the poor are usually the most affected by the damage done to our environment. Care for our common home is a moral imperative that we must take seriously not just as Catholics but also as members of the human family.
Subsidiarity is central to Catholic social teaching, and it means that decisions in society need to be made at the lowest competent level. This is to say each of bears responsibility to do what we can today in our own lives, home and neighborhood to care for our home. We must do what we can not simply because it is a good thing to do but also because our faith requires that we care for the gifts that God has given us.
With this in mind I have asked a group of faithful, who are committed to this cause, to bring Laudato Si’ into reality here in western Massachusetts. Through small but meaningful efforts we can go a long way, breathing life back into the world. We are charged by our Lord to be good stewards of all God’s creation, so let us take on this challenge, not for ourselves but for future generations.
Diocese heeds Pope Francis’ call to care for creation
By Sharon Roulier
As thousands of honeybees buzz around Father Jack Sheaffer’s apiary behind the rectory at St. Thomas the Apostle Church in West Springfield, the priest/beekeeper dons his bee suit, gloves and lights the smoker. He is ready to inspect the three hives, doing his small part to protect and promote a healthy ecosystem.
“Scriptures begin with the creation story and the Book of Genesis,” said Father Sheaffer, who is the pastor of St. Thomas. “In that story God mandates humanity to take care of the earth.”
“When it says ‘dominion over the earth, it doesn’t mean just control it and do whatever you want with it,” he said. “It means to be a part of God’s creative action in the world and to continue to maintain what God has created for us.”
World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation
Being obedient to God’s commandment and spirit of love can radically change attitudes and actions to convert people from “predators” of natural resources to “tillers” of God’s great garden of planet Earth, Pope Francis said.
“The earth is entrusted to our care, yet continues to belong to God,” according to Judeo-Christian tradition, the pope said in his message for the 2024 World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation.
The World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, which is celebrated each year on Sept. 1, marks the start of the ecumenical Season of Creation. The season concludes Oct. 4, the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, patron saint of ecology.
The theme for 2024 is “Hope and Act with Creation,” based on St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans (8:19-25), in which the apostle considers the destiny of the created world as it shares in the penalty of corruption brought about by sin, concluding that creation will share in the benefits of redemption and future glory that comprise the ultimate liberation of God’s people.
Care of Creation Committee FormedImage Caption
The pope’s message comes as Springfield Bishop William Byrne announced the recent formation of the Care of Creation Committee to implement Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical letter Laudato Si.
In Laudato Si’ subtitled “on care for our common home” the pope critiques consumerism and irresponsible economic development, laments environmental degradation and global warming, and calls all people of the world to take “swift and unified global action.”
“I have asked a group of faithful, who are committed to this cause, to bring Laudato Si into reality here in western Massachusetts. Through small but meaningful efforts we can go a long way, breathing life back into the world,” said Bishop Byrne in his column in the Fall issue of The Catholic Mirror. “We are charged by our Lord to be good stewards of all God’s creation, so let us take on this challenge, not for ourselves but for future generations.”
The committee is an outgrowth of a Maryknoll affiliate that has been meeting monthly at Mary Mother of Hope Parish in Springfield over the last eight years, according to the parish’s Deacon Bill Toller, a member of the new committee.
“We’ve been meeting, praying and discerning a way to get the whole diocese involved in this issue,” said Deacon Toller.
“The future of the planet is at stake,” said the deacon, noting that care of creation is one of the seven principles of Catholic Social Teaching.
“The bottom line is that Pope Francis has put a focus on this, and all of us, we really need to do this,” he said.
Deacon Toller said the Care of Creation Committee is working to create a manual for parishes, schools and other organizations to use to provide concrete suggestions on ways everyone can help the planet.
From solar panels to recycling to water conservation to chemical free gardens and lawns, the committee hopes adults and children alike will be able to learn small and large ways they can contribute to the betterment of creation.