In inviting us to study the Pope’s encyclical On Care for Our Common Home. Laudato Si, I want us among whatever elsewhere have decided to assume during this time of Holy Lent to take the opportunity to look around us. Pope Francis reminds us that “we have forgotten that we ourselves are dust of the earth; our very bodies are made up of (earth’s) elements, we breath her air and we receive life and refreshment from her waters.” To me this is as significant a response to the Lenten invitation to self-examination and repentance as anything else.
I am grateful to those who will share their reflections each week. The encyclical can be ordered from the US Conference of Bishops, or downloaded.
In the short introduction, the Pope acknowledges that many share his concerns, most notably Patriarch Bartholomew, the Ecumenical Patriarch. Bartholomew refers to the ethical issues of human behavior alongside the technological response. He asks us to "replace consumption with sacrifice, greed with generosity, wastefulness with a spirit of sharing, an asceticism which entails learning to give and not simply to give up."
It is this broader appeal moving beyond the mere technological – essential as that is – that drew me to my choice. We share our Christian lives as companions across the world where the impact of global warming hits very vulnerable populations whose resources are limited at the best of times. There are economic inequalities questions to be answered and desperate people will always find it hard not to respond to scarcity and fear in violent, self protective ways.
The Pope’s cites his inspiration in the life and witness of Francis of Assisi. “Francis helps us to see that an integral ecology calls for openness to categories which transcend the language of mathematics and biology, and takes us to the heart of what it is to be human.” This is a call to a new and universal solidarity, one which will require “everyone’s talents and involvement are needed to redress the damage caused by human abuse of God’s creation. All of us cam cooperate as instruments of God for the care of creation, each according to his or her own culture, experience, involvements and talents.”
There is our invitation, our motivation and our inspiration. Please join us in these weeks of Lent.
+Alan
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