This Earth Week…Saving the Earth Requires New Perspectives
~ by Heidi Schlumpf for EarthBeat, National Catholic Reporter
Elizabeth Johnson has spent her entire life – or at least her decades-long theological career – trying to get people to think differently about God. Her award-winning 1992 book She Who Is is credited for bringing attention to the need for feminine images of the Divine. Johnson is a Sister of St. Joseph and one of the most prominent theologians in the United States.
Now Johnson is again broadening her view of God, in the hopes that it will help Christians see their connection to nature and the need to save it. She has written a new book, Come, Have Breakfast: Meditations on God and the Earth which explores God as a lover of the Earth who is in relationship with creation.
Her new book’s title refers to Jesus’ words to the disciples during a post-Resurrection appearance near the end of John’s Gospel. It reminded Johnson that Jesus enjoyed material things and was often taking care of people’s material needs, like feeding them.
A God intimately involved in the material world has implications for how we treat it, Johnson said.
Taking care of creation is not just “one more issue” that can be seen as extrinsic to our own being, she said. Instead, it involves our understanding of God, of ourselves as made in the image and likeness of God, and of creation, which reflects the goodness of God.
Instead of a pyramid with humans near the top, Johnson sees a circle of kinship among the reality of creation. “We’re fundamentally interrelated with each other. So, when we care for the earth, we’re not ‘up here’ caring for creation ‘down there.’ We care for one another as members of the same community.”
She quotes Pope Francis in Laudato Si which affirms that “eternal life will be a shared experience of awe, in which each creature, resplendently transfigured, will take its rightful place.” To read the full article, please click here
April 22nd is Earth Day!
Laudato Si’ is Pope Francis’s encyclical “On Care for Our Common Home.” The Holy Father’s message is loud and clear: caring for our environment is a fundamental tenet of our Catholic faith. As such, Earth Day presents a golden opportunity for teaching about Laudato Si’ as well as the Catholic principle of Care for God’s Creation, one of the seven principles of Catholic Social Teaching.
1. Give praise to our Creator. In the Nicene Creed, we say, “I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth.” How appropriate that the first sentence of our Creed mentions the fact that all of creation comes from God! Pray the Creed. Sing songs of praise such as “Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow,” “How Great Thou Art,” and “Holy God We Praise Thy Name.”
2. Contemplate the wonders of God’s creation. Contemplation, (i.e. resting in God’s presence) is an authentically Catholic practice and a way of coming to a deeper appreciation of finding God in all of creation. Take some time to contemplate outdoors. Pope John Paul II said, “Faced with the glory of the Trinity in creation, we must contemplate, sing, and rediscover awe.”
3. Pray, pray, pray. Pray for those who are at risk from exposure to environmental hazards. Pray for social justice for those who are poor and who suffer disproportionately from environmental destruction. Pray for those with an excess of wealth that they (we) may come to share with others more generously. Pray for future generations that they may benefit from a healthy environment.
4. Create a garden. Participate in God’s ongoing creation by planting a garden. Consider planting a vegetable garden and sharing your harvest with those less fortunate. Create a “Mary Garden,” a tradition going back to medieval times that dedicates the garden to the Blessed Virgin Mary and is populated with plants that bear her name.
5. Read and study Church documents on caring for God’s creation. Considering creation as sacred is not new to Catholics. The Church has a long tradition of respecting God’s creation. Read up on what both Scripture and Tradition have to say about ecology and the environment.
6. Learn about and teach others about the lives of St. Francis of Assisi and St. Kateri Tekakwitha. These two saints are the patron and patroness of ecology. Children especially love to learn the stories of these two saints.
7. Learn six ways to help your parish or community “go green.” Here are some wonderful ideas from Darcy Osby about helping children learn about care for God’s creation.
8. Take the St. Francis Pledge to care for creation and the poor. The St. Francis Pledge, initiated by the Catholic Climate Covenant, is a solemn commitment made by Catholic individuals, groups, and institutions to honor God’s creation and to serve those who are poor.
9. Make a donation to Catholic Relief Services. CRS, the official international humanitarian agency of the U.S. Catholic community, promotes caring for the environment in the U.S. and abroad. Visit their website to learn more about their work and how you can help.
10. Read Laudato Si’. Pope Francis’s encyclical on how we need to care for our common home takes the notion of care for the environment out of the political arena and links it to our Catholic faith.
To learn more click here ~ Catechist’s Journey website
Earth Day 2020
On April 22, 1970, 20 million Americans — 10% of the U.S. population at the time — took to the streets, college campuses and hundreds of cities to protest environmental ignorance and demand a new way forward for our planet.
The first Earth Day is credited with launching the modern environmental movement, and is now recognized as the planet’s largest civic event.
The theme for Earth Day 2020 is climate action. The enormous challenge — but also the vast opportunities — of action on climate change have distinguished the issue as the most pressing topic for the 50th anniversary.
Climate change represents the biggest challenge to the future of humanity and the life-support systems that make our world habitable.