Missionary Message for 11th of the month - June 2023
By Fr. Alfred Maravilla SDB
General Councillor for the Missions
RMG, 10 June 2023 -- Creation is God’s gratuitous gift to us. Creation’s beauty reflects too the infinite beauty of our Creator (CCC, 341). By contemplating creation, we are also forced to examine where we place God in our lives and in our societies.
The foundation of the Social Teachings of the Church is the inherent sacredness of human life and the dignity of the human person, as created in the image and likeness of God (Gen 1:26). The respect and honour we owe to God our Creator flows to respect for life and for the dignity of every human person as well as to care for the whole of creation. Thus, we do not protect nature for its own sake. Our commitment to care for God’s creation is not a concession to any ideology nor to lobby groups. Rather, it is a requirement of our Christian faith.
God created man and woman in the garden and commanded them to “cultivate and take care of it” (Gen 2:15). Indeed, God created human beings last in order because they are to exercise responsibility for the well-being of God’s creation. In fact, creation is not our property, nor the property of only a few, which we can exploit at will. We are mere stewards, not owners. As stewards we are co-operators with God’s act of creating and sustaining the world.
Being stewards of creation implies a commitment to safeguard the environment. Our failure to responsibly safeguard the environment cause ecological degradation, pollution, food and water insecurity, and conflicts over declining resources. The serious consequences of environmental destruction affect all of us, yet the poor and vulnerable are those who suffer most. This intimate relationship between the poor and the fragility of the planet demands that our care for creation include advocacy for the poor. Hence, our care for creation cannot be divorced from our respect for human life and preferential option for the poor and vulnerable. Indeed, social justice is inseparable from environmental justice (LS, 16, 139).
God destined the earth and all it contains for all peoples. It is our common home. Regardless of religion, culture, or ethnic origin we are all interconnected and interdependent. We are part of creation and are in constant interaction with it. Thus, we are to care for creation and use it for the common good of all humankind (GS, 69). Consequently, it is necessary to work together and establish community network for the transformation of social and economic structures of our society through advocacy on environmental issues, supporting policies and initiatives at the local, regional, national, and global levels that promote ecological sustainability.
But above all, we need to recognise our personal sins and failures and strive to restore our broken relationship with God, others, and creation. Only this ‘ecological conversion’ can transform our hearts and minds toward greater love of God, each other, and creation (LS, 217-219). This is expressed through our small day-to-day personal actions that bring about protection and renewal of the environment: resist the throwaway culture and opt for a simpler lifestyle, recycle, segregate waste, buy eco-friendly products, conserve energy, plant trees, reduce the use of plastic, use more public transport, use more solar energy, be an active member of Don Bosco Green Alliance or the Laudato Si Movement. Indeed, we cannot delay. The urgency to care for creation is now!
For Reflection and Sharing
- Why must I care for creation?
- What will I concretely do to protect our common home?
