Prayer
We thank you, creator God, for the goodly heritage you offer us, from the green downland to the deep salt seas,
and for the abundant world, we share with your creation.
Keep us so mindful of its needs and those of all with whom we share, that open to your Spirit we may discern and practice all that makes for its well-being,
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
Amen
Knowledge
Just before Thanksgiving, I participated in a webinar for a Life Learning Module at Mount Notre Dame High School. The topic was eco-spirituality. I don’t mind telling you, I was a bit nervous about the topic. I am slightly above a newbie in my own eco-spirituality.
As I was preparing for the presentation, I came upon this article on the USCCB website about the subject. I was struck by these words, “Spirituality implies a direct relationship with God… The experience of a desire for a direct relationship with God is hardly new. However, it can be confused with other experiences. Experiencing holy rites and believing truths can be religion; doing good and keeping laws can be morality; yearning for absolutes, for transcendence, can be noble humanism. Experiencing God, however, is spirituality.”
So, in its simplest definition, eco-spirituality is experiencing God in creation – leading us to right relationship with the earth. This requires a change in perspective.
There are a few things that I believe help with that perspective shift. First for me is acknowledging that language matters. It helps me to think of God as Creator. So, instead of saying “Heavenly Father”, I now begin prayer with “Creator God”. It is an acknowledgment that God has created and given us a beautiful gift and we have to care for it better.
My second thought in changing our perspective is to move away from seeing ourselves as apart FROM creation to seeing ourselves as being a part OF creation. We must stop seeing creation as a resource (which leads to consumption) and start seeing ourselves in a relationship with creation (which leads to care). We need to ask ourselves do we take what we want, or do we accept what is given?
Our environmental problems stem from greed, selfishness and apathy. A spirituality (experience of God) that is rooted in creation is the antidote to those things.
Action
Think about your prayer language – Using “Creator God” affects how we think. When we consistently remind ourselves that God created the things we are destroying, it makes us think.
Set some time apart to disconnect from the world. I know that is a challenge. If you don’t already, disconnect and go outside. In the 1980s, a term emerged from Japan that translates into Forest Bathing. Forest bathing is not hiking. It is more of a wandering in the woods. Go into the forest and wander and wonder at the nature God has made.
Consider gratitude prayers. Wherever you are, whether a forest or a walk around the neighborhood – BE present there. Notice creation where you are at any given moment. See, listen, smell, touch and maybe even taste what is around you. Then, say a prayer of gratitude for THAT moment in THAT space.
One last thought, next week, as you gather with your family, give thanks to all the people who had a part in bringing the food to your table: farmers, pickers, processors, drivers, grocery store employees, and the ones who cooked all day.