Prayer
See, I am doing something new! Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? In the wilderness I make a way, in the wasteland, rivers. - Isaiah 43:19
“When I’m asked if I’m pessimistic or optimistic about the future, my answer is this: if you look at the science about what is happening on Earth and aren’t pessimistic, you don’t understand data. But if you meet people working to restore the Earth and the lives of the poor, and you aren’t optimistic, you haven’t got a pulse. What I see in the world are ordinary people willing to confront despair, power, and incalculable odds in order to restore grace, justice, and beauty to the world.” -- Paul Hawken
Knowledge
The Plastic Taskforce of the Dorothy Stang Initiative for Laudato Si’ Action invited Dr. Marcus Mescher, a professor of Christian Ethics from Xavier University, last month to speak alongside Sister Carol DeFiore, SNDdeN and Teresa Phillips. See the recordings and transcript here.
Dr. Mescher explains that Laudato Si’ is an invitation to slow down and get in touch with the goodness that is in us and around us. In Laudato Si’, Pope Francis emphasizes the interdependence between us and nature, reminding us that what we do to nature, we do to ourselves. Pope Francis hopes that when we change how we see our relationship with nature, not as a gift but as an interdependent part of our being, we will then come to gratitude, which will change how we interact with nature. This, in turn, will change how we treat it. This ecological conversion is what Pope Francis hopes will come out of this contemplation and action from each one of us. If we can find a way to live in harmony with creation, we can translate this as peace, wholeness, balance, and harmony of life in right relationship with God, ourselves, our neighbors, and creation.
Action
Sister Carol DeFiore, SNDdeN said, "Contemplation is taking a long, loving look at reality, taking that long, loving look at our life. What is prayer but conscious awareness of God? And we don't need a whole lot of words. We just need to stop. We just need to pause. And we can all do that. To pause more often. I like to sit out on our deck here in Julie Hall, to watch the sunset. To take a long, loving look at life, my life, what's going on, and what's going on out there. And I noticed just how I am refreshed, how I am renewed. And that's what prayer is all about. That's what God wants to do for us: renew us. Rekindle within us love and desire and hope and peace.”
According to the Trust for Public Land, about 88% of Cincinnati residents live within a 10- minute walk of a public park.. How incredibly lucky we are! However, in her presentation, Sister Carol DeFiore mentioned that taking a long, loving look at reality isn’t always the same for everyone. Wherever and whatever that means for you—whether it is to go out in your backyard, to just go around the neighborhood, to go to the closest park by your office or your house, or just to look outside your window—all it requires is for us to notice nature around us. How are you planning to “taking a long, loving look at the real” this week?” Let’s enter Laudato Si’ Week tomorrow with this mindset: we and nature are interdependent and interconnected.