Laudato Si Paragraphs 60-64: Broadening the dialog

                                                     

                  
                                             

Today I will reflect on a transition stage of this document: The last 2 paragraphs of chapter 1, and the first three of chapter 2.  It's a wonderful transition from the wordly importance of dialog  to the important spiritual role religion can play in such dialog.

We end chapter one on a positive note. We have just spent many paragraphs looking at the unpleasant reality of  the crisis we face. Being an ambassador of hope, the Pope now works on reminding us that our response to this crisis should highlight the full glory of our human capacity to work together through dialog. Francis tackles this subject rather creatively by presenting us with two different extreme positions: One that celebrates (but is also unrealistic about) human activity and creativity, and one that condemns it. He introduces the first with yet another controversial phrase: The myth of progress. (60) Before you get angry and excited and start yelling at the screen,let's clarify what he means by this term (hardly a term that he came up with himself. Many authors have explored it over the years!) He's not saying progress is bad, but that it has taken on such a mythical status for some people, that they are convinced that 'it' can solve any problem, even the ecological one. We just have to keep building newer, smarter machines that will fix this problem for us.  We don't have to change who we are, or how we live. Nor do we need 'ethical standards' to shape our actions. Let's just invent the right tools to fix our problems. THAT'S...the myth of progress. This unrealistic understanding of what progress (especially technological progress) can actually do. 

On the other side of things, is an ideology that is just as bad, if not worse:  Those who would  reduce all human contribution to creation to a single word: Threat.  As if all of human creativity, love and passion could be summarized only by the negative impact we've had on the rest of creation. Truth be told, both of these positions would be frustrating for anyone to deal with. The are both a little closed minded, and would probably affect us in such a negative way that we too would become a little closed minded as well if we were to dialog with them.

 In his own way, Francis explores what our response to closed mindedness should be as we deepen our experience of how a healthy dialog could help us find middle ground solutions to our ecological predicament. People of faith especially need to pay attention here, because there is indeed quite a challenge ahead for those of us who are religious, and turn to our faith for inspirations in how to connect with creation.  We do need to work with all kinds of people along the way, not just with those who are like minded. This means that along the way, we could be trying to dialog and work with people who would normally be inclined to spit upon, mock, or disregard our deeply held religious convictions and our spirituality.They may be just as concerned as we are for our planet, but they simply operate from a different lens.

But the point Francis really wants to make is that, when our common home is in disrepair,  when so many regions of our world at high risk of  threats from natural disasters and the detrimental social consequences that often come with such disasters (61), can we really afford to quibble about our differences? It would seem that we don't have the luxury to look at the world in isolation ('you stay in your community, I'll stay in mine, and never do we have to confront each other again'). On the contrary, we owe it to ourselves and to future generations to encounter, and listen attentively (and spiritually!) to  people who have different experiences of our world than we do, even the ones that go against our beliefs. Through these exchanges, not only can our own traditions/understanding be enriched, but we will be drawing closer to that crucial point when we can claim that we've found a solution to this crisis,that is relevant, authentic and meaningful to all peoples of the earth.

A large part of that process for people of faith is of course, to return to the source of our beliefs which should shape the way we dialog: Scripture.  We must remember that care care for the earth is not a 21st century message. It's a deep part of our experience of religion. And if we all lived this part of our faith, how wonderful of an impact would this community of the faithful have on the world! Francis certainly believes in the potential of this happening, which is why he moves from the importance of dialog, to a new chapter on  the importance of understanding this foundation from which the Judeo-Christian tradition can dialog, and the wisdom it brings to the table. He refers more specifically to our ability to working with science and spirituality together. This is one area the secular world, and the ecological movement is a little more weak in. Some people in this movement seem to rely entirely on the ways science could deal with all our problems ( that would mean such people are not that different from the adherents of the myth of progress!) They don't always take the time to look at spiritual solutions to it. It may not be fair to say that this is failure on the part of the ecological movement,but we at least have should reflect on Francis' premise that this problem we're 
confronted with is so large that no forms of wisdom should be left out of our efforts to address this devastating crisis that has so impacted our whole era (63)).

In the coming week on this blog, I've invited a few collaborators to speak on the wisdom of the Bible. I look forward to engaging with them on the spiritual gifts our faith can bring to this important dialog we must undertake with the world.

blessings on your weekend.

Brother Dan

Laudato Si, Paragraphs 53-59: Facing our ecological debt

                                            

                                                                                         Preach it Frank!!

We revive this project today by looking at Paragraphs 53-59 which  deal with the weakness of our responses to the ecological crisis our world faces. Many  Christians in the West  find this language uncomfortable, and are even unable to appreciate this document because of this. I understand that it's unpleasant for people to hear that we, as a society that consumes excessively, and embraces a throwaway culture, have our share of the blame around the state of the earth today, but I'm still left with one haunting question: " In our personal life, when we realize that we've done something to hurt others, do we deny that we were ever guilty of such an awful thing, or do we try to address the harm we've caused?" I can't say for certain how most people would answer this, but I feel the 'passing of the buck' is much more common than assuming responsibility for our actions. Perhaps the inability to face the blame is one of the reasons so many are angered by such language.

But  one of the reasons I believe  Francis is so vocal on this issue, is that he understands with all his heart that if we claim to be one single human family, the globalization of indifference to the suffering of others is unacceptable. (my paraphrase of the end of paragraph 52). And Yet, not only does this indifference exist, but it appears to be rampant among many of the economic and political leaders in our world. I believe, this is what inspires  Francis at the beginning of paragraph 53 to refer to the crying out of our Sister Earth for the second time in this document (as he did in Paragraph 2). The only difference is,  this time, the crying is much louder, as our Sister the Earth is joined in her cries by all those who suffer with her, the poor and marginalized whose lives have been destroyed by dramatic climate changes around our world. The shared suffering of humanity with creation (57) is one of the recurring themes in this document for Francis. It almost seems to become for him a point which he hopes will galvanize more people into living lives that are more oriented towards justice and harmony with all aspects of creation.

Unfortunately, he doesn't seem to have much hope that we're ready for this culture rooted in care for creation and for each other (54-57): " We lack leadership capable of striking out on new paths and meeting the needs of the present...". As difficult as it may be to hear this,  I also do see a glimmer of hope there. All Francis is doing is stating 'this is what the world needs. It doesn't have it right now. Let's make sure we do everything possible to ensure other generations will see this."In a way, he is recognizing that there are more barriers than there is hope  for now,(54) but that in the end,  hope is stronger than any of our greatest barriers and limitations! This is a lesson that is hard to learn, especially with the 'superficial rhetoric, and sporadic acts of philanthropy' that fill our world, which  while pleasant on the surface, achieves so little. Even in the face of positive changes in our world, there  seems to be so little success in changing the culture's harmful habits of excessive consumption (55-56).

I must confess, this whole passage is hard to read, especially on Earth day!  And it only gets worse as Francis explores where the priorities of many of those in power really are, and how, despite the outstanding things taking place at grass root and federal level around the world, there continues to be much resistance to environmental action that may interfere with profit. (57)

And then there are places like the Ignatius center in Guelph, where I work as a spiritual director.  They call it 'A Place of Peace', but it could also be considered a place of hope as well, with all the work being done on the property around ecological restoration (through the Old Growth forest project) and organic farming. Francis would be proud of this Jesuit ministry! And we should be proud of how he carries on with so much hope despite the sobering reality of our crisis. Indeed, true to his passion for hope, he does dedicate a paragraph in this section to talk about countless other examples of positive ecological work done around the world. (58). I've come to expect that from him in this document: this ability to balance a realistic view of things along with that glimmer of hope that can’t be extinguished! His relentless sense of hope around our ecological crisis is one of the reasons why many prominent (non Catholic) leaders of the field  are paying attention to this document! And he certainly makes up for more gloomy picture previously painted with a superb hopeful statement at the end of 58: "For all our limitations, gestures of generosity, solidarity and care cannot but well up within us, since we were made for love."

Many others would have left it there. Many would rather not read anything else but phrases like these!  But he won't let us dwell in some state of hopeful consolation. He wants us to be challenged by the reality that false hope can become a barrier too, when it leads to complacency and cheerful recklessness. No, the purpose of hope is that it leads to courage and wisdom: Courage to act boldly, in a matter fitting to the gravity of this situation; Wisdom to face our ecological debt to the global south and to respond to that debt not with sorrow, but with hope, and creativity. Such is his invitation to us. Let us pray we have the spiritual gifts to answer it!

 Blessings on your Friday, and weekend!

Br Dan.

Happy Earth Day!! Ok, let's get back to work!!!

We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.” » Native American Proverb 



We're back!! It has taken me quite a few months to get organized, but I really felt 'what better time to come back to this project of praying with Laudato Si,  than Earth day! '. I find the  work Ramana and I started here rather important, because this is a document that plays a huge role in humanity's efforts  to celebrate the importance of, and at the same time recognize the fragility of our beloved earth.  The work of this blog page will not be easy, as I continue the search for more collaborators,  but for the time being,  we have enough to get us through a few months worth  of entries, which should take us through 2-3 chapters of this important document! All we can do at this point is live in hope that others will be interested enough to contribute, and that every contribution will help us deepen our sense of how we can enter into a better relationship with creation, and better respond to the ecological challenges and crises of our time from a place of faith, and love!

Happy Friday all! Celebrate Mother Earth every day, and join us as we go deeper in love with  all creation through Laudato Si!

Stay tuned for our first entry, later today, and for an entry from our first collaborator  next week!