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Season of Creation with Francis (Days 28-30)

September 28, 2023

Fr. John Colacino C.PP.S.

September 28

Some people keep silent because they have nothing to say,
while others keep silent because they know when to speak.
The wise remain silent until the right moment,
but a boasting fool misses the right moment.

The wise person advances himself by his words,
and one who is sensible pleases the great.

The utterance of a sensible person is sought in the assembly,
and they ponder his words in their minds.

The lips of babblers speak of what is not their concern,^*
but the words of the prudent are weighed in the balance.
The mind of fools is in their mouth,
but the mouth of the wise is in^* their mind.

Gain the trust of your neighbour in his poverty,
so that you may rejoice with him in his prosperity.
Stand by him in time of distress,
so that you may share with him in his inheritance. (Ecclesiasticus 20:6-7, 27; 21:17, 25-26; 22:23)

Meditation

We know that technology based on the use of highly polluting fossil fuels – especially coal, but also oil and, to a lesser degree, gas – needs to be progressively replaced without delay. Until greater progress is made in developing widely accessible sources of renewable energy, it is legitimate to choose the less harmful alternative or to find short-term solutions. But the international community has still not reached adequate agreements about the responsibility for paying the costs of this energy transition. In recent decades, environmental issues have given rise to considerable public debate and have elicited a variety of committed and generous civic responses. Politics and business have been slow to react in a way commensurate with the urgency of the challenges facing our world. Although the post-industrial period may well be remembered as one of the most irresponsible in history, nonetheless there is reason to hope that humanity at the dawn of the twenty-first century will be remembered for having generously shouldered its grave responsibilities.

There are no uniform recipes, because each country or region has its own problems and limitations. It is also true that political realism may call for transitional measures and technologies, so long as these are accompanied by the gradual framing and acceptance of binding commitments. At the same time, on the national and local levels, much still needs to be done, such as promoting ways of conserving energy. These would include favouring forms of industrial production with maximum energy efficiency and diminished use of raw materials, removing from the market products which are less energy efficient or more polluting, improving transport systems, and encouraging the construction and repair of buildings aimed at reducing their energy consumption and levels of pollution. Political activity on the local level could also be directed to modifying consumption, developing an economy of waste disposal and recycling, protecting certain species and planning a diversified agriculture and the rotation of crops. Agriculture in poorer regions can be improved through investment in rural infrastructures, a better organization of local or national markets, systems of irrigation, and the development of techniques of sustainable agriculture. New forms of cooperation and community organization can be encouraged in order to defend the interests of small producers and preserve local ecosystems from destruction. Truly, much can be done!

The majority of people living on our planet profess to be believers. This should spur religions to dialogue among themselves for the sake of protecting nature, defending the poor, and building networks of respect and fraternity. Dialogue among the various sciences is likewise needed, since each can tend to become enclosed in its own language, while specialization leads to a certain isolation and the absolutization of its own field of knowledge. This prevents us from confronting environmental problems effectively. An open and respectful dialogue is also needed between the various ecological movements, among which ideological conflicts are not infrequently encountered. The gravity of the ecological crisis demands that we all look to the common good, embarking on a path of dialogue which demands patience, self-discipline and generosity, always keeping in mind that “realities are greater than ideas”. (LS 5:165,180, 201)

Musical Selection (John Michael Talbot)

Sacred silence, holy ocean
Gentle water, washing over me
Help me listen, Holy Spirit
Come and speak to me

Sacred silence, holy ocean
Gentle water, washing over me
Help me listen, Holy Spirit
Come and speak to me

God my father, Christ my brother
Holy Spirit, sanctifying me
But Lord, have mercy and please forgive me
Come and set me free

Sacred stillness, deep still waters
Calm the raging storms within my soul
And clear the waters of confusion
At pure and peaceful waters flow

Sacred silence, holy ocean
Gentle water, washing over me
Help me listen, Holy Spirit
Come and speak to me
Come and speak to me
Come and speak to me

September 29

To fix one’s thought on her [Wisdom] is perfect understanding,
and one who is vigilant on her account will soon be free from care,
because she goes about seeking those worthy of her,
and she graciously appears to them in their paths,
and meets them in every thought.

The beginning of wisdom is the most sincere desire for instruction,
and concern for instruction is love of her,
and love of her is the keeping of her laws,
and giving heed to her laws is assurance of immortality,
and immortality brings one near to God;
so the desire for wisdom leads to a kingdom.

For it is he who gave me unerring knowledge of what exists,
to know the structure of the world and the activity of the elements;
the beginning and end and middle of times,
the alternations of the solstices and the changes of the seasons,
the cycles of the year and the constellations of the stars,
the natures of animals and the tempers of wild animals,
the powers of spirits^* and the thoughts of human beings,
the varieties of plants and the virtues of roots;
I learned both what is secret and what is manifest,
for wisdom, the fashioner of all things, taught me. (Wisdom 6:15-20; 7:17-22)

Meditation

However, by a more excellent and more immediate method, analysis leads us to look upon eternal truth with greater certainty. For, whilst analysis arises through a reasoned abstraction of place, time and transformation and, thereby, through immutable, unlimited and endless reason, of dimension, succession and transmutation, there however remains nothing which is entirely immutable, unlimited and endless - apart from that which is eternal; and everything which is eternal is God, or in God. And, therefore, however more certainly we analyse all things, we analyse them according to this reason, which is clearly the reason of all things, the infallible rule and the light of truth in which all things are illumined infallibly, indelibly, indubitably, unbreakably, indistinguishably, unchangeably, unconfineably, interminably, indivisibly and intellectually. And so, as we consider those laws, with which we judge with certainty those things which we perceive, while they are infallible and indubitable to the intellect of the one apprehending, indelible to the memory of the one recalling and unbreakable and indistinguishable to the intellect of the one judging, so, because, as Augustine says, no one judges from them, but through them, it is required that they be unchangeable and incorruptible because necessary, unconfinable because unlimited, endless because eternal, and, for this reason, indivisible because intellectual and incorporeal - not made, but uncreated, eternally existing in that art of eternity, from which, through which and consequent to which all elegant things are given form. For this reason, they cannot with certainty be gauged save through that which not only produced all other forms, but which also preserves and distinguishes all things, as in all things the essence holding the form and the rule directing it; and, through this, our mind analyses all things which enter into it through the senses. (Journey 2:9)

Musical Selection

Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
in light inaccessible, hid from our eyes,
most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
almighty, victorious, thy great name we praise.

Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,
nor wanting, nor wasting, thou rulest in might,
thy justice like mountains high soaring above
thy clouds, which are fountains of goodness and love.

To all, life thou givest, to both great and small.
In all life thou livest, the true life of all.
We blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,
and wither and perish, but naught changeth thee.

Great God of all glory, great God of all light,
thine angels adore thee, all veiling their sight.
All praise we would render; O help us to see
‘tis only the splendor of light hideth thee.

September 30

I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, You were taught to put away your former way of life, your old self, corrupt and deluded by its lusts, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to clothe yourselves with the new self, created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. (Ephesians 4: 1a, 22-24, 30)

Meditation

The rich heritage of Christian spirituality, the fruit of twenty centuries of personal and communal experience, has a precious contribution to make to the renewal of humanity. Here, I would like to offer Christians a few suggestions for an ecological spirituality grounded in the convictions of our faith, since the teachings of the Gospel have direct consequences for our way of thinking, feeling and living. More than in ideas or concepts as such, I am interested in how such a spirituality can motivate us to a more passionate concern for the protection of our world. A commitment this lofty cannot be sustained by doctrine alone, without a spirituality capable of inspiring us, without an “interior impulse which encourages, motivates, nourishes and gives meaning to our individual and communal activity”. Admittedly, Christians have not always appropriated and developed the spiritual treasures bestowed by God upon the Church, where the life of the spirit is not dissociated from the body or from nature or from worldly realities, but lived in and with them, in communion with all that surrounds us.

In calling to mind the figure of Saint Francis of Assisi, we come to realize that a healthy relationship with creation is one dimension of overall personal conversion, which entails the recognition of our errors, sins, faults and failures, and leads to heartfelt repentance and desire to change. The Australian bishops spoke of the importance of such conversion for achieving reconciliation with creation: “To achieve such reconciliation, we must examine our lives and acknowledge the ways in which we have harmed God’s creation through our actions and our failure to act. We need to experience a conversion, or change of heart”. (LS 6: 216,218)

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