Laudato si’Encyclical letter of Pope Francis

onCARE

FOR OUR COMMON HOME

© John Donaghy

“Praise to you, my Lord”, Saint

Francis of Assisi used

to sing.

The testimony of Saint Francis of Assisi and his Canticle of the Creatures inspired Pope

Francis in this encyclical on the care of creation,

our common home.

Praised be you, my Lord, with all your creatures, especially Brother Sun, through whom you give us the day and illumine us. He is beautiful and radiant with great splendor; he bears a likeness of you, Most High.

Praised be you, My Lord, for Sister Moon and the stars; in the heavens you formed

them – clear, precious, and beautiful.

Prasied be you, my Lord, for Brother Wind and the air, the clouds, the serene heavens, and for every type of weather; through all these

you sustain your creatures.

Praised be you, my Lord,

for Sister Water, who is very humble, precious, and

chaste.

Praised be you, my Lord, for Brother Fire, through whom you illumine the night;

he is beautiful, joyful, vigorous, and strong.

As Pope Francis comments:“…our common home is also like a

sister, with whom we share existence.…

… and like a beautiful mother who welcomes us in her arms.”

Pope Francis offers us a mystical understanding of the universe.

“The universe unfolds in God, who fills it completely.

“Hence, there is a mystical meaning to be found in a leaf,

“in a mountain trail,

“in a dew drop,

“in a poor person’s face.”

But, Pope Francis reminds us, creation, though a gift from God, has been marred by human sinfulness.

“We have come to see ourselves as [creation’s] lords and masters, entitled to

plunder her at will.”

“The violence

present in our hearts,

wounded by sin,

…is also reflected in the symptoms of sickness evident in the soil, in the water, in

the air and in all living beings.”

Pope Saint John Paul II “called for a

global ecological

conversion.”

This conversion includes care for creation and the poor.

And Pope Francis calls us to recognize that “the effects of [our] encounter with Jesus Christ become evident in [our] relationship

with the world around [us].”

This is a conversion moving out of a “throw away culture”

to a “culture of encounter.”

As Pope Francis wrote:

“A sense of deep communion

with the rest of nature cannot be

real if our hearts lack

tenderness, compassion and

concern for our fellow

human beings.”

“[Saint Francis of Assisi]

was particularly concerned for God’s

creation and for the poor

and outcast.”

“The poverty and austerity

of Saint Francis were

no mere veneer of

asceticism,…

… but something much more

radical: a refusal to turn reality

into an object simply to be

used and controlled.”

Pope Francis calls us to a new way of being, not merely new ways of acting.

“If we approach nature and the environment without this openness to

awe and wonder,

… if we no longer speak the language of fraternity and beauty in our relationship

with the world,

…our attitudes will be those of masters, consumers, ruthless exploiters of

resources, unable to set limits on their immediate needs.”

Pope Francis says: “I urgently appeal, then, for a new dialogue about how we are constructing the future of our planet. We need a conversation which includes everyone, since the environmental challenge we are undergoing, and its human roots, concern and affect us all.”

“We require a new

and universal

solidarity.”

“Our insistence that each human being is an image of God should not make us overlook the fact that each creature has its own purpose.

“No creature is superfluous.

“The entire material universe speaks of God’s love,

his boundless affection for us.”

“Soil, water,

mountains: everything is,

as it were, a caress of

God.”

But, as the bishops of Southern Africa have stated: “Everyone’s talents and involvement are needed to redress the damage caused by human abuse of God’s creation.”

“All of us can cooperate as instruments of God for the care of creation, each according to his or her own culture, experience, involvements and

talents.”

“The world is more than a problem to be solved…

… the world is a joyful mystery to be contemplated with gladness and praise.”

Texts taken from the encyclical Laudato Si’ of Pope Francis,

slightly revised based on the Spanish version.

Photos © John Donaghy, 2015