"Just Thoughts" for December 6, 2015

Krista and Ed Zivkovich have submitted this "Just thoughts" essay for the December 6, 2015 bulletin of St. Mary's parish in Painesville, Ohio:

Just Thoughts

"We must be the change we wish to see in the world."  Gandhi

In his encyclical, Laudato Si, Pope Francis called for a global effort to combat climate change.  This week and next, representatives from over 190 countries are attending the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris to discuss actions which could ultimately result in less greenhouse gas emissions that harm our planet, causing rising sea levels and temperatures with potentially devastating effects around the world.  Pope Francis wrote,"A global consensus is essential for confronting the deeper problems, which cannot be resolved by unilateral actions on the part of individual countries."

While heads of state, representatives of nations, scientists and others address this critical issue, Pope Francis reminds us,"Living our vocation to be protectors of God's handiwork is essential to a life of virtue; it is not an optional or secondary aspect of our Christian experience." (217).  We all have a stake in and responsibility to care for our planet Earth. Following are 4 challenges from Pope Francis' encyclical prepared by the Archdiocese of Washington that are especially appropriate during this Advent season of waiting and reflecting.

1.     Celebrate Beauty - "See nature as a magnificent book in which God speaks to us and grants us a glimpse of his infinite beauty and goodness...The world is a joyful mystery to be contemplated with gladness and praise."  Action: Take time to be outside! Find the natural beauty in your community, and in doing so offer thanks to God for the beauty of all created things, including one another."

2.     Live in a Global Community - "We must regain the conviction that we need one another, that we have a shared responsibility for others and the world, and that being good and decent are worth it." (229).  Action: Make a commitment this week to serve the needs of the poor in a concrete way."

3.     Slow Down & Unplug - "Inner peace is closely related to care for ecology and for the common good because, lived out authentically, it is reflected in a balanced lifestyle together with a capacity for wonder which takes us to a deeper understanding of life. Nature is filled with words of love, but how can we listen to them amid constant noise..." (225). Action: Find time each day, especially on Sunday's, for quiet moments to talk with and listen to God.

4.     Practice Small Acts of Love - "St. Therese of Lisieux invites us to practice the little way of love, not to miss out on a kind word, a smile or any small gesture which sows peace and friendship. An integral ecology is also made up of simple daily gestures which break with the logic of violence, exploitation and selfishness." (230).  Action: Practice a new small act of love as a way of living solidarity with those most in need and being a more responsible steward of God's gifts. For example, reuse & recycle, reduce water consumption & electricity use, avoid using plastic bottles and bags.                          

                                                       

Source: Archdiocese of Washington, www.adw.org/creation

Pope Francis Speaks Out About Basic Human Rights

Pope Francis, While in Africa, Speaks of Basic Human Rights

[from the Amecea News Blog: http://amecea.blogspot.com/2015/11/kenya-access-to-safe-drinkable-water-is.html]

Pope Francis has denounced the conditions slum-dwellers are forced to live in and said that access to safe water is a basic human right and that everyone should have dignified, adequate housing.

Speaking at Kangemi Slum in Nairobi during the last day of his visit Pope Francis said “Our world has a grave social debt towards the poor who lack access to drinking water, because they are denied the right to a life consistent with their inalienable dignity (Laudato Si’, 30). …. To deny a family water, under any bureaucratic pretext whatsoever, is a great injustice, especially when one profits from this need.

Residents of the Kangemi slum lined up along the streets to welcome Pope Francis. Those lucky enough to score access to St. Joseph's parish erupted in cheers and hymns when Francis arrived at the open-sided church that serves the slum of about 50,000 people.

“I am here because I want you to know that your joys and hopes, your troubles and your sorrows, are not indifferent to me.  I realize the difficulties which you experience daily!  How can I not denounce the injustices which you suffer?” Pope Francis asked.

On issue of infrastructure Pope Francis said that it is a serious problem if one lacks access to infrastructures and basic services.  “By this I mean toilets, sewers, drains, refuse collection, electricity, roads, as well as schools, hospitals, recreational and sport centers, studios and workshops for artists and craftsmen,” he said.

The Holy Father urged the authority to work with the people living in the slums upon the path of social inclusion, education, sport, community action, and the protection of families, for this is the only guarantee of a peace that is just, authentic and enduring.

In the conclusion of his speech Pope Francis said,  “Dear neighbors, dear brothers and sisters, let us together pray, work and commit ourselves to ensuring that every family has dignified housing, access to drinking water, a toilet, reliable sources of energy for lighting, cooking and improving their homes; that every neighborhood has streets, squares, schools, hospitals, areas for sport, recreation and art; that basic services are provided to each of you; that your appeals and your pleas for greater opportunity can be heard; that all can enjoy the peace and security which they rightfully deserve on the basis of their infinite human dignity.”

Just Thoughts: Pope Francis' Encyclical--on Healing the Earth (on Laudato Si')

Here is the J"ust Thoughts" piece I composed for next Sunday's bulletin (for November 1, 2015). Many ideas for this came from last night's Laudato Si' study group at St. Mary's, in Painesville, Ohio.

Just Thoughts: Pope Francis’ Call for Healing in the Encyclical Laudato Si’

A study group has now met twice at St. Mary’s contemplating Pope Francis’s great encyclical Laudato Si’.  This group will meet once more, on Sunday, November 1, at 3 PM in the Father Hanzo Center, focusing on Chapters 5 and 6. The encyclical is available to read at this website: http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si.html. Everyone is welcome to come to the study group!

There are certain themes heavily stressed in the encyclical: the responsibility of human beings to take care of the earth and its environment; the biblical and theological basis for this responsibility; the heavy price the poor pay for our ecological recklessness; the dignity of work and the right that all humans have to meaningful and fairly compensated jobs. Many of these themes are not new to Catholic social doctrine. They go back at least to the encyclical Rerum Novarum that Pope Leo XIII wrote in 1891.

There are, however, some new themes addressed by the Holy Father concerning the most modern forms of technology. He doesn’t see them as in themselves evil, as long as they are controlled and put to work for human beings. Here, in poetic language, he states his hopes:

“We have the freedom needed to limit and direct technology; we can put it at the service of another type of progress, one which is healthier, more human, more social, more integral. Liberation from the dominant technocratic paradigm does in fact happen sometimes, for example, when cooperatives of small producers adopt less polluting means of production, and opt for a non-consumerist model of life, recreation and community. Or when technology is directed primarily to resolving people’s concrete problems, truly helping them live with more dignity and less suffering. Or indeed when the desire to create and contemplate beauty manages to overcome reductionism through a kind of salvation which occurs in beauty and in those who behold it. An authentic humanity, calling for a new synthesis, seems to dwell in the midst of our technological culture, almost unnoticed, like a mist seeping gently beneath a closed door. Will the promise last, in spite of everything, with all that is authentic rising up in stubborn resistance?” (Par. 112).

The Pope doesn’t exactly say it, but maybe we can think of this “mist seeping gently beneath a closed door” as the action of the Holy Spirit.

Once we understand the nature of these problems addressed in Laudato Si’, with a solid biblical and theological footing, we can begin the urgent work of healing our Earth and all who live there.

* * *

Last week’s “Just Thoughts” had a minor error. If you want to see the petition of the Lake/Geauga Diocesan Social Action Commission calling for gun safety measures, go to this address: http://cqrcengage.com/ccdocle/app/sign-petition?2&engagementld=124658

"Be the Church!" Just Thoughts Essay

"Be the Church"--Just Thoughts

A banner in front of the Church of Christ in Chagrin Falls proclaims:

BE THE CHURCH

Protect the environment. Care for the poor.

Forgive often. Reject racism.

Fight for the powerless.

Share earthly and spiritual resources.

Embrace diversity. Love God. Enjoy this life.

At the bottom right, the banner proclaimed, "God is still speaking. United Church of Christ." A tear came to the eye because this is exactly what we Catholics ask of the Church. Pope Francis has spoken repeatedly, loud and clear, on exactly these issues. His apostolic exhortation, Evangelii gaudium, and his great encyclical, Laudato Si', are emphatic and powerful writings asking all humans to "protect the environment, " "care for the poor," and "share earthly and spiritual resources." 

The Holy Father radiates great joy, and even with the heavy burdens of the papacy, teaches us to "enjoy this life." The Holy Father, the great advocate of the environment and defender of the poor, walks the walk!

Is it such a surprise that the United Church of Christ is in such agreement with the Catholic Church? It shouldn't be. Remember that our creed says, "We confess one baptism for the forgiveness of sins." We share the same DNA! We have many of the same beliefs and goals. Both traditions ask us to BE THE CHURCH!

[This essay was written for St. Mary's Painesville--for the bulletin for Sunday, August 23, 2015.]