STEWARDS OF THE NATURAL WORLD

“My little son is going to grow up in this world, and that means I’d better take care of it” said one parent. Right around five years ago, Pope Francis released his first encyclical letter, Laudato Si’, and it rocked everybody’s world.

The encyclical ended up being a real gift to us all. It has been our guiding star, especially about certain ideas I want our children to learn about their place in the world. Here are some of the points that really stand out:

The natural world will show you the face of God: In mankind’s effort to leave behind the pantheism of the pagan world, we tend to go to the other extreme. We think of God as existing beyond the world, when in fact, He is to be found right here in the heart of the world. We don’t worship the Earth anymore, but we shouldn’t forget that nature is still sacred, because, as Pope Francis writes “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 dewdrop, in a poor person’s face.” (233) There’s a reason that Jesus used so many metaphors from nature for his parables. God uses nature to show himself to us. The sunrise is beautiful because God is beautiful.

We are stewards of the natural world, not masters of it: Pope Francis writes, “We must forcefully reject the notion that our being created in God’s image and given dominion over the earth justifies absolute domination over other creatures. The biblical texts … tell us to ’till and keep’ the garden of the world.” (67) Yes, the world was created to be our home, and yes, even one human life is more valuable than the whole created universe. But though we are greater than the rest of creation, we still have a true responsibility toward our common home. We didn’t create the world, so we do not have absolute rights over it. We want to know not just what nature can do for us, but also, how to take care of it.

On that note, we have to remember that the created world is valuable in itself, not valuable because of its usefulness to us. Pope Francis reminds us that “It is not enough … to think of different species merely as potential ‘resources’ to be exploited, while overlooking the fact that they have value in themselves.” (33) The creatures of the world “give glory to God by their very existence.”

The way you treat creation has real effect on your soul: “We have only one heart,” Pope Francis says, “and the same wretchedness which leads us to mistreat an animal will not be long in showing itself in our relationships with other people. Every act of cruelty towards any creature is contrary to human dignity.” (92). It’s not just for the animal’s sake–a person who engages in habitually cruel and unnecessary treatment of animals is acting contrary to his own human dignity.

The changes we have made in our life, spurred on by Laudato Si’, have been fairly small, but Pope Francis has been there to remind that small changes still count: “Saint Therese of Lisieux invites us to practise 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)

Let’s all try to remember that every little act of love counts, whether that love is directed towards God, our fellow man, or the Earth itself.