VATICAN CITY — There is a sin against the care of creation, which must be confessed especially in this Jubilee of Mercy, according to the Pope. There is also self-examination, repentance, confession, and a resolve to change life, polluting less, consuming less, being less selfish, says Francis in his September 1 message for World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, AsiaNews reported.
The Pope goes so far to add two other works of mercy to the list of the seven corporal and seven spiritual works of mercy. The new works of mercy are basically one, “care of the common home,” which gives the title to the September 1 message, Show Mercy to Our Common Home.
The message liberally cites Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si.
The AsiaNews report said: “The ideal that informs the Pontiff’s thoughts is not the ecology of ‘Mother Earth,’ a form of nature that eliminates mankind, but that of ‘human ecology’ (often repeated in the encyclical Laudato Si) in which the fate of mankind and nature are tied. ‘When we mistreat nature, we also mistreat human beings’” (n. 1).
According to AsiaNews, the Pope calls for “examining our consciences, repentance and confession to our Father who is rich in mercy,” and, following that, the Pope suggests we change lifestyles, “avoiding the use of plastic and paper, reducing water consumption, separating refuse, cooking only what can reasonably be consumed, showing care for other living beings, using public transport or car-pooling, planting trees, turning off unnecessary lights, or any number of other practices” (n. 4).
“Economics and politics, society and culture cannot be dominated by thinking only of the short-term and immediate financial or electoral gains. Instead, they urgently need to be redirected to the common good, which includes sustainability and care for creation.”
And: “As a spiritual work of mercy, care for our common home calls for a ‘grateful contemplation of God’s world’ (Laudato Si, n. 14) which ‘allows us to discover in each thing a teaching which God wishes to hand on to us’ (ibid., 85). As a corporal work of mercy, care for our common home requires ‘simple daily gestures which break with the logic of violence, exploitation and selfishness’ and ‘makes itself felt in every action that seeks to build a better world’ (ibid., 230-31)” (n. 5).
In the future, The Wanderer will have commentaries on some of these issues.
Powered by WPtouch Mobile Suite for WordPress