By Tony Magliano –
About 1,600 years ago, the brilliant Doctor of the Church St. Ambrose admonished those of wealth who clung to their sense of entitlement: “You are not making a gift of what is yours to the poor man, but you are giving him back what is his. You have been appropriating things that are meant to be for the common use of everyone. The earth belongs to everyone, not to the rich.”
With these prophetic words, St. Ambrose eloquently highlighted and linked together the Catholic social teaching principles known today as the “preferential concern for the poor and vulnerable,” the “common good,” and the “care for creation.”
And in our day, Pope Francis has voiced similar concerns; especially in his encyclical letter “Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home” – a must read. In his own prophetic way, the Holy Father warns: “When we fail to acknowledge as part of reality the worth of a poor person, a human embryo, a person with disabilities – to offer just a few examples – it becomes difficult to hear the cry of nature itself; everything is connected.”
Yes, everything is connected! We have no time to waste in recognizing, healing, and strengthening these connections. We are linked together in a common bond. And it is crucial to become aware that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Thus, we need to shore up every single link of the Creator’s good and wonderful creation.
And there’s no better time to begin than now, during this “Season of Creation” which runs from Sept. 1 to Oct. 4 – the feast of St. Francis of Assisi patron saint of ecology (see: https://seasonofcreation.org/).
More than ever before, much of our planet, and many of our people, are greatly suffering. Here are just two of the many tragic examples: 2023 was the world’s hottest year on record (see: https://www.noaa.gov/news/2023-was-worlds-warmest-year-on-record-by-far and https://www.ucsusa.org/climate), and global hunger is at a historic level with 42 million people in 45 countries languishing on the brink of starvation (see: https://bit.ly/4e4Az9W).
A popular phrase from Pope Francis’ “Laudato Si” captures this dreadful reality quite well: “We must hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor” (see: https://bit.ly/3z1iZoo).
Don’t miss the inspiring film featuring Pope Francis called “The Letter: A message for our Earth” (see: https://www.theletterfilm.org/watch/). Consider making it a parish event.
One of the social justice, peace, pro-life bumper stickers on my car reads: “Make Everyday Earth Day.” Yes, indeed, not just one day, and even not just during the “Season of Creation,” but furthermore may we remember that each day of life beckons us to cherish, protect, pray for, and celebrate our awesome God’s awesome creation!
The inspiring Catholic social justice and peace activist, and “Servant of God” Dorothy Day, said, “Like Dostoevsky, I began to believe that the world would be saved by beauty.” Looking upon the sun, the moon, and the stars, Day said to her atheist live-in partner, “How can there be no God when there are all these beautiful things?” With further reflection she concluded, “It was this beautiful, natural world that slowly led me back to God.”
Like Dorothy Day, may each of us allow God’s beautiful creation to lead us to a far deeper appreciation of our awesome Creator and his awesome creation!
Tony Magliano is an internationally syndicated Catholic social justice and peace columnist. He is available to speak at diocesan or parish gatherings. Tony can be reached at [email protected].