September 1st each year is remembered as the “Word Day of Prayer for Creation” (brought officially into the Catholic world by Pope Francis in 2015) and kicks off a “Season of Creation” that lasts until the Memorial of Francis of Assisi on October 4th. Our Care for Creation Team is hosting Coffee and Donuts this weekend, so you can hear more about this day and this season there, and they have provided some electronic resources for me to include here (see below).
I would like to take this opportunity to recognize our Care for Creation Team. When I speak about charisms (something I need to do even more frequently), I often think about them: After dedicating themselves to Jesus and the Catholic faith, they felt a specific call to respond to Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si, and they have been tireless in doing so. Each of us is called to foundational fidelity to the Lord and the Church, but within the Church there are so many ministries and ways of living the faith that we should expect individual calls and passions that look different for each person (something called a charism).
I would specifically like to highlight the Creation Care Team’s participation in two regional groups as an example of their charism. The first is the Creation Care Network, a group of Catholic entities in the Archdiocese of Seattle trying to unite their efforts in response to Laudato Si. The second is the Multifaith Network for Climate Justice, an interfaith group based here in Whatcom County. As with all interfaith groups, we are still trying to figure out exactly what our participation looks like (since we will agree with some initiatives and disagree with others, based on our faith’s beliefs), but our Creation Care Team members have been instrumental in this early organizational effort.
Now, as with all politics-adjacent Church ministry, we have to be careful not to let Creation Care become political advocacy dressed up in Christian clothing. Ultimately, religion is not about societal change but personal change, and Christianity specifically is about Jesus and our personal response to his love for us. In my own engagements with Creation Care, I have come to realize that my stewardship of the communal gifts of God almost entirely coincides with my struggle against consumerism.[1] There are a lot of things that I want and that I have the means to acquire right now, but denying myself these things for the greater good is an important personal response to the love of Jesus. Beyond trying to use my car, phone, and electronics for as long as possible, even as they feel dated, I have begun trying to eat more chicken and less beef (a chicken burger isn’t as good, I assure you), and switching to products that come in paper, metal, or glass rather than plastic (I now use lemonade from concentrate rather than my preferred Arizona Tea Arnold Palmers). When I do purchase new products, I also try to buy things locally rather than through Amazon, which is primarily an economic decision, but also has ecological consequences in that large trucks do not have to make special trips just for me.
Ultimately, this sort of asceticism (self-denial) has ancient roots in Christianity and denying ourselves for the sake of a healthier ecological balance is just the newest expression of this ancient Christian tradition. In all forms of self-denial, regardless of the reason, we find an opportunity to unite ourselves to the self-denial of Jesus on the Cross for the sake of our salvation. Every opportunity to unite ourselves to Jesus is an opportunity we should welcome and embrace.
Finally, those electronic resources from our Creation Care Team which I promised you above:
- Message of Pope Francis for the Celebration of the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation
- Laudato Si Action Platform
[1] I think often about this video, the central premise of which is that replacing a perfectly functional gas car with a brand new electric car is actually worse for the environment than keeping the old car, because of how ecologically intense manufacturing is.
Fr. Moore 