By Fr Jun Perez SVD

Provincial Coordinator for Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation

Pope Francis's Laudato Si’ became a voice in the wilderness echoing for the care of our common home. Everyone has to share in the task of healing the wounds and abuses inflicted on our Mother Earth. We, the human beings, who are called to be stewards of God’s creation, what have we done to all the creatures in our midst? They are part and parcel of our existence. We need to co-exist in this planet we called home.

Be responsible

God gave us the authority to subdue His creation. To subdue does not mean to abuse or destroy it, but to cultivate, nourish and develop it for our own benefit as well as for others. Everything God created is for the betterment our everyone’s existence.

But we neglect our responsibility, our call to be the guardians of His creation. The mountains and trees that give us fresh air and vegetation, we destroy them. We annihilate, too, the other living creatures that sustain the ecological balance. The wrath of Mother Earth is so evident as we are already facing the problem of climate change and global warming. Ravaging floods, massive land erosions, and super typhoons become a nightmare that we cannot imagine happening in our time.

Every tree we cut down has a significant effect on our eco-system. Every tree we plant helps to heal the erosion of soil, and serves as a new haven for other living organisms.

Be morally ethical

In God’s creation, He provided everything that human beings need for their sustenance. But the needs become wants, and the wants are insatiable to satisfy one’s longing and desire. We hoard as much as we can to the detriment of our environment.

Progress is inevitable as the human mind is also progressing. We have seen the rapid advancement in our science and technology and how communication systems can affect our way of life. But do we use all these breakthroughs ethically? Why?

Just look at the current situations of the bodies of water that we have. Most of them are polluted. The presence of macro and micro plastic elements destroys the pristine colours they naturally possess. So much so, the life underneath is slowly dying and gasping for a clean water.

It is a wake-up call to all of us to uphold the moral tenacity towards God’s creation. Whatever natural resources that we have, they will deplete soon if we extract them unceremoniously and unmindfully, when we care less, when our environment is at the losing end for the sake of profit and economy.

Be conscious of who we are

We have to remember that we, as human beings, are created in the image and likeness of God. We are the reflection of a loving, caring and merciful God.  As the most intelligent species of creation, where we can use our cognitive reasoning, we are equipped to be logical and discerning. We are also capable of living a virtuous life because it is innate in our nature.

It is a rough road ahead for our very existence in this world because of the myriad challenges we are facing in our life. The glamour of what we see invites us to acquire more beyond our needs and means. The fast-pace of changes in the community we live in adds to the weight we carry on.

It’s only then that we realise the core meaning of our existence, the reason why God created us at the end of His creation, that we are just a dust in the palm of God.

The ongoing onslaught towards our Mother Earth and the effects it brings into our lives, make us more conscious of the call to be a catalyst of change for the betterment of this world. We co-exist because we are all part of God’s master plan of creation, whether living or non-living entities for we need one another.

The Season of Creation is an ecumenical initiative (September 1 - October 4) for Christians to come together in prayer and action for Creation.