Theology 4: Harmony with All Creation - Called to Stewardship

Concern for Nature: Living the Christian Vision in the Contemporary World

Grounding the Lesson

The lesson is grounded in real-life situations, acknowledging prior beliefs and questions, and addressing current issues and realities.
Key questions to consider:
- What is climate change?
- What is the impact of climate change on our community, country, and the rest of the world?
- What are the human roots of the present ecological crisis? What human attitudes, activities, and practices contribute to the bad effects of climate change?

Research and Analysis

Approach the subject from different angles and opinions, appraising the views of various disciplines and perspectives.
Students will work in pairs or small groups to research the ecological crisis from different perspectives (science, business, politics, etc.).
They will share a summary of their findings in the form of a meme or infographic.
After the plenary, the class will summarize before proceeding to analysis.

Climate Change

Climate change is one of the most pressing problems facing the entire human family and which future generations will inevitably suffer from. It is the harmful effect of environmental deterioration of our planet, which we have caused (United Nations, 2017).

The Greenhouse Effect and Global Warming

The greenhouse effect involves Earth's atmosphere and greenhouse gases.
Global warming leads to climate change.
A heat wave in Antarctica melted 20% of an island's snow in just 9 days (CNN Feb 25, 2020).

Local Impacts of Sea Level Rise

Mention of various locations and cities possibly affected by sea level rise, including Navotas, Valenzuela City, San Antonio Canacao Bay, Quirino Hwy, Quezon City, Malabon, Caloocan City, and many others.

Climate Crisis

Emphasis on the climate and planetary emergency.

Cry of the Poor

"…the deterioration of the environment and of society affects the most vulnerable people on the planet." - Pope Francis

Climate Change in the Philippines

Reference to the UN Conference of the Parties (COP 19) 2013 in Warsaw, Poland.
"We are failing in addressing effectively the climate emergency and the biodiversity crises.“ - Atty. Tony La Viña
The Philippines is known to be the second among the countries with the greatest exposure to disaster risks worldwide.
The catastrophic super typhoons like Yolanda/Haiyan (Nov. 2013), Ondoy/Ketsana (Sept 2009), Sendong, and Pablo are effects of climate change.
Series of typhoons in 2020: Quinta (Oct 25), Rolly (Nov. 1), Siony (Nov 7), Tonyo (Nov 9), Ulysses (Nov 11).

Greta Thunberg and Climate Activism

Greta Thunberg, at 15 years old, started spending her school days outside the Swedish parliament in August 2018 to call for stronger action on climate change.
She held up a sign reading Skolstrejk för klimatet (School strike for climate).
Other students engaged in similar protests, organizing a school climate strike movement under the name Fridays for Future.
Greta Thunberg, now 17, stated: "People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction, and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth."
"You say you hear us and that you understand the urgency… Because if you really understood the situation and still kept on failing to act, then you would be evil. And that I refuse to believe."

Analysis

Articulating and reflecting about the question together with the help of other disciplines AND IN THE LIGHT OF CHRISTIAN FAITH.
Read Laudato Si’ chapters 1-2.
Guide for reading: List down the problems or challenges that were identified by Pope Francis. What according to him is the root of the environmental crisis? Do you agree with his view of the current situation? What is integral ecology? How is this rooted in our Christian faith?

Call to Action and Laudato Si'

Join the Climate Strike and Celebrate Laudato Si' on May 24.
Pope Francis with the Global Catholic Climate Movement.
Laudato Si’ is addressed to “every person living on this planet”.
“To all people of Good will” (Francis, LS no.3)
Climate change = consequences of our harmful actions, which generates or produces more damaging and irreparable impacts to communities and its environment (Francis, 2015).
Why is Laudato Si’ addressed to “every person living in this planet”?
- 1st - ALL of us are affected – there is already a CLIMATE EMERGENCY
- 2nd - Because we are the ones responsible or accountable to the present and future children/generation
- 3rd - And we “are capable of rising above ourselves”

Man as the Imago Dei

“All is not lost. Human beings while capable of the worst, are also capable of rising above themselves, choosing again what is good, and making a new start… We are able to take an honest look at ourselves, to acknowledge our deep dissatisfaction, and to embark on new paths to authentic freedom. No system can completely suppress our openness to what is good, true and beautiful, or our God-given ability to respond to his grace at work deep in our hearts. I appeal to everyone throughout the world not to forget this dignity which is ours. No one has the right to take it from us.” -(Francis, LS 205)

Called to Caring Stewardship

Pope urges us to respond to the signs of the times: the ecological crisis we are all experiencing especially the global problem: Climate Change.
He emphasizes on the need for ecological conversion, embracing ecological citizenship thru the cultivation of ecological virtues, leading to selfless ecological commitment.

Human Roots of the Ecological Crisis

Concern for Nature
- The Human Roots of the Present Ecological Crisis
  - Environmental, Social and Human Degradation
  - Technocratic Paradigm and Modern Anthropocentrism
  - (Problem Tree Analysis)
- What is the Root Cause of our Ecological Crisis?

Theological Criteria

Pope Francis offers a theological criteria to judge the crisis of our common home.
The Pope affirms that the ecological crisis is not only about the collapse of the planet’s ecosystems…but is also a theological issue… is symptomatic of a deeper spiritual crisis.
The theology of Earth presented in Laudato Si’ is a vital tool to understand the ecological crisis & to respond to it effectively - The Ten Green Commandments of Laudato Si’ (2019) Kureethadam, pp. 55-57.
The contemporary ecological crisis points to the amnesia (forgetfulness) of a deeper truth: That the world is above all God’s creation and is permeated with the divine presence. - The Ten Green Commandments of Laudato Si’ (2019) Kureethadam, p. 57

The Importance of Remembering

The Duty to Remember
For the Israelites the beginning of sin is to FORGET
Angel Gabriel appeared to Zechariah – Lk 1:13ff
Angel Gabriel appeared to Mary – Lk 1:30 ff

Zechariah: God Has Remembered

Zechariah from the Hebrew name זְכַרְיָה: means Zekharyah "God Has Remembered".
“the LORD remembers” God / Yahweh remembers זְכַרְיָה

Loss of Memory

PCP II pointed out our tendency to forget the lessons of the past, thus we remain reactive…
Loss of memory? SIN- Nalimutan… Kinalimutan… NAKALIMOT
To forget who God is, the commandments of God, who we are (that we are not gods), as stewards, as disciples, His Imago Dei… to forget all the good things God has done for us, the values, and lessons we have learned.

Refusal to Accept Devastation

"We REFUSE to accept that running away from storms, evacuating our families, suffering the devastation and misery, having to count our dead, BECOME A WAY OF LIFE." - Naderev Saño, Philippine Climate Commissioner, Lead negotiator for the 2013 UN Climate Change Summit in Warsaw

Harmony with All Creation: Called to Stewardship

Concern for Nature

The Good News of Creation

Let us now recall, remember the ff:
- The Plan of God for Creation
- The Role of Man in Creation
- Authentic Development

Creation as Good News

In the wake of modernity, we have been accustomed to look at the natural world as inert matter – the Cartesian res extensa, as in modern science, or as merely as a storehouse of resources, as in the neoliberal economy -(Kureethadam, p.57)
Chapter 2 of Laudato Si’ is entitled: “The Gospel of Creation” It presents the theological foundation of the encyclical’s theological vision.

Reasons Why Creation is Good News

Creation is Good News because:
1. Creation is very good in God’s own eyes
2. Creation is a profound act of love on the part of God
3. Creation is God’s first revelation

Creation is Very Good in God’s Eyes

It is the basic goodness of creation in God’s own eyes that constitutes the intrinsic worth of every created reality -(Kureethadam, p.57)
[Ecosystems] have an intrinsic value independent of their usefulness. Each organism, as a creature of God, is good and admirable in itself; the same is true of the harmonious ensemble of organisms existing in a defined space and functioning as a system. (LS 140)
GOD LOOKED AT EVERYTHING HE MADE AND FOUND IT VERY GOOD - Genesis 1:31

Pope Francis and the Natural World

Pope Francis inaugurates a new era in the Catholic Church’s approach to the natural world.
The world of animals, forests, mountains and waters are inextricably part of God’s good news for us; they express and participate in the mystery of salvation. (Grey Carmody)
We are called to recognize that other living beings have a value of their own in God’s eyes: “by their mere existence they bless him and give him glory”, and indeed, “the Lord rejoices in all his works” (Ps 104:31).… LS #69
In our time, the Church does not simply state that other creatures are completely subordinated to the good of human beings, as if they have no worth in themselves and can be treated as we wish.
The German bishops have taught that, where other creatures are concerned: “we can speak of the priority of being over that of being useful”.
The Catechism clearly criticizes a distorted anthropocentrism Each creature possesses its own particular goodness and perfection… LS #69
Each of the various creatures, willed in its own being, reflects in its own way a ray of God’s infinite wisdom and goodness. Man must therefore respect the particular goodness of every creature, to avoid any disordered use of things”. LS #69; CCC no. 339
"by their mere existence they bless him and give Him glory" -LS 69

Creation is a Profound Act of Love

Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you Jer 1:5
Creation is Good News because: 2nd Creation is a profound act of love on the part of God -(Kureethadam, p.60)
Our physical universe is not an accident or a fluke event
Creation has to do with God’s loving plan in which every creature has its own value and significance…
The whole creation & every creature is a sign of God’s outpouring love. Every creature is brought into existence out of love and with a definite purpose.
Creation can only be understood as a gift from the outstretched hand of the Father of all, and as a reality illuminated by the love which calls us together into universal communion.”(LS 76)
GOD LOOKED AT EVERYTHING HE MADE AND FOUND IT VERY GOOD - Genesis 1:31
Every creature is thus the object of the Father’s tenderness who give it its place in the world. (LS 77)
The entire material universe speaks of God’s love. Soil, water, mountain… (LS 84)
It is all the more in the case of humanity: We are not here by chance… We were conceived in the heart of God… “each of us is the result of the thought of God.
Each of us is willed, each of us is loved, each of us is necessary” (LS65)

Creation as God’s Self-Revelation

Creation is Good News because: 3rd Creation as God’s Self-Revelation -(Kureethadam, pp. 61-62)
Creation is the very first epiphany of God, God’s first and primordial revelation.
God has written a precious book/ whose letters are the multitude of created things present in the universe - (John Paul II, 2002)
Nature speaks to us of the Creator (cf. Rom 1:20) and his love for humanity (Benedict XVI, CV no. 48)
His divine presence, which ensures the subsistence & growth of each being, continues the work of creation. – (St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, I, q. 104, art. 1, ad.4.)
Nature as a whole not only manifests God but is also a locus of his presence” (LS 88; Bishops of Brazil)
The Canadian bishops pointed out that no creature is excluded from this manifestation of God: “From panoramic vistas to the tiniest living form, nature is a constant source of wonder and awe. It is also a continuing revelation of the divine”. (LS 85)
To sense each creature singing the hymn of its existence is to live joyfully in God’s love and hope”. (LS 85)
The Call to regard each creature as brother and sister, and the Earth our common home as both sister and mother
Creation carries the imprint of the Divine. St. Francis of Assisi praises God not only for creation but also in Creation
But this is not like neo-paganism or new pantheism
St. Francis of Assisi, invites us to see nature as a magnificent book in which God speaks to us and grants us a glimpse of His infinite beauty and goodness (LS 12)
“Through the greatness and the beauty of creatures one comes to know by analogy their maker” Wisdom 13:5 "his eternal power and divinity have been made known through his works since the creation of the world” Romans 1:20

Human Beings as Imago Dei

Human Beings are Imago Dei. We are created in God’s image and likeness.
“In Laudato Si’, Pope Francis returns often to the symbolic view of creation.
Created realities are ultimately symbols of God – its capacity to link the finite with the infinite.
As symbols of God, created realities are vestigia Dei – signs and traces of God’s presence in creation -(Kureethadam, p. 64)
The awareness that each creature reflects something of God and has a message to convey to us,
And the security that Christ has taken unto himself this material world and now, risen,
Is intimately present to each being, surrounding it with his affection and penetrating it with his light. LS 221
He reminded them of the Father’s loving tenderness & care for all creatures and how each one of them is important in God’s eyes:
“Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them” (Mt 6:26) (LS 96) -(Kureethadam, pp. 71-72)
Jesus invited his disciples “to recognize the paternal relationship God has with all his creatures”
Then too, there is the recognition that God created the world, writing into it an order and a dynamism that human beings have no right to ignore.
We read in the Gospel that Jesus says of the birds of the air that “not one of them is forgotten before God” (Lk 12:6).
How then can we possibly mistreat them or cause them harm? LS 221
It is not enough, however, to think of different species merely as potential “resources” to be exploited, while overlooking the fact that they have value in themselves. LS 33
Pope Francis notes with sadness and with profound theological insight:
Each year sees the disappearance of thousands of plant and animal species which we will never know,
Which our children will never see, because they have been lost for ever.
The great majority become extinct for reasons related to human activity.
Because of us, thousands of species will no longer give glory to God by their very existence, nor convey their message to us.
We have no such right. LS 33
When created things become vestigia Dei (signs & traces of God’s presence in creation) – creation becomes a true act of communication.
In every act of communication, no single word or expression will be sufficient to communicate reality.
It is also true of God’s communication in Creation.
No one creature not even the human, is sufficient to represent God.
The infinitely diverse living species are indeed pages of God’s great Book of Works, revealing the Creator’s wisdom & goodness. -(Kureethadam, p. 65)
St Thomas explained that the diversity of the extraordinary array of creatures roaming the earth reveals the richness of the nature of God. He said that: multiplicity and variety “come from the intention of the first agent” who willed that “what was wanting to one in the representation of the divine goodness might be supplied by another” (LS 86)
Inasmuch as God’s goodness “could not be represented fittingly by any one creature.” -(Kureethadam, p. 66) Summa Theologiae, I, q. 47, art. 1.

Creation’s Call to Universal Communion

As part of the universe,
Called into being by one Father,
All of us are linked by unseen bonds and
Together form a kind of universal family,
A sublime communion
Which fills us with a sacred, affectionate and humble respect.” (LS 89)
Pope Francis sees human life as a pilgrimage in communion
along with the rest of God’s creatures,
bonded together by God’s love -(Kureethadam, p. 66)
Everything is related,
and we human beings are united as brothers and sisters on a wonderful pilgrimage,
woven together by the love God has
for each of His creatures
and which also unites us in fond affection with brother sun, sister moon, brother river and mother earth. (LS 92) -(Kureethadam, p. 66)
Our universal communion with the rest of the human family & with the whole creation consequently entails:
the common or universal destination of all Earth’s goods which are meant to benefit everyone.
The sharing of Earth’s fruits is ultimately a question of
fidelity to the Creator, since God created the world for everyone -(LS 93) -(Kureethadam, p. 68)
Creation’s ultimate destiny is: the final communion with God, the Creator
The destiny of creation is bound up with the mystery of Christ present from the beginning “all things have been created through him and for him” (Col 1:16)-(LS 99) -(Kureethadam, p. 69)
“For God so loved the world He gave us His only Son…” –Jn3:16
The Word “became flesh” (Jn 1:14)--One Person of the Trinity entered into the created cosmos, throwing in his lot with it, even to the cross.(LS 99)
Christ has taken unto himself this material world and now, risen, is intimately present to each being, surrounding it with his affection and penetrating it with his light.(LS 221)
“Creation awaits with eager expectation.. All creation is groaning” – cf. Romans 8:18-22
The earthly Jesus, risen & glorious, is “present throughout creation by his universal Lordship” reconciling to himself all things. (Col 1:19-20)
“Christ as Savior” means: He is Savior of all there is (John Paul II)
All of creation became subject to futility, waiting in a mysterious way to be set free and to obtain a glorious liberty together with all the children of God (cf. Rom 8:20-21). “Creation awaits with eager expectation.. All creation is groaning” – cf. Romans 8:18-22
It is the whole creation, the entire physical universe, and not just humanity alone, that is destined to be redeemed & transformed in Christ.
Thus, no reason for humans to tyrannically dominate other creatures.
Rather, humanity’s task is to lovingly accompany all of creation in their eschatological journey -(Kureethadam, p. 69)
The ultimate purpose of other creatures is not to be found in us. Rather, all creatures are moving forward with us and through us towards a common point of arrival, which is God, in that transcendent fullness where the risen Christ embraces and illumines all things. -(Kureethadam, p. 69)
Creation is destined to communion with God” (Cajes, p.147).
Human beings, endowed with intelligence and love, drawn by the fullness of Christ, are called to lead all creatures back to their Creator. (LS 83)
The ultimate end of the whole divine economy is the entry of God's creatures into the perfect unity of the Blessed Trinity (CCC no. 260).
“For thus says the LORD, the Creator of the heavens, who is God. The designer and maker of the earth who established it, not creating it to be a waste, but designing it be lived in: I am the LORD, and there is no other.” - Isaiah 45:18

Authentic Development

Without God man neither knows which way to go, nor even understands who he is. ? Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate no 78
Let us review the definition of Authentic development from the ff. encyclicals:
The development We speak of here cannot be restricted to economic growth alone. To be authentic, it must be well rounded; it must foster the development of each man and of the whole man. Pope Paul VI Populorum Progressio (1967) no 14.
Genuine progress does not consist in wealth sought for personal comfort or for its own sake; rather it consists in an economic order designed for the welfare of the human person, where the daily bread that each man receives reflects the glow of brotherly love and the helping hand of God.…- Pope Paul VI Populorum Progressio (1967) nos 86- 87.
Development means peace.
Development must not be understood solely in economic terms, but in a way that is fully human. It is not only a question of raising all peoples to the level currently enjoyed by the richest countries,
But rather of building up a more decent life through united labor, of concretely enhancing every individual's dignity and creativity,
as well as his capacity to respond to his personal vocation, and thus to God's call. The apex of development is the exercise of the right and duty to seek God, to know him and to live in accordance with St. John Paul II, Centesimus Annus (1991), 29
authentic human development concerns the whole of the person in every single dimension - Pope Benedict XVI, CARITAS IN VERITATE (2009) On Integral Human Development in Charity & Truth, nos. 11, 18, 23
it must be “integral - it has to promote the good of every man and of the whole man (PP no 14)
it should be stressed that progress of a merely economic and technological kind is insufficient. Development needs above all to be true and integral
The sharing of goods and resources, from which authentic development proceeds, is not guaranteed by merely technical progress and relationships of utility, but by the potential of love that overcomes evil with good (cf. Rom 12:21), opening up the path towards reciprocity of consciences and liberties. - Pope Benedict XVI, CARITAS IN VERITATE (2009) On Integral Human Development in Charity & Truth, no. 9
such development requires a transcendent vision of the person, it needs God: without him, development is either denied, or entrusted exclusively to man, who falls into the trap of thinking he can bring about his own salvation, and ends up promoting a dehumanized form of development. - Pope Benedict XVI, CARITAS IN VERITATE (2009) On Integral Human Development in Charity & Truth, no. 11
Only through an encounter with God are we able to see in the other something more than just another creature, to recognize the divine image in the other, thus truly coming to discover him or her and to mature in a love that “becomes concern and care for the other. - Pope Benedict XVI, CARITAS IN VERITATE (2009) On Integral Human Development in Charity & Truth, no. 11
Development must include not just material growth but also spiritual growth, since the human person is a “unity of body and soul”, born of God's creative love and destined for eternal life.
There cannot be holistic development and universal common good unless people's spiritual and moral welfare is taken into account, considered in their totality as body and soul. - Pope Benedict XVI, CARITAS IN VERITATE (2009) no. 76; Gaudium et Spes, 14.
The greatest service to development is a Christian humanism that enkindles charity and takes its lead from truth, accepting both as a lasting gift from God. A humanism which excludes God is an inhuman humanism.
Only a humanism open to the Absolute can guide us in the promotion and building of forms of social and civic life — structures, institutions, culture and ethos - Pope Benedict XVI, CARITAS IN VERITATE (2009) no. 78
Today the subject of development is also closely related to the duties arising from our relationship to the natural environment.
The environment is God's gift to everyone, and in our use of it we have a responsibility towards the poor, towards future generations and towards humanity as a whole. - Pope Benedict XVI, CARITAS IN VERITATE (2009) no. 48
We must recognize our grave duty to hand the earth on to future generations in such a condition that they too can worthily inhabit it and continue to cultivate it.
This means being committed to making joint decisions “after pondering responsibly the road to be taken, decisions aimed at strengthening that covenant between human beings and the environment, which should mirror the creative love of God, from whom we come and towards whom we are journeying. - Pope Benedict XVI, CARITAS IN VERITATE (2009) no. 50
Social love is the key to authentic development: “In order to make society more human, more worthy of the human person, love in social life – political, economic and cultural – must be given renewed value, becoming the constant and highest norm for all activity” - Pope Francis, Laudato Si’ (2015) no.231
Includes efforts to bring about an integral improvement in the quality of human life, this entails considering the setting in which people live their lives. These settings influence the way we think, feel and act. In our rooms, our homes, our workplaces and neighborhoods, we use our environment as a way of expressing our identity. We make every effort to adapt to our environment, but when it is disorderly, chaotic or saturated with noise and ugliness, such overstimulation makes it difficult to find ourselves integrated and happy. - Pope Francis, Laudato Si’ (2015) no.147
“the most extraordinary scientific advances,
the most amazing technical abilities,
the most astonishing economic growth,
unless they are accompanied by authentic social and moral progress,
will definitively turn against man” (quoting Paul VI Octogesima Adveniens)
“the call to seek other ways of understanding the economy and progress” - Pope Francis, Laudato Si’ (2015) nos. 4, 16
We have certain superficial mechanisms, but we cannot claim to have a sound ethics, a culture and spirituality genuinely capable of setting limits and teaching clear-minded self-restraint because our immense technological development has not been accompanied by a development in: human responsibility, values and conscience. - Pope Francis, Laudato Si’ (2015) no.105

The Amazon on Fire

Area-5.5 million square km, in existence for almost 55 million years.
It is called the "Lungs of our Planet" as 20% of the world's oxygen is produced in the Amazonian rainforest.
The rainforest contains unique animal and plant species.
More than 30 million people, including 350 Indigenous groups, live in the forest and depend on the Amazon for food and medicine.
The Amazon also pumps about 7 trillion tons of water per year into the atmosphere, and its forests recycle 50%-75% of annual rainfall back into the atmosphere.
The fire started in Brazil and spread to the Peruvian and Bolivian Amazon.

Pangolins

Pangolins are the most trafficked mammal in the world.
More than a million pangolins were snatched from the wild over the last decade. Ten thousand pangolins are poached every year, killed for their scales used for traditional Chinese medicine (even without medicinal or therapeutic value), and their meat, a delicacy and symbol of wealth in some parts of China and Vietnam.

Authentic Development and Reflection

In this world, that you love more than we do, we have gone ahead at breakneck speed, feeling powerful and able to do anything.
Greedy for profit, we let ourselves get caught up in things, and lured away by haste.
We did not stop at your reproach to us, we were not shaken awake by wars or injustice across the world,
nor did we listen to the cry of the poor or of our ailing planet. - Pope Francis’ Urbi et Orbi address on coronavirus and Jesus calming the storm, March 27,2020
We carried on regardless, thinking we would stay healthy in a world that was sick.
Now that we are in a stormy sea, we implore you…..
In the face of so much suffering, where the authentic development of our peoples is assessed… - Pope Francis’ Urbi et Orbi address on coronavirus and Jesus calming the storm, March 27,2020
“Be converted!”, “Return to me with all your heart” (Joel 2:12). You are calling on us to seize this time of trial as a time of choosing. It is not the time of your judgement, but of our judgement:
a time to choose what matters and what passes away,
a time to separate what is necessary from what is not. - Pope Francis’ Urbi et Orbi address on coronavirus and Jesus calming the storm, March 27,2020

Action

Applying new knowledge to praise (worship - to adore and praise God), to bless (morals - to bless God by being a blessing to others), to preach (doctrine - to share and proclaim faith)…Write down five possible responses that you can personally do to become part of the solution to this global problem.