I remember how excited I was on June 18, 2015, when Pope Francis’ encyclical “Laudato Si’ ” became available in English. I downloaded it, printed it out and sat down on a shaded back porch to begin reading. In three days, I finished.
I was so fascinated and inspired by what I read that I began re-reading, this time with a yellow marker. I completed this marked-up reading, wondering how I could share the Pope’s wisdom and warnings with others. So, I made powerpoint presentations about “Laudato Si’ ” and during the past nine years have shared those with various groups.
As expected, audiences were left with that nagging concern: What can we do?
Evidently, Vatican authorities heard that question, too, and on Nov. 14, 2021, formed a Laudato Si’ Action Platform with seven goals that offer concrete actions to protect our common home.
One of those goals is “ecological spirituality,” based on the title of the last chapter of “Laudato Si’,” “Ecological Education And Spirituality”.
“Ecological spirituality” requires a spiritual conversion to address the ecological crises facing creation and asks everyone to awaken to the intimate connection we have with Earth and all creation.
In “Laudato Si’,” Pope Francis calls for this ecological conversion and urges us to develop “a loving awareness that we are not disconnected from the rest of creatures but joined in a splendid universal communion.”
Actions to implement the Laudato Si’ Action Platform’s “Ecological Spirituality” could include:
- Annually celebrating the Season of Creation, Sept.1 to Oct. 4.
- Public prayers and actions for ecological conversion.
- Encouraging frequent reflections on ecological spirituality from preachers and teachers.
- Providing information about ecological spirituality at significant times, such as Jan. 1, Ash Wednesday and Fridays during the year, offered through diocesan, parish and school websites and other communication networks.
- Praying regularly for our common home in Sunday Masses.
- Developing ecological spirituality for catechesis, retreats and parish meetings.
- Opening parish meetings with Pope Francis’ beautiful “Prayer for Creation” found at the end of the encyclical.
Near the end of “Laudato Si’,” Pope Francis reflects on how ecological spirituality can be expressed in simple ways: “There is a nobility in the duty to care for creation through little daily actions, and it is wonderful how education can bring about real changes in lifestyle … such as 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. Reusing something instead of immediately discarding it … can be an act of love which expresses our own dignity.”
Frankly, I confess that “ecological spirituality” is a most welcome kind of spirituality for me. I welcome the shift from a spirituality focused on escaping from this “vale of tears” on Earth to some distant heavenly realm.
I am grateful to the Vatican’s Laudato Si’ Action Platform and its ecological spirituality for grounding me in the wonders of creation, especially those of this Earth from which I came and to which I’m destined to return. I was born into the welcoming arms of a mother and will return to the welcoming arms of Mother Earth, our common home.
Father Jim Flynn has been a priest of the Archdiocese of Louisville for 69 years. He has served various parishes in the Louisville area and is an advocate for immigrants and refugees.
