As we start a new year, I find myself taking stock of the world around me and asking myself, who is God calling me to be as a citizen of our planet?
Our environment, indeed, our own dear Mother Nature, is going through a rough patch. Although we didn’t mean for it to happen, our lifestyles have led to problems such as plastic pollution, planetary warming and an accelerated loss of species. New Year’s is a time to look at ourselves and ask, how can we do better?
Pope Francis in “Laudato Si’ ” calls us to approach both the damage to the planet and the resulting social problems with “integral ecology,” the idea that everything is connected. When we do harm to nature, we do harm to ourselves, since we are part of nature.
Another way to think of the term “integral ecology” is to challenge ourselves to integrate ecology into everything we do. With every decision we make, what if we first asked ourselves, how will this affect Mother Earth?
This might sound extreme, but don’t we usually think about how decisions will affect our home? Our health? Our children’s well-being?
Well, the planet is our home; the only planet we must live on. Our health is dependent on the health of the planet. And we are using more of Earth’s natural resources than it can regenerate each year, robbing our children and grandchildren of the ability to use those resources in the future.
Doesn’t it just make sense to consider how our decisions will affect where we live and whom we love?
An easy way to do this is to live more like we used to. We used to save things, to repair or repurpose them. We used to live more simply, to fill our lives with fewer “things.” What if we asked ourselves before every purchase, do I need this? What resources is this taking from the planet? Were the people who made it treated well? Paid well?
If we don’t know the answers to those questions, let’s challenge ourselves to try and find out before buying. That can be difficult in a market that hides so much from consumers, but by asking questions, we put producers on notice that we care.
More of us used to grow our own food, or to eat food grown by local farmers and neighbors. We ate whole foods or foods that had ingredients whose names we recognized. Our slow shift towards a global market and processed foods has taken a toll on the planet.
This new year, when choosing food, let’s ask ourselves, how far did this have to travel to get to us? Was it grown without chemical fertilizers and pesticides? Could I choose something that is better for the health of the planet and, incidentally, my own health?
Pope Francis recognizes that change starts with individuals.
In his message during the 2016 World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, Pope Francis said, “We must not be indifferent or resigned to the loss of biodiversity and the destruction of ecosystems, often caused by our irresponsible and selfish behavior. … As individuals, we have grown comfortable with certain lifestyles shaped by … a disordered desire to consume more than what is really necessary.”
As he continued, Pope Francis assured us, “We must not think that these efforts are too small to improve our world. They call forth a goodness which, albeit unseen, inevitably tends to spread.”
We have choices every day to live in a way that is gentler on our planet home. Pope Francis inspires us to do so for the glory of God and God’s beautiful creation.
Carolyn Cromer is director of Ecological Sustainability for the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth and a “Laudato Si’ ” animator. Her work is focused on supporting the sisters’ mission to care for creation.
