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Ecological Crisis

“The ecological crisis is a moral crisis…it is a duty of every Christian to protect the environment and show respect for God’s creation.”
(Pope John Paul II)

Nature is the first Scripture which speaks to us of the creator; each aspect of it is an expression of God and when it is degraded, or destroyed, we might say that an aspect of God is lost forever. It has been said that, “we are so interrelated to the universe that if today we destroy nature, tomorrow nature will destroy us.” God fashions humans from the earth, places them in a garden and entrusts the garden to them to be watched over and cared for. Humans are entrusted with stewardship.

Eco-spirituality invites us to recognize God the Creator in everything and to have the awareness that we are co-creators with God in this world. It calls us to be in right relationship with creation having reverence for all things. Global warming, rise of sea level, shortage of drinking water, desertification, soil erosion, deforestation, climatic changes, alteration of biological diversity, industrial pollution, storage of nuclear and toxic waste, nuclear testing, etc. are global concern. It is with reverence for God’s creation that we need to commit ourselves to healing the wounds of our earth for future generations. “We have not inherited the earth from our ancestors; we have borrowed it from our children.” (Antoine de Exupery).

Anne Marie Javouhey, who grew up in the beautiful countryside, found communicating with nature a means of deepening her experience of the Creator. The solitude of the forest of Mana regenerated her brokenness and filled her with overwhelming peace. In her development programmes in Mana and Africa she adopted farming and agriculture. She was attuned to the environment and its transforming power.

In Accaravany Leper Colony 1832: “When these poor patients had been installed in their new surroundings, the Mother General immediately set to work to lay out beautiful plantation and spacious paths bordered with spreading trees which would afford them a pleasant shade. Fresh water was now available in abundance and the patients could rejoice in their new found prosperity.”(Keiffer Vol.I Bk. IV Ch. VIII Pg.334)

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St. Francis of Assisi speaks of the “maternal tenderness of the earth.” The immense task before our generation is to defend not only all creatures great and small and fragile, but the very earth itself. The quality of the environment is important in determining our health. Therefore we need to create awareness among the people about the danger of unwholesome environment and need for a healthy one.Our Congregation is committed to:

  • Responding to the urgent call of Pope Francis in ‘Laudato Si’ with concrete actions and evaluation.
  • Making every effort possible to live from a stance expressing a ‘culture of enough’ rather than a   ‘culture of waste’.
  • Witnessing to our Congregational commitment to care for our common Home in all areas of our life but   especially those whom we serve.