Meditation Monday – Pope Francis and Climate Change

The prayer above is taken from a prayer in Pope Francis encyclical on climate change. This is an issue that deeply disturbs me and I think should disturb all who call themselves followers of Christ. It puzzles me how anyone who loves life and family cannot be concerned.

The evidence for climate change is not only compelling but becomes more disturbing every year. We trust scientists in other areas of life, why not here? Yesterday I read about the impact of pollution on the Arctic ice and how it is accelerating the rate of ice melt in Greenland. God created us to be stewards of this good earth and all its life. What kind of a world do we want to live in and leave for the next generation?

What is your response:

Sit quietly for a few minutes thinking about your own attitude towards climate change, pollution and the destruction of creation. How would you classify it – concerned, indifferent, or denial? Where do you think these attitudes come from? How in keeping are they with God’s call to be good stewards?

This second prayer, which I have posted before, is an example of how often native peoples’ can teach us about our need to respect the earth.

Understanding demands response. As our understanding both of the extent of climate change and its consequences increases, it demands more action from us. Some of these actions may be as simple as walking rather than driving when we are only going a short distance. They could involve changing where we buy our goods based on a company’s environmental policies. For some they involve more radical action like advocacy like Earth ministry, the planting of trees like Plant with Purpose, or creation care like A Rocha.

What is Your Response:

Read through the materials on the websites highlighted above then sit quietly for a few moments considering what you have read. Now listen to the video below. What response to you feel God is asking of you. Write down the first two or three steps. When do you hope to accomplish these?