Chapter Eight: Education and Spirituality

Here is the link to the Vatican Document; Laudato Si
http://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si.html

Again, each of these classes are filled with many things, lots of words and images. Please don’t feel that you have to do everything. If something speaks to you, follow your heart. If not, simply let it go.
 

The title of Chapter Six is: “ECOLOGICAL EDUCATION AND SPIRITUALITY” and this is part one of two due to its depth and wisdom.

(part 1: #202 to 215/ part ll: #216-245)

We are in the last chapter of the Papal Encyclical. For your information, I read that this is also the longest papal encyclical, while at the same time it is the easiest to read. Imagine that!!!! There is a reason why most people don’t read these documents!!!! The key is to read these documents not as books, but as meditations taking a little at a time.
The Subtitles of the Chapters point us in the direction of Action and Hope.
A NEW LIFESTYLE 203-208
EDUCATING FOR THE COVENANT BETWEEN HUMA JOY AND PEACE JOY AND PEACE NITY AND THE ENVIRONMENT 209-215
ECOLOGICAL CONVERSION 216-221
JOY AND PEACE 222-227
CIVIC AND POLITICAL LOVE 228-232
SACRAMENTAL SIGNS AND THE CELEBRATION OF REST 233-237
THE TRINITY AND THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CREATURES 238-240
QUEEN OF ALL CREATION 241-243
BEYOND THE SUN  243-245

Hope: As we “Stay in Place”, as we see “Life Stifled” in Minneapolis, as we see Rage flaming out of control and people hurt and dreams shattered, we are tempted to lose hope. I just read this article from Vatican News from I believe October 2019 and it is thought provoking and challenging. Hope is not tangible, it is not in hand, but in the recessed of the Cave of our hearts. Here is the Vatican website and I will follow with some quotes to ponder on. This was before the Covit-19 and is like a preview of what we need to move through these turbulent times.
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-10/pope-at-mass-for-a-christian-hope-is-like-the-air-we-breathe.html

Pope Francis then notes how "it is difficult to understand hope". If we speak of faith, we refer to "faith in God who created us, in Jesus who redeemed us; and to reciting the Creed and to knowing concrete things about faith". If we speak of charity, it concerns "doing good to one's neighbor, to others, many works of charity that are done to others". But hope is difficult to understand it is "the most humble of virtues" that "only the poor can have".
If we want to be men and women of hope, we must be poor, poor, not attached to anything. Poor. And open. Hope is humble, and it is a virtue that we work at - so to speak - every day: every day we have to take it back, every day we have to take the rope and see that the anchor is fixed there and I hold it in my hand; every day we have to remember that we have the security, that it is the Spirit who works in us with small things.
To talk about hope, Jesus, in today's Gospel, also uses the image of the "yeast" that a woman took and mixed in three portions of flour. Yeast not kept in the fridge but "kneaded in life", just as the grain is buried underground.
For this reason, hope is a virtue that cannot be seen: it works from below; it makes us go and look from below. It is not easy to live in hope, but I would say that it should be the air that a Christian breathes, the air of hope; on the other hand, he cannot walk, he cannot go on because he does not know where to go. Hope - yes, it's true - gives us security: hope does not disappoint. Never. If you hope, you will not be disappointed. We must open ourselves up to that promise of the Lord, leaning towards that promise, but knowing that there is the Spirit that works in us. May the Lord give us, to all of us, this grace of living in tension, in tension but not through nerves, problems, no: in tension through the Holy Spirit who throws us to the other shore and keeps us in hope.
 
Let sit with this reflection from Pope France. What word or line jumps out to you and stay with it a couple of minutes.
Here is song composed by the Monks of Taizé, an ecumenical monastery in France where thousands of young people gather throughout the year. There music is soft, repetitive, often in multiple languages and speaks to the heart. This YouTube is well done by a choir and is just over 4 minutes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37k20ZZ9h-A
Like a good Jesuit, a good teacher, Francis lays out the direction in which he will be taking us.
“Many things have to change course, but it is we human beings above all who need to change.  We lack an awareness of our common origin, of our mutual belonging, and of a future to be shared with everyone.  This awareness can then become the basis for new convictions, attitudes, and forms of life.  A great cultural, spiritual and educational challenge stands before us, and it will demand that we set out on the long path of renewal.” (LSi #202)

Francis is coming back to one of his themes for the encyclical and that is “Conversion-An Ecological Conversion”.  Another word that is often used during Advent for conversion is metanoia, and that is seeing the “big picture” and changing one’s ways and directions. During these difficult days of pandemic and violence; are we able to walk in the other’s shoes? Are we able to see a future of shared experiences were all is “inter-connected”? Where love knits us together and not fear?
So, before us is a long road of “spiritual and educations challenges…and it will demand that we set out on the long path of renew” of justice, of care, of compassion together. For “together” is another name for the Spirit.

A NEW LIFESTYLE 203-208

In #203/4 we see a vision of today. How consumerism leads to hording and then to violence. At first it can seem like a stretch, yet let’s step back and see the bigger picture not from above, but with those who yearn for security for themselves and their families!
Francis is stating what he is seeing, and it is hard to look in the mirror, yet “Yet, all is not lost”.

“the market tends to promote extreme consumerism,,,,,,,, Compulsive consumerism” (LSi, #203) Just look at the world of advertisement and the millions spent telling us we need the newest phone, car or gadget.

The words that jump out to me in this next line are “instability and uncertainty”. And yet, we are told by “Madison Avenue/Advertisements” that we will safe and secure with the newest car, computer, home security system. And yet, are we really? 
“The current global situation engenders a feeling of instability and uncertainty, which in turn becomes “a seedbed for collective selfishness”.^[1]  When people become self-centered and self-enclosed, their greed increases.  The emptier a person’s heart is, the more he or she needs things to buy, own and consume.” (LSi, #204) Wow, this pandemic has shown us this in empty shelve of toilet paper, sanitizers and even the staple of milk, eggs, and flour. I enjoy gardening so that image of a “a seedbed for collective selfishness” is like a garden that becomes overgrown with weed. As Gandhi said, there the “Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's (one’s) needs, but not every man's (one’s) greed.”

“So, our concern cannot be limited merely to the threat of extreme weather events, but must also extend to the catastrophic consequences of social unrest.  Obsession with a consumerist lifestyle, above all when few people are capable of maintaining it, can only lead to violence and mutual destruction.” (LSi, #204)
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King said in a speech at the American Psychology Associations’ annual convention in Washington, DC, in September 1967.: “A riot is the language of the unheard. If a soul l is left in the darkness, sins will be committed. The guilty one is not he who commits the sin, but he who causes the darkness.”
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/04/what-martin-luther-king-thought-about-urban-riots/

As violence and looting occurs in our neighborhood, our cities and around the world; a common thread is the ever-growing economic disparity, the lack of security, lack of health care, the lack of opportunity, etc…the lack of respect; turning the other into an object, rather than seeing the other as Self.
“Yet all is not lost” “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.” (LSi, #205)

I am rereading the Letter from the Birmingham Jail in April 1963 by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and he writes. “Oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever. The yearning for freedom eventually manifests itself, and that is what has happened to the American Negro. Something within has reminded him of his birthright of freedom, and something without has reminded him that it can be gained. Consciously or unconsciously, he has been caught up by the Zeitgeist (the defining mood or spirit of a particular time/this was written in 1963), and with his black brothers of Africa and his brown and yellow brothers of Asia, South America and the Caribbean, the United States Negro is moving with a sense of great urgency toward the promised land of racial justice.”
The times are different, yet the deep truth of this message remains the same that “his birthright of freedom” “this dignity which is ours” is from God and no government or economic system “has the right to take it away from us.”
https://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html

Paragraph #206 is a call to radical daily mindfulness even as we do our shopping. Francis now quotes Pope Benedict in saying: “Purchasing is always a moral – and not simply economic – act”. BENEDICT XVI, Encyclical Letter Caritas in Veritate (29 June 2009), 50: AAS 101 (2009), 686.
Each of us can do this in our own way and what speaks to one may not speak to the other.
Remember how the Grape boycott brought forth the Unity Farmworkers Union. How the boycott of Shell Oil played a part in the undoing of apartheid in South Africa, the wearing of furs and DeBeer diamonds, Nestles-Baby Formular.
We also see how far trade labeling is changing the market.
When we see that what we buy brings forth undue suffering to people and planet we are call to step back and ponder; do I want to enable companies to continue to bring forth pain (being an accomplice) or do I simply change my habits or choices.

Laudato Si is hard, for it calls me and you, it calls us to live mindfully, connected to one another and to the Earth and to respond in Faith/Hope/Charity.

Here is a video and article from Catholic Charity.  Maybe this will give us some ideas as parish?
https://www.crs.org/resource-center/hosting-fair-trade-sale

As a ray of hope, Francis is saying that each one of us is capable of showing compassion and going beyond selfish wants and greed. Yet when self-centeredness, self-absorption, narcissism blinds one’s heart to the suffering of others, unable to be empathetic suffering abounds. (LSi, #208)

Pope Francis speaks of the Earth Charter. It is 16 principles seeking Global Interdependence and Shared Responsibilities. This is a powerful document that would take a lifetime to unpack. But reading it, is the first step.
https://earthcharter.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/echarter_english.pdf?x28510
Here is a quick little clip about one minute about the Earth Charter.
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=video%2c+earth+charter&docid=608044773333927340&mid=B03153588CE838ADA9F8B03153588CE838ADA9F8&view=detail&FORM=VIRE


ll. EDUCATING FOR THE COVENANT BETWEEN HUMANITY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
We are faced with an educational challenge. (LSi, #209)
Most of Humanity are able to see that humanity has brought about both cultural and ecological crisis. Yet are we able to translate that knowledge into new habits???? We see that there are many young people who are standing up and saying enough is enough. And yet they too “have grown up in a milieu of extreme consumerism and affluence. I remember a movie that said, the culture that we are living in has contaminated us with the virus causing “affluenza”. 

As a teacher Francis understands that education is not only about facts, but the big picture and personal transformation.
Yes, to know the facts / the science is important, yet Francis calls us to critique the modern myths of; individualism, unlimited growth, competition, consumerism and a laissez faire market that is solely profit driven.
Education needs to “restore the various levels of ecological equilibrium, establishing harmony within ourselves, with others, with nature and other living creatures, and with God.” (LSi, #209) Education is about the Whole Person in relationship with others and all creations for everything in “interconnected”.

Pope Francis uses a term “ecological citizenship”. And part of being a citizen is two-way relationship of serving and being cared for. Francis is also saying that we don’t have to do great things, only little things with love.  So, he says try “avoiding the use of plastic and paper (single us items), reducing water consumption, separating refuse, cooking only what can reasonably be consumed, showing care for other living beings, using public transport or car-pooling, planting trees, turning off unnecessary lights, or any number of other practices.  All of these reflect a generous and worthy creativity which brings out the best in human beings.  Reusing something instead of immediately discarding it, when done for the right reasons, can be an act of love which expresses our own dignity. (LSi, #211)

This last line touches me. That doing these simple things with the right intension “can be an act of love”. Think of this the next time you through scraps into the “green bags” or clean and fold aluminum foil or separate the trash.

Education (the planting of seeds) takes place in a variety of settings. Francis highlights the family with these words of insight and wisdom.
“In the family we first learn how to show love and respect for life; we are taught the proper use of things, order and cleanliness, respect for the local eco-system and care for all creatures.  In the family we receive an integral education, which enables us to grow harmoniously in personal maturity.  In the family we learn to ask without demanding, to say “thank you” as an expression of genuine gratitude for what we have been given, to control our aggressivity and greed, and to ask forgiveness when we have caused harm.  These simple gestures of heartfelt courtesy help to create a culture of shared life and respect for our surroundings.” (LSi, #213)
Notice the word “integral education”/well rounded. Think about the simple “please” and “thank-you” of a small child; it warms the heart. Then there is the learning to respect not only “your toys” but the “toys of your sister and brother” and the realization that the world is not about “MINE” and that we are not the centre of our universe. 
Think about your own family and those stages of development that takes place.

Paragraph #214 speaks to me clearly for it calls “Church/Christian Communities” to be play an important role in Ecological Education. This was Pope Francis’ plea five years ago; a question can be made; How have we done as church? Are we taking our first steps? That is Ok for now, but what about the follow up. What does that look like?

Having spent 6 years in the novitiate/pre-seminary preparing men for Oblate life, Francis says; “It is my hope that our seminaries and houses of formation will provide an education in responsible simplicity of life, in grateful contemplation of God’s world, and in concern for the needs of the poor and the protection of the environment.” This was a major challenge put before us. I am glad to say that with the Oblate Ecological Learning Centre some embraced Francis call to an “integral ecology” where faith is one with caring for creation.

This has been a long chapter so let me end at this point emphasizing what Francis calls; “the relationship between a good aesthetic education and the maintenance of a healthy environment. The sense of learning how to appreciate beauty, harmony, and nature. This is the key to mindfulness and ability to see God’s presence in our midst.

So now rest, we have covered a lot of ground as we have looked education and caring for our common home. Sit back and enjoy the beauty of creation in this 4-minute video.
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=youtube%2c+beauty+of+nature&docid=607991971078081121&mid=FC3F54956F9E10826D34FC3F54956F9E10826D34&view=detail&FORM=VIRE