“To pay attention, this is our endless and proper work” (Mary Oliver)

In his landmark encyclical, Laudato Si’, Pope Francis offers an overview of the current state of our common home and calls us to collective responsibility. This is the first encyclical exclusively on the environment and human ecology and it is timely to influence the current crucial United Nations climate negotiations in Paris.  

In this advent-time of expectation and hope and as we enter this Jubilee year of Mercy, I’m acutely aware that we are at a critical time in our history. In this time of planetary crisis we are approaching the edge, that space of poise and perspective on the ocean of possibilities amid the devastation and seeming hopelessness of our ill-informed choices and often compulsive lifestyles.

That edge can be the precipice of doom, the point of no return in our headlong stampede for more and more, or it can be the catalyst to wonder and awe, the holy ground of real presence opening us to divine bountifulness and love flaring forth in the universe, our common home. The choice is ours. At this moment we stand together with billions of our human companions and countless billions of our kin in the wider community of life embracing the dreams of present and future generations as we look to the future with hope – hope tinged with fear. 

I’m reminded of the words of Jesus shortly before his death, his coming to that edge which did not lead to eventual doom but new life. He is sensitive to his disciples and wants to prepare them for the realities ahead. I’m always intrigued by what he says to them: “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit comes, the Spirit will guide you into all the truth” (Jn. 16:12-13). What are some of the things we cannot bear now or are we perhaps ignoring the Spirit of enlightenment alive in our midst?

Pope Francis is forthright about our failure in the social, political, environmental and economic spheres especially the myth of our Western economic model based on unlimited consumption of limited resources so often wedded to vested interests and profit at any cost.  He highlights pollution, waste, alarming loss of biodiversity, lack of access to vital resources, modern anthropocentrism, social inequality, and the erosion of the moral and community fabric of life as sources of the ecological crisis. 

He endorses the view of experts that human implication in the current state of devastation in our common home is real. “We may well be leaving to coming generations debris, desolation and filth” (161). He states that “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”(202). This shows “a great cultural, spiritual and educational challenge standing before us” and demands that “we set out on the long path of renewal”. (202).

In reflecting on the encyclical as a whole I believe that Pope Francis’s exhortation “to approach life with serene attentiveness”(226) is key to renewal and ecological conversion, both individual and communal. When we approach life from our essence or heart space we connect with the breath of God at the heart of the universe breathing us and all beings in unison.  We are, therefore, more likely to contemplate in wonder and awe the gifts and potential in and among us as the community of creation and develop an abiding sense of abundance and thankfulness.

In our essence we ponder the deeper questions relationally, searching out patterns, loops and cycles as we seek systemic causes of and solutions to planetary and human impoverishment within their wider context. We come to realise that the inner and outer journey are one so that we can’t change what’s going on around us until we start changing what’s going on within us.(217). 

We begin to understand the consequences for planet and people of our disconnection from our deepest roots, the very life systems that nourish us: sun, soil, air, water and human companionship. We grapple with the truth that the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor are identical. (49) What are some of the wisdom gatherings from an attitude of “serene attentiveness” in Laudato Si’? Among the most striking are the recognition of life as God’s gift (220), the innate dignity and worth of every being (69) the profound sense that all of life is interconnected and interdependent, the centrality of relationships (42, 68, 79, 240) and the intrinsic value of a balanced lifestyle with “a capacity for wonder which takes us to a deeper understanding of life” (225).  

From a “serene attentiveness” perspective I’m always baffled that gender inequality consistently evades honest discussion and genuine efforts at resolution. I regard this as part of the shadow side of an otherwise highly influential and much needed message at this time.

We are realising more and more that all life is interconnected and interdependent; all is holy, all is one. Pope Francis expresses it thus: “God has joined us so closely together that we can feel the desertification of the soil almost as a physical ailment, and the extinction of a species as a painful disfigurement” (89). This depth of conversion necessitates a shift in consciousness, a new story of evolutionary continuity in our universe and of planet earth as a living, breathing organism. In contemplating the gift of life we come face to face with the complexity of our evolving and expanding universe stretching back in deep time almost 14 billion years. The mystery of this unfolding, constantly flaring forth in newness as it weaves patterns of equilibrium and turbulence – the splendid array of life, energy and creativity – is both exciting and mind-boggling as it inspires us to ever deeper self-knowledge and responsibility for the common good. 

We, humans, are fairly recent arrivals (67) with a long and profound wisdom-rootedness to guide us. We are one species among many in the magnificent web of life sharing the same atoms, chemicals and minerals. All beings are unique but not separate in the community of creation, each a manifestation of divine beauty and creativity: “God saw everything that he had made and behold it was very good” (Gen:1-31). In the human the universe becomes self-consciously aware; this is both a privilege and a responsibility. Core to this responsibility must be what unites us rather than what separates us as we widen our circle of compassion to embrace the cry of the earth and the plight of the poor. “We bear the Universe in our being as the Universe bears us in its being”. (Thomas Berry)

With the heart attitude of serene attentiveness (226) we sense the universe/earth as alive and evolving – our common home- this jolts us into changes of perception, attitude, values and lifestyle as we try to live more sustainably in a planet of abundant yet finite resources. The renewal and reconnection we seek “entails a loving awareness that we are not disconnected from the rest of creatures but joined in a splendid universal communion”(220).  The awesomeness of this “splendid universal communion”opens up a broader understanding of spirituality, theology and community: “The universe as a whole, in all its manifold relationships shows forth the inexhaustible riches of God” (86). 

Furthermore, it challenges our classical understanding of these with the knowledge that our universe is forever in the process of becoming. Drawing on the writings of Teilhard de Chardin and quantum wisdom Ilia Delio asks “What kind of theology would emerge if we realized that we are always in the process of becoming, even in eternal life, and that God is always in the process of becoming God? This is the type of new theology needed for the universe that is our home” (Laudato Si’ and Vatican 111).

It is intriguing to realise that a mere two hundred years ago our ancestors believed that the Milky Way Galaxy was the entire universe and even today with our technological advances we can observe a mere five per cent of the universe – ordinary matter, while the remaining ninety-five per cent, mainly dark energy and five per cent dark matter, eludes us. We, all beings, are a microcosm of this reality, each of us an inexhaustible mystery with profound depths of richness within; we will never know it totally: “everything is, as it were, a caress of God” (84). How wonderful a time to be alive and searching for meaning! “Rather than a problem to be solved, the world is a joyful mystery to be contemplated with gladness and praise” (12).

The openness to serene attentiveness, mindfulness and contemplation is so vital today as we try to make meaning and come to terms with trends and issues shaping our reality. As we attempt, for instance, to hold in juxtaposition the terrorist tragedies and displacements worldwide and the global impact of climate change there is that haunting sense of eerie resonance with indigenous wisdom which tells us that we are not separate from the earth, what we do to the earth we do to ourselves. All is connected, we belong together; we are one. 

Let us awaken anew to our own innate dignity and potential and that of all beings as we boldly step up to the collective challenge created by having lost our way and settled for the ultra-comfortable over the common good. “The poor need help today, not next week” (Catherine McAuley). Together let us build on the positive strands emerging from COP21 Paris Climate Summit as we endeavour to create a better future where all will feel at home in our common home.  “Let us sing as we go” (244), guided by the Spirit, ever present, and encouraged by the hopes and dreams of the billions of people and all beings with whom we share life’s delicate balance.

“Woman, I have adorned you,
Woman, I have delighted in you, 
Woman, I have made my home within you:
So why not soar?”
(Mechtilde of Magdeburg)

Book Launch of”Life’s Delicate Balance” by Sr. Nellie McLaughlin
Left to Right:  Grainne Doherty who launched the Book, Nellie McLaughlin, Lucy Gillespie, Veritas, Donna Doherty who facilitated the evening and Connor McLain -Musician

 

Nellie McLaughlin rsm
Northern Province