Friday, October 4th is the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi. There is no saint more admired and loved by Christian and non-Christian alike as is Saint Francis.
Francis was a “peace maker.” He was a lover of nature and saw in the created universe the plan of God for all people.
For all too long, we have misused the gift of God’s creation, and we continue to do so at our own peril and that of future generations.
We deny the moral dimensions of our decisions and we conflate progress with activity.
The idea of infinite and unlimited growth, so attractive to economists, financiers and experts in technology, is based on the lie that there is an infinite supply of the earth’s goods, and this leads to the planet being squeezed dry beyond limit.
Some believe that economics and technology will solve all environmental problems; the problems of global hunger and poverty will be resolved by market growth.
The market cannot guarantee integrated human development.
The false assumptions we hold are three in number.
- Everything is here for our use and whoever can find and market that use is entitled in doing so.
- The system that created these problems will also solve them.
- Technology, aided by science and fostered by the profit motive and consumerism, is the foundation of progress, prosperity, freedom, and happiness.
Much of the word’s wealth has come from exploiting the global south so as “to satisfy markets in the industrial north.” This exploitation has left a legacy of environmental damage.
There is a debt that the wealthy owe to the poor, debt that our market-based economies don’t address.
Climate change is the failure of a system that says profit “is the sole criterion to be taken into account.”
Our failure to care for creation is the result of a world-view that looks for solutions only in things that can be bought and sold.
In the spirit of Saint Francis, Pope Francis teaches: “Market economy and a culture of consumption are locked in a dance of death, leading to the spiritual impoverishment of those who control it, material impoverishment for those who don’t, and environmental impoverishment across the globe.”
Pope Francis closes his letter on care for the creation by asking all people to pray this prayer.
All-powerful God, you are present in the whole universe and in the smallest of your creatures.
You embrace with your tenderness all that exists.
Pour out upon us the power of your love, that we may protect life and beauty.
Fill us with peace that we may live as sisters and brothers, harming no one.
O God of the poor, help us to rescue the abandoned and forgotten of this earth, so precious in your eyes.
Bring healing to our lives, that we may protect the world and not prey on it, that we may sow beauty and not pollution and destruction.
Touch the hearts of those who look only for gain at the expense of the poor of the earth.
Teach us to discover the worth of each thing, to be filled with awe and contemplation, to recognize that we are profoundly united with every creature as we journey toward your infinite light.
We thank you for being with us each day.
Encourage us, we pray in our struggle for justice, love and peace.
The words of this article find their source in the writings of Pope Francis, especially his Encyclical on climate change and inequality, May 24, 2015.
Father Steve Adrian
Leave a Comment