Laudato Si Encyclical By Pope Francis
Laudato Si encyclical by Pope Francis is to help humanity recognize and realize the damage humanity is causing to the environment and the living people. It also talks about the religious, spiritual, and moral causes that ruin the relationship of man with nature. In addition, Francis also comprised The Canticle of the Creatures, which is also known as The Canticle of Brother Sun. It includes three sections; the first section includes the praise of God for all his creations. The Second section includes the praise for those who kindly forgive for the sake of Gods love, and the third section praises the sister bodily death. Francis composed the first section at San Damiano, the second section in a palace in Assisi, and the third portion of it was composed at the Portiuncula before he passed away. Catholic traditions and Benedictine hallmarks of sustainability include prayer, obedience, stability, discipline, stewardship, humility, community, hospitality, conversation, and love. Since the Benedictine monastery sponsors Benedictine they had to include values that imitate the monasteries. Students learn these ten hallmarks, which shapes their mind and hearts making it a
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visible difference in the community. Religion ties into everything including the environment; through sources “The 2015 Laudato Si Encyclical”, “The Canticle of the Creatures”, and “The Related Catholic Traditions and Benedictine Hallmarks of Sustainability”, I will analyze the importance of religion in environmental sustainability and discuss the effects of religion on the environment historically and currently.
Religion influenced people to think during the postindustrial period when historical events took place.
After the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro event advanced and undeveloped countries were coming up with solutions for environmental protection and poverty. To assist the environment to become a better place was seen as a moral thing to do. Climate change and renewable energy to them were less important of an issue. The 1972 Stockholm Declaration-Pollution addresses the human harm to the earth, which affects the health of the people, for instance, global warming. The righteous ones were asking God to help them come with solutions so the future generation would not have to face the problems they caused. The people felt it a need from inside them to help the environment around them (Laudato Si
167). As Laudato Si encyclical states it is our duty to protect God’s work by doing the moral thing. Human intervention is ruining the environment for why human themselves should find the solution and the moral thing to do. According to Laudato si, “There is a nobility in the duty to care for creation through little daily actions, and it is wonderful how education can bring about real changes in lifestyle.” He mentions it is a moral and a good thing to care for the environment on a daily basis. If we make it a habit to do one good deed every day we may not see the result immediately but at the end, you are bringing a change to the environment. Moreover, by doing such an act may drive others to do the same. Living in the environment we notice the atmosphere filled with gray smoke but we tend to ignore it. That is one of the major problems; if we are blessed with the ability and education to help the environment, then why not use it. We should change our lifestyle so we can better care for the environment we are living in. One of the most rewarding things we can do is volunteer in a non-profit organization like the Citizens’ Climate Lobby. By doing so we are not caring about the money or any sort of material thing rather helping the environment out of our own will. Citizens Climate Lobby has taken great actions in focusing on the climate change such as coming with solutions to global warming and many other by personal and government power (Citizen Climate Lobby 1).
It should be a part of every human nature to act in social justice by helping the poor fulfill their needs. “Our “dominion” over the universe should be understood more properly in the sense of responsible stewardship” (Laudato Si 116). Laudato Si stresses our responsibility to help the poor, disable, and preserve the environment. Water is a need that allows one to live. Everyone should have the right to live for why it is our responsibility to provide the poor with drinkable water. The bible tells the readers to keep and till the garden. “Till and keep,” explains the equalized duty of humans and nature. “Till” means to foster the land and “keep” means to protect and preserve (Laudato Si 67).
There are many human errors in the technology we choose to use. We believe every technology out there helps the environment. Technology usually comes with its pros and cons, it may be helpful for or make something faster but it most likely has a bad effect as well. If we have the ability to get rid of or replace a technology we certainly should.
Following Benedict Spiritual tradition we should act upon social justice and have the rights of opportunity, privileges, and wealth be shared around the world, especially involving the poor. As a community, we should look towards what is helping and harming our environment. We can sign petitions to help the environment and fight against Trumps and Pruitt’s immoral ideas. Trump signed to regenerate the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline and an oil pipeline in Dakota. Since these projects will use fossil fuels it is on our part to sign the pledge against his actions (Join the Pledge of Resistance 1).
Another hallmark humanity should abide by is Love. In “The Ten Hallmarks”, love is defined as “The worth and dignity of each person; the solidarity of the human race and the social nature of human existence.” In this world, many are egocentric and only care about themselves. Instead, we should give and feel good about what we give to the environment. Once we start caring for others we will feel that joy of doing a good deed.
A third hallmark I chose to talk about is stewardship. We should respect Gods creations. With our irresponsible behavior, we tend to harm the environment. Pope mentions human freedom is limitless; we tend to act without realizing the effect we leave behind (Laudato Si 6). For instance, we know we should recycle, not pull plants, and not litter, but we tend to anyways. Many times we see garbage thrown around even though there is garbage can at an arms distance.
One should be affected spiritually by god’s creations and detach oneself from material life. Spirituality is being aware that God is around and feeling the love of God. When one is spiritual he is at peace, feels joy and happiness. The more one becomes spiritual; he tends to see the beauty in the creations of God and realizes the presence of God. One also feels the love of God by adoring the creations since God created the world out of love. We should be thankful for every blessing we have. One way we can be thankful is by praising God for the beautiful creations he has created.
The Canticle of Creatures is a prayer poem that praises God. As we can see in the statement, “Praised be You, my Lord, with all Your creatures, especially Sir Brother Sun,” Francis references all of the Gods creations as sister and brother showing his humility. He shows not one creature is better than the other, and they all are valued equally. Francis wrote this poem when he was really sick, however, instead of crying he was thankful for the suffering, which drew him closer to God and his creations. Conversely, today we are more likely to offend our creator by not admiring his creations. We should praise God for the many creations such as the sun, stars, the moon, and the water we need to survive. Another way to praise god’s creation is to get educated about it. Furthermore, “47% of those who attend worship services said their clergy speak out on the environment, few adults described religion’s influence as most important in shaping their thinking on environmental protection,” getting involved in religious events can influence one’s thoughts with the wise words of the clergy (Funk and Alper 2).
Besides, praising God and his creations we should forgive others for the sake of God. The People that are suffering and are physically or mentally weak tend to forgive as stated in this quote, “Praised be You, my Lord, through those who give pardon for Your love, and bear infirmity and tribulation”, if they can then why cannot the rest of us (The Canticle of the Creatures 2). By forgiving others for the sake of God we will maintain our bonds and bring peace together.
Lastly, Francis praises sister of bodily death. As we all know death will approach every one of us and there is no way we can escape it. The God who gives life also takes it away when he pleases. Since we do not know when our life will come to an end it is better if we gain as many good deeds by helping the environment. The Genesis suggests “human life is grounded in three fundamental and closely intertwined relationships: with God, with our neighbour and with the earth itself”, the bible agrees these elements have been wrecked (Laudato Si 66). Not being able to follow these three elements is a sin, which we should avoid before it is too late to regret.
It is important to sustain the environment through morality, spirituality, and social justice. God created the world out of love for us and we should maintain his creations in the best way possible. Laudato Si states, “The harmony between the Creator, humanity, and creation as a whole was disrupted by our presuming to take the place of God and refusing to acknowledge our creaturely limitations” I do not believe we are acting better than nature or God when we use the sources we have to protect the environment. God is still powerful and all knowing and he is the one who provided us with the resources we use to protect nature, such as technology.
Protecting the environment is a huge discussion with many elements still to be investigated. For instance, many of us grow up learning to care for the environment such as we should not litter, we should recycle, and we should consume less but we barely educate ourselves further. Hence, we do not know how to differentiate our needs and wants, “This same “use and throw away” logic generates so much waste, because of the disordered desire to consume more than what is really necessary” (Laudato Si 123). We can also, investigate why Trump is taking immoral actions to help the environment. Furthermore, we can look into why the climate continually is getting warmer compared to the previous years. We should care for the environment out of human nature, fear of God, and care for others.
visible difference in the community. Religion ties into everything including the environment; through sources “The 2015 Laudato Si Encyclical”, “The Canticle of the Creatures”, and “The Related Catholic Traditions and Benedictine Hallmarks of Sustainability”, I will analyze the importance of religion in environmental sustainability and discuss the effects of religion on the environment historically and currently.
Religion influenced people to think during the postindustrial period when historical events took place.
After the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro event advanced and undeveloped countries were coming up with solutions for environmental protection and poverty. To assist the environment to become a better place was seen as a moral thing to do. Climate change and renewable energy to them were less important of an issue. The 1972 Stockholm Declaration-Pollution addresses the human harm to the earth, which affects the health of the people, for instance, global warming. The righteous ones were asking God to help them come with solutions so the future generation would not have to face the problems they caused. The people felt it a need from inside them to help the environment around them (Laudato Si
167). As Laudato Si encyclical states it is our duty to protect God’s work by doing the moral thing. Human intervention is ruining the environment for why human themselves should find the solution and the moral thing to do. According to Laudato si, “There is a nobility in the duty to care for creation through little daily actions, and it is wonderful how education can bring about real changes in lifestyle.” He mentions it is a moral and a good thing to care for the environment on a daily basis. If we make it a habit to do one good deed every day we may not see the result immediately but at the end, you are bringing a change to the environment. Moreover, by doing such an act may drive others to do the same. Living in the environment we notice the atmosphere filled with gray smoke but we tend to ignore it. That is one of the major problems; if we are blessed with the ability and education to help the environment, then why not use it. We should change our lifestyle so we can better care for the environment we are living in. One of the most rewarding things we can do is volunteer in a non-profit organization like the Citizens’ Climate Lobby. By doing so we are not caring about the money or any sort of material thing rather helping the environment out of our own will. Citizens Climate Lobby has taken great actions in focusing on the climate change such as coming with solutions to global warming and many other by personal and government power (Citizen Climate Lobby 1).
It should be a part of every human nature to act in social justice by helping the poor fulfill their needs. “Our “dominion” over the universe should be understood more properly in the sense of responsible stewardship” (Laudato Si 116). Laudato Si stresses our responsibility to help the poor, disable, and preserve the environment. Water is a need that allows one to live. Everyone should have the right to live for why it is our responsibility to provide the poor with drinkable water. The bible tells the readers to keep and till the garden. “Till and keep,” explains the equalized duty of humans and nature. “Till” means to foster the land and “keep” means to protect and preserve (Laudato Si 67).
There are many human errors in the technology we choose to use. We believe every technology out there helps the environment. Technology usually comes with its pros and cons, it may be helpful for or make something faster but it most likely has a bad effect as well. If we have the ability to get rid of or replace a technology we certainly should.
Following Benedict Spiritual tradition we should act upon social justice and have the rights of opportunity, privileges, and wealth be shared around the world, especially involving the poor. As a community, we should look towards what is helping and harming our environment. We can sign petitions to help the environment and fight against Trumps and Pruitt’s immoral ideas. Trump signed to regenerate the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline and an oil pipeline in Dakota. Since these projects will use fossil fuels it is on our part to sign the pledge against his actions (Join the Pledge of Resistance 1).
Another hallmark humanity should abide by is Love. In “The Ten Hallmarks”, love is defined as “The worth and dignity of each person; the solidarity of the human race and the social nature of human existence.” In this world, many are egocentric and only care about themselves. Instead, we should give and feel good about what we give to the environment. Once we start caring for others we will feel that joy of doing a good deed.
A third hallmark I chose to talk about is stewardship. We should respect Gods creations. With our irresponsible behavior, we tend to harm the environment. Pope mentions human freedom is limitless; we tend to act without realizing the effect we leave behind (Laudato Si 6). For instance, we know we should recycle, not pull plants, and not litter, but we tend to anyways. Many times we see garbage thrown around even though there is garbage can at an arms distance.
One should be affected spiritually by god’s creations and detach oneself from material life. Spirituality is being aware that God is around and feeling the love of God. When one is spiritual he is at peace, feels joy and happiness. The more one becomes spiritual; he tends to see the beauty in the creations of God and realizes the presence of God. One also feels the love of God by adoring the creations since God created the world out of love. We should be thankful for every blessing we have. One way we can be thankful is by praising God for the beautiful creations he has created.
The Canticle of Creatures is a prayer poem that praises God. As we can see in the statement, “Praised be You, my Lord, with all Your creatures, especially Sir Brother Sun,” Francis references all of the Gods creations as sister and brother showing his humility. He shows not one creature is better than the other, and they all are valued equally. Francis wrote this poem when he was really sick, however, instead of crying he was thankful for the suffering, which drew him closer to God and his creations. Conversely, today we are more likely to offend our creator by not admiring his creations. We should praise God for the many creations such as the sun, stars, the moon, and the water we need to survive. Another way to praise god’s creation is to get educated about it. Furthermore, “47% of those who attend worship services said their clergy speak out on the environment, few adults described religion’s influence as most important in shaping their thinking on environmental protection,” getting involved in religious events can influence one’s thoughts with the wise words of the clergy (Funk and Alper 2).
Besides, praising God and his creations we should forgive others for the sake of God. The People that are suffering and are physically or mentally weak tend to forgive as stated in this quote, “Praised be You, my Lord, through those who give pardon for Your love, and bear infirmity and tribulation”, if they can then why cannot the rest of us (The Canticle of the Creatures 2). By forgiving others for the sake of God we will maintain our bonds and bring peace together.
Lastly, Francis praises sister of bodily death. As we all know death will approach every one of us and there is no way we can escape it. The God who gives life also takes it away when he pleases. Since we do not know when our life will come to an end it is better if we gain as many good deeds by helping the environment. The Genesis suggests “human life is grounded in three fundamental and closely intertwined relationships: with God, with our neighbour and with the earth itself”, the bible agrees these elements have been wrecked (Laudato Si 66). Not being able to follow these three elements is a sin, which we should avoid before it is too late to regret.
It is important to sustain the environment through morality, spirituality, and social justice. God created the world out of love for us and we should maintain his creations in the best way possible. Laudato Si states, “The harmony between the Creator, humanity, and creation as a whole was disrupted by our presuming to take the place of God and refusing to acknowledge our creaturely limitations” I do not believe we are acting better than nature or God when we use the sources we have to protect the environment. God is still powerful and all knowing and he is the one who provided us with the resources we use to protect nature, such as technology.
Protecting the environment is a huge discussion with many elements still to be investigated. For instance, many of us grow up learning to care for the environment such as we should not litter, we should recycle, and we should consume less but we barely educate ourselves further. Hence, we do not know how to differentiate our needs and wants, “This same “use and throw away” logic generates so much waste, because of the disordered desire to consume more than what is really necessary” (Laudato Si 123). We can also, investigate why Trump is taking immoral actions to help the environment. Furthermore, we can look into why the climate continually is getting warmer compared to the previous years. We should care for the environment out of human nature, fear of God, and care for others.