| "This is the disciple who is bearing witness to these things, and who has written these things; and we know that his testimony is true." John 21:24 |
| "The Post and Courier" October 1, 2006 “St. Francis’ feast day time to reflect on nature” By Jeff Kirby |
This week some Christian churches celebrate the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, the impassioned lover of God and nature. Famous images
of the saint preaching to the birds or caressing the wolf of Gubbio can be seen in garden statues and homes throughout the Lowcountry.
St. Francis’ love, moreover, can be felt in his songs and poetry, especially his “Canticle of Brother Sun.” The saint’s feast day can be a good
time for us to reflect on our views of nature and the environment.
Our beliefs on creation can help us to answer some of our basic human questions: Where do we come from? Where are we going? What is
our origin? What is our end? Our responses to these questions can be decisive to the meaning and fundamental orientation of our lives.
Our society today is keenly aware and attentive to the environment, and the several issues surrounding it. Sometimes, however, our concern
for the world around us seems to lack a certain depth and richness, which the Christian message can offer it.
For St. Francis, love for nature and the environment stemmed from his love for God. He saw creation as a gift from God, which must be
cared for and respected. In his worldview, he wouldn’t have been able to fathom the environment without seeing God’s goodness and love.
For Francis, nothing would have made sense without God.
Grounded on the belief of creation as God’s gift, Francis could only then adamantly argue and demand a religious reverence for the world,
animals, plants, and the greater environment.
Some perspectives, however, dismiss the Christian teachings on environmental stewardship as condescending and belittling. It’s mistakenly
thought that the Christian message asserts the role of the human person to the detriment of nature and the environment. It’s suspected that
by teaching that the human person is the summit and center of creation, the Christian church sees the rest of the world as having a lesser role
and importance.
The authentic Christian understanding, however, knows that nothing in creation is self-sufficient. There is an active interdependence between
all creatures, with each one completing the another and living in service to it. This reality gives a breathing solidarity to creation, revealing its
inner order and value.
Only after grasping this primary lesson, can we begin to understand the hierarchy within creation. It is a hierarchy of service and
complementarity.
Humans stand as the center and summit to serve and sustain creation and its harmony. We can almost liken creation to a republic, with each
component having its own dignity and autonomy, and yet a part of a greater whole with responsibilities and a greater identity within the larger
entity. Within such a creation republic, the human person lives as a chosen leader for humble service and benevolent governance. This is the
proper order given and blessed by God.
As a consequence of an authentic Christian understanding of the environment, we realize that the human person’s governance of the world is
not absolute. It is limited by concern for other human persons and society. It’s humbled by gratitude to God, and tempered by a religious
respect for the integrity of creation itself.
The world is not humanity’s to do whatever it wants with it. The world is a gift in which humanity lives, and we have the responsibility to
care for, serve, and sanctify it. It is a stewardship and challenge.
Perhaps these thoughts on our world and environment can be St. Francis’ lesson to us as we prepare to commemorate his life and actions.
Hopefully each of us can imitate some of his gratitude and passion in our own lives.
Jeff Kirby is a seminarian for the Catholic Diocese of Charleston. He will be ordained a deacon on October 5 in Rome.
of the saint preaching to the birds or caressing the wolf of Gubbio can be seen in garden statues and homes throughout the Lowcountry.
St. Francis’ love, moreover, can be felt in his songs and poetry, especially his “Canticle of Brother Sun.” The saint’s feast day can be a good
time for us to reflect on our views of nature and the environment.
Our beliefs on creation can help us to answer some of our basic human questions: Where do we come from? Where are we going? What is
our origin? What is our end? Our responses to these questions can be decisive to the meaning and fundamental orientation of our lives.
Our society today is keenly aware and attentive to the environment, and the several issues surrounding it. Sometimes, however, our concern
for the world around us seems to lack a certain depth and richness, which the Christian message can offer it.
For St. Francis, love for nature and the environment stemmed from his love for God. He saw creation as a gift from God, which must be
cared for and respected. In his worldview, he wouldn’t have been able to fathom the environment without seeing God’s goodness and love.
For Francis, nothing would have made sense without God.
Grounded on the belief of creation as God’s gift, Francis could only then adamantly argue and demand a religious reverence for the world,
animals, plants, and the greater environment.
Some perspectives, however, dismiss the Christian teachings on environmental stewardship as condescending and belittling. It’s mistakenly
thought that the Christian message asserts the role of the human person to the detriment of nature and the environment. It’s suspected that
by teaching that the human person is the summit and center of creation, the Christian church sees the rest of the world as having a lesser role
and importance.
The authentic Christian understanding, however, knows that nothing in creation is self-sufficient. There is an active interdependence between
all creatures, with each one completing the another and living in service to it. This reality gives a breathing solidarity to creation, revealing its
inner order and value.
Only after grasping this primary lesson, can we begin to understand the hierarchy within creation. It is a hierarchy of service and
complementarity.
Humans stand as the center and summit to serve and sustain creation and its harmony. We can almost liken creation to a republic, with each
component having its own dignity and autonomy, and yet a part of a greater whole with responsibilities and a greater identity within the larger
entity. Within such a creation republic, the human person lives as a chosen leader for humble service and benevolent governance. This is the
proper order given and blessed by God.
As a consequence of an authentic Christian understanding of the environment, we realize that the human person’s governance of the world is
not absolute. It is limited by concern for other human persons and society. It’s humbled by gratitude to God, and tempered by a religious
respect for the integrity of creation itself.
The world is not humanity’s to do whatever it wants with it. The world is a gift in which humanity lives, and we have the responsibility to
care for, serve, and sanctify it. It is a stewardship and challenge.
Perhaps these thoughts on our world and environment can be St. Francis’ lesson to us as we prepare to commemorate his life and actions.
Hopefully each of us can imitate some of his gratitude and passion in our own lives.
Jeff Kirby is a seminarian for the Catholic Diocese of Charleston. He will be ordained a deacon on October 5 in Rome.