Ecological Spirituality is one of the Laudato Si’ goals. This goal invites us to enter into a spiritual practice that is deeply rooted within God’s creation. Rev. Dr. Jostrom Isaac Kureethhadam, coordinator of Ecology and Creation at the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, suggests that true Ecological Spirituality requires us to engage in contemplation, compassion and care.

Reflect:

“Seeing the face of God in everything, everyone, all the time, and his hand in every happening. This is what it means to be contemplative in the heart of the world.”  –Mother Teresa, ‘In the Hearth of the World: Thoughts Stories and Prayers’

Contemplation is the act of looking at the world as a manifestation of the divine. When we look at every aspect of creation with a contemplative spirit, we invite the world to reveal to us the many faces of God. What wonder and beauty can be found in the sunrise? What hope can be gleaned from the first flowers that emerge in the spring? What peace can we draw from the bubble of a creek, or the rustle of leaves in the wind?

Allow yourself a moment to reflect on the ways in which God’s creation has revealed its nature to you and allow yourself to sit in awe at the intricacy of the world around you.

Act:

Compassion is faith in action. The ecological crisis that we are facing is a direct result of humanity’s collective lack of compassion for the earth. The disconnect between people and the planet can be mended by recognizing that we are all part of creation, and therefore, are created in the image of the divine.

Allow yourself to embrace ecological empathy and be filled with compassion for every natural creature: plant, animal, and human. Big or small, they are a reflection of God. This Lenten season, how can you find ways to show compassion to our common home?

Pray:

Divine Creator, you have carefully and wonderfully made the world, and we praise you for the gift of the Earth. As we journey through the spiritual desert this Lenten season, help us to deepen our care for creation. May we repair our broken relationship with the world, recognizing that all of creation is interconnected and sacred, deepening our Ecological Spirituality. Amen.

Ashley Stout
Source: https://nazareth.org/