Spirituality and Earth Day, April 22

Is there a spirituality of Earth Day? Let me ask it this way: Do you love your children, your family? Do you love your home and property? Do you love your pets, your friends, your church and social groups? If you love any or all of the above, you are driven by a spirituality of love, the source of which is God – or Higher Power or Allah or…you get the picture. You love anything that is created for you, anything generated from a mysterious, loving source beyond your grasp. Thus, it is spiritual. When acknowledged, this love becomes your spirituality.

I always approach Earth Day with a mixture of sadness and hope, both of which nourish a spirituality. I’m sad for the continued recklessness we humans leverage against the earth through unwillingness to change our ways of doing things. We simply refuse to be uncomfortable or generous when given the chance to stand up against climate change or the disregard of animal rights or any climate/earth idiom of life. 

The spirituality of Earth Day is my commitment to the Day, my dedication to help change all that fosters a reckless disregard for the environment. I’m also joyful about the people and projects who are helping to change attitudes for the survival of our planet. These people give me hope on Earth Day and every day that follows. Let me mention just a few: Sue DiTullio and Colleen McSwiggin are both Associates in Mission of the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati (my congregation) who have devoted themselves to this herculean effort. As Administrative Assistant for the Sisters of Charity center, Earth Connection, Sue teaches children and young adults how to convert recyclable trash into usable items, like the three park benches and picnic tables constructed entirely from bottle caps! She also gets the kids, especially Girl Scout Troops, involved in gardening at Earth Connection and sharing the produce with local food distribution centers. Colleen opened Cincinnati Recycling and Reuse (The Hub) as a one-stop-drop-off collection center for what might have been taken to the local landfills. In 20 months, she has prevented 200 tons of waste from ending up in those landfills. Sister Helen Therese Scasny, with the help of volunteers, runs a resale organization which collects clothing, home appliances, furniture, etc., and after cleaning and repairing the items sends them to Cleveland shelters for people starting new lives. I should also mention she is 91 years-old! Sister Ritamary Harwood, SND, engages in the same work also in Cleveland, Ohio. Sister Nancy Crafton, a Sister of Charity runs an amazing outlet of recycled items in Pueblo, Colorado.

These are all people who got angry enough about waste and abuse of the earth and its consequent poverty but who decided to do something about it. They, and thousands like them, are models for what you and I can do. Their dedications spring from a spirituality of love and care. Pope Francis also gives me joy and hope in caring for our earth. His encyclical, Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home, is a must read for the direction in spirituality and ethics it provides for the reader. 

Reflection

This year’s Earth Day theme is “Planet v. Plastics.” We produce 300 million tons of plastic annually. It ends up in our earth, oceans, landfills, natural parks, anywhere you can find human existence. Your plastic water bottle requires six times as much plastic to make as the bottle itself. All humans ingest microplastics found in our water systems and we know that many such plastics are carcinogenic. Perhaps we can ask ourselves:

• Can we find creative ways to limit our purchase of items made and/or packaged by plastic?
• Can we include daily reflections, informed by science and faith, that might help us make difficult decisions on behalf of sustainable environmental living? 
• How can I develop better and deeper consciousness of treating the earth with love?

I am including here a lovely poem composed by one of my sisters which evokes for me the whimsy of spring. I hope you enjoy it too. Happy Earth Day! Do something for our earth’s survival – and, for goodness sake, swing on a swing!