Let us be Messengers of Divine Mercy

After the fifty days of preparation, fasting, abstinence and prayer, we now are entering into the joy of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ did rise from the dead! The Apostle Paul testifies to that great event in 1 Cor 15:3-4: “Christ died for our sins, he was buried, and he rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures”. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the central truth of the Christian faith. We rejoice that ‘Christ is risen’. St. Paul writes: “And if Christ has not been raised, our proclamation has been in vain and so is your faith” (1 Cor 15: 14). The Easter joy of this year has a speciality. In this Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy declared by Pope Francis, the celebration of Easter becomes more momentous because at Easter we celebrate the summit of God’s mercy being manifested through His son Jesus to the humanity. This year, the Church focuses on several points which require special attention to enable the celebration of Easter to be for all believers a true moment of encounter with the mercy of God.

As Pope Francis reflects in the papal bull Misericordiae Vultus, Jesus Christ is the face of the Father’s mercy. These words of the Pope might well sum up the mystery of the Christian faith. The great mercy of God is shown to us in a perfect manner in God, giving His beloved Son to die on the cross for our sins. The New Testament presents Jesus Christ as the ultimate manifestation of God’s mercy, in whom we can see the mercy of God in a much brighter light. Jesus not only proclaimed the message of his Father’s mercy, he lived it himself. What Jesus proclaimed, he also lived. He was moved by compassion when he met a leper (Mk 1:41) or encountered the sorrow of a mother who had lost her only son (Lk 7:13). He had compassion for many who were sick (Mt 14: 14) and for the people who were hungry (Mt 15: 32). Mercy has become living and visible in Jesus, reaching its culmination in him through his death and resurrection. Easter is a time to constantly contemplate on the mystery of mercy of God.

The message of divine mercy is neither a theory that is alien to praxis and world realities, nor does it stop at the level of mere sentimental expressions of pity. Jesus teaches us to be merciful like the Father (Lk 6: 36). In the Sermon on the Mount, he declares the merciful blessed (Mt 5: 7). Therefore, the message of divine mercy must reflect on the life of every Christian. As Pope Francis reminds, mercy is the very foundation of the Church’s life. The Church’s very credibility is seen in how she shows compassionate and merciful love. We become true Christians only to the extent to which we are able to show the merciful face of Jesus through our life.

Let me remind you of an incident. There was a huge earthquake in one of the villages of Italy many years back. Due to the earthquake, the whole village was devastated, including the beautiful parish church which was situated at the centre of the village. The villagers were scattered. After some years, they came back to the devastated home village and they wanted to revive their life there. The first thing they wanted to rebuild in the village was their parish church. While clearing the area, among the ruins of the church, they have found the broken pieces of the beautiful statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which was placed at the altar of the old church. They could not throw it away with the other things, because that statue was so dear to their heart. After the renovation of the church, they have placed it in an important part of the church and at the bottom they have written these verses: I have no eyes, I need your eyes to see; I have no ears, I need your ears to hear; I have no mouth, I need your mouth to speak; I have no hands, I need your hands to work; I have no legs, I need your legs to walk; I have no heart, I need your heart to love.

Yes, it is our turn to give Jesus our life to continue the works of mercy in today’s world. This is the message of Easter. We have a lot of examples around the world of saintly people who have dedicated their life for Jesus so that the merciful works of Jesus may be continued through their life in the present world. Blessed Mother Theresa and St. Damien are such people in whom people could experience the same mercy and compassion of Jesus. In the world today, sad to say, we must admit that the practice of mercy is waning. However, without a witness to mercy, life becomes fruitless and sterile, as if sequestered in a barren desert. The time has come for us to take up the joyful call to mercy once more. It is time to return to the basics and to bear the weaknesses and struggles of our brothers and sisters. Mercy is the force that reawakens us to new life and instils in us the courage to look to the future with hope. Easter time is an invitation to be born again in the resurrected Christ and be true messengers of God’s mercy!

“According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” (1 Pet 1:3).

Article published in the magazine Pratheekshayude Poomottukal, Easter issue 2016.

കരുണയുടെ വിശുദ്ധ വർഷത്തിൽ ഇതാ നോമ്പ് കാലം

ഒരു നോമ്പ് കാലം കൂടി വരികയാണ്. ഈ വർഷത്തെ നോമ്പു കാലത്തിന് ഒരു വലിയ പ്രത്യേകത കൂടി ഉണ്ട്: "ദൈവ പിതാവിനെപ്പോലെ നിങ്ങൾ കരുണയുള്ളവർ ആയിരിക്കുവിൻ" എന്ന ആഹ്വാനത്തോടെ ഫ്രാൻസിസ് മാർപാപ്പ പ്രഖ്യാപിച്ച കരുണയുടെ വിശുദ്ധ വർഷത്തിലൂടെ നാം കടന്നു പോവുകയാണ്. അതു കൊണ്ട് തന്നെ ഈ നോമ്പുകാലത്തെ കരുണയുടെ സന്ദേശവുമായി ചേർത്തു വായിക്കുന്നത് എന്തുകൊണ്ടും ഉചിതമാണ്.

നോമ്പ് കാലം യേശുവിന്റെ പീഡാനുഭവ, കുരിശുമരണ ഉത്ഥാന രഹസ്യങ്ങളെ പ്രത്യേകമായി നാം ഓര്‍ക്കുകയും നമ്മുടെ പ്രാര്‍ത്ഥനകളോട് – ജീവിതത്തോടു തന്നെ – ഈ രക്ഷാകര രഹസ്യങ്ങളെ ചേര്‍ത്ത് വയ്ക്കുകയും ചെയ്യുന്ന സമയമാണ്. ഈ രക്ഷാകര രഹസ്യങ്ങള്‍ നമ്മെ ഓര്‍മ്മിപ്പിക്കുന്നത് ദൈവത്തിന്‍റെ അനന്തമായ കാരുണ്യമല്ലാതെ മറ്റൊന്നുമല്ല. കരുണയുടെ വിശുദ്ധ വര്‍ഷ പ്രഖ്യാപനത്തോട് അനുബന്ധിച്ച് ഫ്രാന്‍സിസ് മാര്‍പാപ്പ പുറത്തിറക്കിയ ‘കരുണയുടെ മുഖം’ (മിസെരികൊര്‍ദിയെ വുള്‍തുസ്) എന്ന ലേഖനം ആരംഭിക്കുന്നത് തന്നെ ദൈവത്തിന്‍റെ ഈ അനന്ത കാരുണ്യത്തെ ഓര്‍മിപ്പിച്ചു കൊണ്ടാണ്. കരുണയില്‍ സമ്പന്നനായ ദൈവപിതാവിന്‍റെ കരുണയുടെ മുഖമാണ് യേശുവിന്‍റെ രക്ഷാകര രഹസ്യങ്ങളിലൂടെ ഈ ലോകത്തില്‍ പ്രകടിതമായത്. 

പഴയ നിയമം പിതാവായ ദൈവത്തെ അവതരിപ്പിക്കുന്നത്‌ കരുണാമയനായ പിതാവായിട്ടാണ്. താന്‍ സ്നേഹപൂര്‍വ്വം തിരഞ്ഞെടുത്ത ഇസ്രയേല്‍ ജനത പല തവണ തനിക്കെതിരായി തിരിഞ്ഞപ്പോഴും തളരാതെ പിന്നാലെ ചെന്ന് തന്‍റെ സ്നേഹത്തിലേക്ക് അവരെ ചേര്‍ത്ത് നിര്‍ത്തുന്ന ദൈവ കാരുണ്യത്തിന്റെ എത്രയെത്ര ഉദാഹരണങ്ങളാണ് പഴയ നിയമം നമുക്ക് കാണിച്ച് തരിക. ദൈവത്തിന്‍റെ ഈ വലിയ കാരുണ്യത്തിന്റെ സംഗീതമാണ് നൂറ്റി മൂന്നാം സങ്കീര്‍ത്തനത്തില്‍ നാം വായിക്കുന്നത്. “കര്‍ത്താവ്‌ ആര്‍ദ്ര ഹൃദയനും കാരുണ്യവാനുമാണ്; ക്ഷമാശീലനും സ്നേഹ നിധിയുമാണ്” (സങ്കീ. 103:8). പരിശുദ്ധ കന്യാമറിയം തന്‍റെ സ്തോത്ര ഗീതത്തിലും ഓര്‍മ്മിച്ചത് ഈ വലിയ കാരുണ്യം തന്നെയാണ്: “തന്‍റെ കാരുണ്യം അനുസ്മരിച്ചുകൊണ്ട് അവിടുന്ന് തന്‍റെ ദാസനായ ഇസ്രയേലിനെ സഹായിച്ചു” (ലൂക്കാ 1:54).

ഈ വലിയ സ്നേഹത്തിന്‍റെയും കാരുണ്യത്തിന്‍റെയും മൂര്‍ത്തീ രൂപമായിരുന്നു യേശുവില്‍ തെളിഞ്ഞു കണ്ടത്. രോഗികളോടും ആകുലരോടും കഷ്ടത അനുഭവിക്കുന്നവരോടും വിശക്കുന്നവരോടും അനുകമ്പ കാണിക്കുന്ന തായിരുന്നു അവിടുത്തെ സുവിശേഷം. രോഗികളെ സുഖപ്പെടുത്തിയപ്പോഴും, തന്‍റെ മുന്നിലിരുന്ന വിശക്കുന്ന ജനങ്ങളെ സംതൃപ്തരാക്കിയപ്പോഴും, കഷ്ടപ്പെടുന്നവരും ഭാരം വഹിക്കുന്നവരും അവിടുത്തെ അടുക്കലേക്ക്‌ ചെല്ലാന്‍ ആഹ്വാനം ചെയ്തപ്പോഴും ഈ കരുണയുടെ മുഖമായിരുന്നു നാം തെളിഞ്ഞു കണ്ടത്.

യോഹന്നാന്‍റെ സുവിശേഷം എട്ടാം അധ്യായത്തില്‍ ഹൃദയ സ്പര്‍ശിയായ ഒരു രംഗമുണ്ട്. യേശുവിനെ പറ്റിയുള്ള സിനിമകളിലൊക്കെ ഈ രംഗം നമ്മുടെ കണ്ണു നനയിക്കാറുണ്ട്. വ്യഭിചാരത്തില്‍ പിടിക്കപ്പെട്ട സ്ത്രീയെ യഹൂദ പ്രമാണിമാര്‍ കല്ലെറിഞ്ഞു കൊല്ലാനായി യേശുവിന്‍റെ അരികില്‍ കൊണ്ട് വരുന്ന രംഗമാണ് അത്. ഒരു സ്ത്രീയെ കല്ലെറിഞ്ഞു കൊല്ലാന്‍ ക്രൌര്യത്തോടെ നില്‍ക്കുന്ന ഒരു കൂട്ടം ജനങ്ങളുടെ ഇടയില്‍ നിന്ന് അവളെ രക്ഷിച്ച് അവളുടെ മുഖത്ത് നോക്കി ശാന്തതയോടെ അവിടുന്ന് പറഞ്ഞു: “മകളേ നീ സമാധാനത്തോടെ പോവുക, ഇനി മേലില്‍ പാപം ചെയ്യരുത്” (യോഹ. 8: 14). അവിടുന്ന് നമുക്ക് കാണിച്ചു തരുന്ന മാതൃക കാരുണ്യത്തിന്റെ മാതൃകയാണ്. അതുകൊണ്ട് തന്നെ കരുണയുടെ വിശുദ്ധ വര്‍ഷത്തിലെ ഈ നോമ്പാചരണം കാരുണ്യ പ്രവര്‍ത്തികള്‍ കൊണ്ട് സമ്പന്നമാവണം.

നോമ്പുകാല ചൈതന്യത്തെപ്പറ്റി ഏശയ്യാ പ്രവാചകനിലൂടെ ദൈവം നമ്മെ ഓര്‍മ്മിപ്പിക്കുന്നത് വളരെ ശ്രദ്ധേയമാണ്: “ദുഷ്ടതയുടെ കെട്ടുകള്‍ പൊട്ടിക്കുകയും, നുകത്തിന്റെ കയറുകള്‍ അഴിക്കുകയും, മര്‍ദ്ദിതരെ സ്വതന്ത്രരാക്കുകയും ചെയ്യുന്നതല്ലേ ഞാന്‍ ആഗ്രഹിക്കുന്ന ഉപവാസം. വിശക്കുന്നവനുമായി ആഹാരം പങ്കു വയ്ക്കുകയും, ഭവനരഹിതനെ വീട്ടില്‍ സ്വീകരിക്കുകയും, നഗ്നനെ ഉടുപ്പിക്കുകയും ചെയ്യുന്നതല്ലേ അത്” (ഏശ 58: 6–7). അതെ, നോമ്പുകാലം ഫലവത്തായി തീരുന്നത് നാം കരുണയുള്ളവരായി തീരുമ്പോള്‍ മാത്രമാണ്. ഉപവാസവും പ്രാര്‍ഥനകളുമൊക്കെ അര്‍ത്ഥവത്താകുന്നത് നാം പങ്കു വയ്ക്കുമ്പോള്‍ മാത്രമാണ്.

കരുണയുടെ വിശുദ്ധ വര്‍ഷത്തിലെ ഈ നോമ്പുകാലാചരണം മനസ്സില്‍ കരുണ നിറയ്ക്കാന്‍ ഉതകുന്നതാവട്ടെ. ഹൃദയത്തില്‍ കരുണയുള്ളവന് മറ്റുള്ളവരുടെ നോവുകള്‍ കണ്ടിട്ട് മുഖം തിരിച്ചു പോകാനാവില്ല; വിശക്കുന്നവര്‍ ചുറ്റുമുള്ളപ്പോള്‍ അവനുമായി പങ്കു വയ്ക്കാതെ മന:സമാധാനത്തോടെ വിഭവ സമൃദ്ധമായ മേശക്കു മുമ്പില്‍ ഇരിക്കാനാവില്ല; തല ചായ്ക്കാന്‍ കൂരയില്ലാത്തവന്‍ അയല്പക്കത്തുള്ളപ്പോള്‍ സമാധാനത്തോടെ കിടന്നുറങ്ങാന്‍ ആവില്ല; കരയുന്നവര്‍ ചുറ്റുമുള്ളപ്പോള്‍ അവന്‍റെ കണ്ണീര്‍ തുടയ്ക്കാതെ ഉള്ളു തുറന്നു ചിരിക്കാനുമാവില്ല. ദേവാലയത്തില്‍ ചെമ്പു തുട്ടുകള്‍ നിക്ഷേപിച്ച വിധവയെ പറ്റി സുവിശേഷത്തില്‍ നാം വായിക്കുന്നുണ്ട്. സ്വര്‍ണത്തേക്കാള്‍, വെള്ളിയെക്കാള്‍ ഈ നാണയത്തുട്ടുകള്‍ക്ക് വിലയുണ്ടായത് എന്തുകൊണ്ടാണ്? ആ വിധവ തന്‍റെ ഇല്ലായ്മയില്‍ നിന്ന് പങ്കുവയ്ക്കാന്‍ മനസ്സുകാണിച്ചതു കൊണ്ടാണത്. ധാരാളിത്തത്തില്‍ നിന്നല്ല, മറിച്ച് ഇല്ലായ്മ യില്‍ നിന്ന് പങ്കു വയ്ക്കുമ്പോഴാണ്‌ ആ പങ്കുവയ്ക്കലിന് കൂടുതല്‍ മാധുര്യമുണ്ടാവുക; ദൈവ സന്നിധിയില്‍ കൂടുതല്‍ വിലയുണ്ടാവുക. ഈ കരുണയുടെ വിശുദ്ധ വര്‍ഷത്തിലെ നോമ്പുകാലത്തില്‍ വേദനിക്കുന്ന സഹോദരങ്ങളെ കണ്ടില്ലെന്നു നടിക്കാന്‍ നമുക്കാവില്ല; അവനുമായി പങ്കു വയ്ക്കാതിരിക്കാന്‍ നമുക്കാവില്ല. ദൈവത്തിന്‍റെ കരുണ നമ്മിലൂടെ ഒഴുകപ്പെടുന്നതില്‍ തടസങ്ങള്‍ ഉണ്ടാകാതിരിക്കട്ടെ. ഈ നോമ്പുകാലം കരുണ നിറഞ്ഞതാകട്ടെ.

 (കരുവാരുകുണ്ട് ഹോളി ഫാമിലി ഇടവക ബുള്ളറ്റിനില്‍ പ്രസിദ്ധീകരിക്കപ്പെട്ടത്)

True Meaning and Significance of the Jubilee of Mercy

The Jubilee of Mercy was formally declared through the Papal Bull Misericordiæ Vultus, (The Face of Mercy) issued on April 11, 2015, which emphasizes the importance of mercy. It will be held from the Feast of the Immaculate Conception (December 8), 2015 to the Feast of Christ the King (November 20), 2016. 

For Pope Francis, the Extraordinary Jubilee Mercy breaks the previous cycles of every 25 years and occurs fifteen years after the Great Jubilee of the year 2000. (Pope John Paul II called an extraordinary Jubilee of Redemption in 1983). Pope Francis has invited the entire Catholic Church to refashion itself as a place not of judgment or condemnation but of pardon and merciful love. In the document convoking the year, Pope Francis states that the church’s “very credibility is seen in how she shows merciful and compassionate love.” 

The Church, during Holy Years and Jubilees, seeks to emphasize one of her more profound characteristics, to make it visible for all to understand. This time, it is mercy and the inexhaustible capacity to welcome and forgive all men and women in need of pardon whether alive or dead. The Church is called to follow the example of Jesus who explains in many passages of the Gospel that he comes in search of sinners, of the lost sheep, to heal the sick, to free prisoners. In this way he reveals the authentic face of God, His and our Father “rich in mercy”. On these special occasions the Church makes it easier for the faithful to do penance and experience reconciliation. She teaches us to do penance and to make amends for sin with works of mercy and love for God and neighbour in order to gain the indulgence which God desires to grant all his children who seek him with humility.

What is a Holy Year?

Jewish tradition inspired the Catholic Church to start celebrating the Jubilee, or Holy Year (The words are interchangeable). The Catholic tradition was started in the year 1300 by Pope Boniface VIII. A Holy Year is a general forgiveness, open to all. It is a special proposal to approach God and others.

What’s the difference between an ordinary Jubilee and an extraordinary Jubilee?

There are ordinary Jubilees and extraordinary Jubilees. Since 1475, the ordinary Jubilee has been celebrated once every 25 years. Extraordinary ones are called only for special occasions. Until now, there have been 24 ordinary jubilees and four extraordinary. The Jubilee of Mercy, convened by Pope Francis, will be the fifth. The last extraordinary was convoked by Pope John Paul II in 1983 (Holy Year or Jubilee of Redemption). He also convoked the last ordinary one, the Jubilee of the Year 2000.

Why did Pope Francis call the extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy?

The Pope announced the Jubilee of Mercy in March, and made the decision official when he read the Bull of Indiction on April 11, 2015. "Here, then, is the reason for the Jubilee: because this is the time for mercy. It is the favorable time to heal wounds, a time not to be weary of meeting all those who are waiting to see and to touch with their hands the signs of the closeness of God, a time to offer everyone the way of forgiveness and reconciliation".

The Holy Door in the Basilicas or Holy Places is an important part of the celebration of the Jubilee Year. The church is a sign of the House of God, of the promised Kingdom where God is ready as Father to welcome all his children, who through Christ and the power of the Spirit, and in the company of Mary, are walking towards Him. He is the great Door which opens to humankind access to the Father. He is the Door through which we must enter if we are to go to the House of God. We enter the church to celebrate the Eucharist, to come together as a people gathered in faith, the find again the meaning of the Sunday Eucharist which calls all Christians to unite themselves intimately with Jesus in the sacrament.
Pope Francis hopes that with the opening of the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica, and the doors of Churches throughout the world, the door “will become a Door of Mercy through which anyone who enters will experience the love of God who consoles, pardons, and instills hope.”

Indulgence is another constitutive element of the Jubilee: Pope John Paul II wrote in the Bull Incarnationis Mysterium (9). The indulgence discloses the fullness of the Father’s mercy who offers everyone his love, expressed primarily in the forgiveness of sin”. Normally, the Pope says, “God the Father grants his pardon through the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation”, but “reconciliation with God does not mean that there are no enduring consequence of sin from which we must be purified. It is precisely in this context that the indulgence becomes important, since it is an expression of the total gift of mercy from God. With the indulgence, the repentant sinner receives a remission of the temporal punishment due for the sins already forgiven as regards the fault”.

The Jubilee Emblem

The logo and the motto together provide a fitting summary of what the Jubilee Year is all about.

The motto Merciful Like the Father (taken from the Gospel of Luke, 6:36) serves as an invitation to follow the merciful example of the Father who asks us not to judge or condemn but to forgive and to give love and forgiveness without measure (cfr. Lk 6:37-38). The logo – the work of Jesuit Father Marko I. Rupnik – presents a small summa theologiae of the theme of mercy. In fact, it represents an image quite important to the early Church: that of the Son having taken upon his shoulders the lost soul demonstrating that it is the love of Christ that brings to completion the mystery of his incarnation culminating in redemption. The logo has been designed in such a way so as to express the profound way in which the Good Shepherd touches the flesh of humanity and does so with a love with the power to change one’s life. One particular feature worthy of note is that while the Good Shepherd, in his great mercy, takes humanity upon himself, his eyes are merged with those of man. Christ sees with the eyes of Adam, and Adam with the eyes of Christ. Every person discovers in Christ, the new Adam, one’s own humanity and the future that lies ahead, contemplating, in his gaze, the love of the Father.

Courtesy for information: Salt+Light Blog, Vatican Website etc.

വരൂ... നമുക്ക്‌ അനുരഞ്ജനപ്പെടാം, പ്രകൃതിയോട്!

 

 

 

The Need of an Ecological Conversion

Laudato Sí, the second encyclical of Pope Francis, a highly anticipated papal letter, was promulgated on 24th May and was released on 18th June, 2005. In this letter Pope Francis invites the Catholics worldwide and the whole humanity (1) to safeguard the environment and battle climate change as an urgent and top priority of the 21st century. He also invites them for changes in lifestyles and energy consumption to avert the ‘unprecedented destruction of the ecosystem’. The Encyclical takes its name from the invocation of Saint Francis, ‘Laudes Creaturarum’ (Praise of the Creatures). The opening words and the title recall Saint Francis of Assisi, the patron of Ecology. The Pope states that Saint Francis is the example par excellence of care for the vulnerable and of an integral ecology lived out joyfully and authentically. The conviction of Francis to call everything here on earth as ‘brother’ or ‘sister’ cannot be written off as naive romanticism. It reminds us that the earth, our common home, “is like a sister with whom we share our life and a beautiful mother who opens her arms to embrace us” (1). The encyclical is divided into six chapters, which include 246 paragraphs and two prayers at the end. 

The Present Ecological Crisis
The first chapter, ‘What is Happening to our Common Home’, presents the crisis affecting the environment, saying that the Earth “is beginning to look more and more like an immense pile of filth” (21). The earth and its environment are God’s gift to everyone, and it is destined to all, the present and the future generations. If we analyze the scientific findings available today on the environment, we become painfully aware about what is happening to our common home. Climate change, it goes on to say, is a “global problem with serious implications” that represents “one of the principal challenges facing humanity in our day” (25). 

It thus deals with several aspects of the present ecological crisis: 

Pollution: Some forms of pollution are part of people’s daily experience and this is closely related to people’s throw-away culture. A very solid scientific consensus indicates that we are presently witnessing a disturbing warming of the climatic system. It creates a vicious circle which aggravates the situation even more, affecting the availability of essential resources like drinking water, energy and agricultural production in warmer regions, and leading to the extinction of part of the planet’s biodiversity. 

Water Scarcity: Other indicators of the present situation have to do with the depletion of natural resources. Fresh drinking water is an issue of primary importance, since it is indispensable for human life and for supporting terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Loss of Biodiversity: The earth’s resources are also being plundered because of short-sighted approaches to the economy, commerce and production. The loss of forests and woodlands entails the loss of species which may constitute extremely important resources in the future, not only for food but also for curing disease and other uses.

These problems result in the decline of the quality of human life and the breakdown of the societies. In fact, the deterioration of the environment affects the most vulnerable people on the planet and results global inequality. According to this encyclical, to blame population growth, instead of extreme and selective consumerism on the part of some, is one way of refusing to face the issues (50).

Reject the Inappropriate Interpretation of the Scripture

In the second chapter, The Gospel of Creation, the document draws on the ‘wisdom of biblical accounts’. Christians have at times incorrectly interpreted the Scriptures, and we must forcefully reject the notion that our being created in God’s image and given dominion over the earth justifies absolute domination over other creatures (66). With this the Pope articulates the ‘tremendous responsibility’ of humankind for creation, the intimate connection among all creatures and the fact that ‘the natural environment is a collective good, the patrimony of all humanity and the responsibility of everyone’. Furthermore, he says that when we see God reflected in all that exists, “our hearts are moved to praise the Lord for all His creatures and to worship Him in union-with them” (87). In a later section, the document criticizes those who show ‘more zeal’ in protecting other species than in defending human dignity or addressing ‘enormous inequalities in our midst’ (90). The document also notes that Jesus lived in full harmony with creation and that the destiny of all creation is ‘bound up with the mystery of Christ’ (98). 

Roots of the Ecological Crisis
The third chapter, ‘The Human Roots of the Ecological Crisis’, tries to find the root of the problems of ecological crisis and says that they can be found in technocracy and an excessive self-centeredness of the human beings. It is precisely the mentality of technocratic domination that leads to the destruction of nature and the exploitation of people and the most vulnerable populations. He also reminds us of the urgent need for “a bold cultural revolution”, in which society needs to “slow down and look at reality in a different way” (114). Modernity has been market by an excessive anthropocentrism that actually obstruct ways of strengthening social bonds. It calls instead for responsible stewardship and says failure to acknowledge the worth of a poor person, a human embryo, a person with disabilities makes it difficult to recognize that everything is connected (116-117).

An Integral Ecology
The Encyclical proposes an ‘integral ecology’ in the fourth chapter. It suggests an integral ecology as a new paradigm of justice; an ecology which respects our unique place as human beings in this world and our relationship to our surroundings. In fact, nature cannot be regarded as something separate from ourselves or as a mere setting in which we live. We are part of nature, included in it and thus in constant interaction with it (139). It observes that the economic growth tends to produce predictable reactions and certain standardization with the aim of simplifying procedures and reducing costs. This suggests the need for an ‘economic ecology’ capable of appealing to a broader vision of reality. The protection of the environment is in fact ‘an integral part of the development process and cannot be considered in isolation from it’ (141). In the present condition of global society the principle of the common good immediately becomes, logically and inevitably, a summons to solidarity and a preferential option for the poorest. The notion of the common good also extends to future generations (158-159)

Approach and Action
In chapter five, Lines of Approach and Action, the Pope proposes dialogue to achieve a broad consensus on action (188). He says there is an urgent need of a true world political authority to deal with these global problems and that the environment cannot be adequately safeguarded or promoted by market forces (189-190). The encyclical challenges the claim of empirical sciences the command to provide complete explanation of life. “It cannot be maintained that empirical science provides a complete explanation of life, the interplay of all creatures and the whole of reality” (199). Any technical solution which science claims to offer will be powerless to solve the serious problems of our world if humanity loses its compass, if we lose sight of the great motivations which make it possible for us to live in harmony, to make sacrifices and to treat others well (200).

Need of an Ecological Conversion
The sixth chapter of the encyclical is an invitation to everyone for an ecological conversion. Care for nature is part of a lifestyle which includes the capacity for living together and communion. The roots of the cultural crisis are deep, and it is not easy to reshape habits and behaviour. Education and training are the key challenges: change is impossible without motivation and a process of education. All educational sectors are involved, primarily at school, in families, in the media, in catechesis and elsewhere. According to Pope, obsession with a consumerist lifestyle, above all when few people are capable of maintaining it, can only lead to violence and mutual destruction (204). In order to battle this challenge, we have to overcome individualism, and thus we will truly be able to develop a different lifestyle and bring about significant changes in society (208).

The encyclical is concluded with two prayers: The first we can share with all who believe in a God who is the all-powerful Creator, while in the other we Chris­tians ask for inspiration to take up the commitment to creation set before us by the Gospel of Jesus (246).

Concluding Remarks (Personal)
Generally speaking, this encyclical is a reminder of an “urgent necessity to protect our common home … to bring the whole human family together to seek a sustainable and integral development ... (for) humanity still has the ability to work together in building our common home”. (13). In that way it is a document of such landmark significance that it may well become one of the most important sources of modern Catholic Social Teaching since its inception with Pope Leo XIII’s Rerum Novarum in 1891.
It’s all about relationships. As we harm the environment through destruction and abuse, we are damaging the familial relationship which exists in the nature. In doing so, we are damaging our relationship with other humans, particularly those least equipped to defend themselves: the poor and future generations and forgetting our interconnectedness with the earth and with those around and ahead of us who depend on our good stewardship of the gift of creation. It demands love, overflowing with small gestures of mutual care. It makes itself felt in every action that seeks to build a better world. Love for society and commitment to the common good are outstanding expressions of a charity which affects not only relationships between individuals but also macro-relationships, social, economic and political ones. It moves us to devise larger strategies to halt environmental degradation and to encourage a “culture of care” which permeates all of society.