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Dear Parishioners: I am writing this from our province gathering in Santa Maria where we've just had a lively bilingual Mass and a delicious Santa Maria barbecue (tri-tip and pinto beans). We were challenged and entertained by Joyce Johnson, also known as "Earth Mama" this morning and Robert Barbato, OFMCap. She reminded us of the relationship among all living things and gave us very practical suggestions to care for Mother Earth. One of her songs was:
We Americans use so many plastic water bottles for the good purpose of rehydrating our bodies, but it takes a huge amount of petroleum to make that plastic: 12 million gallons a year! Options would be to drink tap water or use a glass bottle and refill it. Have you wondered what to say at the grocery store when they ask, "paper or plastic"? A response which would be good for the earth is, "Neither!" Instead of using paper which destroys trees or plastic which takes a hundred years to decompose, why not get a large cloth bag, put it in your car and hand it to the bagger? If you buy many items for a large family, get two or three cloth bags. Think of all the trees you'll save in a year. Fr. Bob reminded us of the Genesis story about humankind being told that we would be "masters" of creation. John's gospel has Jesus saying "If I, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, so also must you wash one another's feet". The Master is the servant. What would it mean if we saw ourselves as servants of God's creation? He spoke about St. Clare and her relationship to creation. She was a contemplative and lived in a convent, an enclosure. And from that small space, that one home, she contemplated God's action in her life and in the life of the world, helping her sisters to untie themselves to God, to the earth and to one another. In an era, when monasteries had vast land ownings and grew their own food, Clare insisted that there be a piece of land around the monastery which would lie fallow. She recognized that the earth had its own value, not just in its ability to produce something. The reflection given by one of our associates who writes music and plays guitar beautifully, though she is blind, reminded us of the need to be centered, to get in touch with God through our bodies. She invited us to breath in the love of God and then breath out that love of God to someone close to us whom we love. A second time, she asked us to do the same, but to send that love to someone anywhere in the world who needed God's love. Do you need to remember God's love for you now, in these last precious weeks of summer? Who might you send God's love to through your prayer, a phone call or an e-mail message? We are all part of the one lovely human family. Peace, Sister Sheral |
