“Today, let us not close our hearts, but listen to the voice of the Lord”
(Psalm 94)
On this day of Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent, let’s open up a little more to ecological conversion. This time is given to us to prepare ourselves to make “a new heart and a new spirit” (Ezekiel 18:31) can be a good time to open our hearts to a love for our brothers and sisters, and for other creatures, that leads us to change our habits. This time can also help us to open our minds to a new understanding of the ongoing ecological crisis, and to a willingness to accept what it challenges in our beliefs and ways of doing things.
Forgiveness, fasting and almsgiving
These steps to which Christians are invited during Lent can be taken in the spirit of the conversion to which Pope Francis invites us in his encyclical Laudato Si.
– Through the act of forgiveness, we can recognize that we are not always playing the role of guardians of creation to which we are called, while welcoming the love of the God of mercy.
– The tradition of fasting can join the invitation to happy sobriety, enabling us to experience a new freedom in relation to certain goods or lifestyles on which we feel dependent.
– The tradition of almsgiving can help us to listen to the clamor of Earth and the clamor of the poor, and to empathize with the sufferings of people and creatures who are suffering.
Story of the hummingbird. One day, the legend goes, there was a huge forest fire. All the animals watched helplessly, terrified and dismayed. Only the little hummingbird was active, fetching a few drops with his beak to throw on the fire. After a while, the armadillo, annoyed by this ridiculous agitation, said to him: “Hummingbird! Are you crazy? You’re not going to put out the fire with those drops of water!” And the hummingbird replied: “I know that, but I’m doing my bit.” Native American legend, told by Pierre Rabhi, agro-ecologist and great sage of our century. We are each invited to do our part, like the hummingbird…
Prayer. Almighty God, heal our lives, so that we may be protectors of the world and not predators, so that we may sow beauty and not pollution or destruction. Teach us to discover the value of everything, to contemplate in wonder, to recognize that we are deeply united with all creatures on our way to infinite light. Laudato si’ – 246
Pilgrimage of Hope for Creation
For the Laudato si’ Commission: Sister Anne-Geneviève Guérin, France
Members of the Committee: Janet LEWIS, USA – Coordinator — Dympna CANNELLY, EIW — Anne-Geneviève GUERIN, France — Pascaline YAMEOGO, Latin America — Clémentine TAPSOBA, Burkina Faso — Delphine MAIGONI, Cameroon — Justina AKUBO, Nigeria — Abiola ADIGBOLUJA, General Council.
