Reflections on Section 6, Spiritual Motivations
Paragraph 69: "I ask everyone to accompany this pilgrimage of reconciliation with the world that is our home and to help make it more beautiful, because that commitment has to do with our personal dignity and highest values. At the same time, I cannot deny that it is necessary to be honest and recognize that the most effective solutions will not come from individual efforts alone, but above all from major political decisions on the national and international level."
Read Laudate Deum here.
Gandaf Walle, S.J., STL ’24
This passage from Laudate Deum resonates well with me as it highlights two key points., recently at the core of my reflections and prayers. On the one hand, Pope Francis’ invitation to everyone to join the pilgrimage of reconciliation with our common home is a hope-filled encouragement, in tune with the current synodal experience. Ecologically, we can dare to say that we are on a synodal journey with all creatures. The ecological conversion to which we are called is a pilgrimage that we ought to live in interdependence and interconnectedness. My daily efforts to make our world more beautiful are related to those of my brothers and sisters worldwide and to the commitments of socio-political and economic leaders of goodwill. Together, We Can. As an African proverb puts it, if you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together. Living as a Christian in a synodal Church today is also a critical call to solidarity with others in the various ecological commitments urgently needed for our world and human dignity. On the other hand, sincere gratitude to God for the irreplaceable beauty of our planet is the virtue that lies deep beneath any genuine effort to care for our common home. I am growing in thankfulness for the variety of creatures that are the bountiful and magnificent signs of divine love to us human beings. Gratitude, then, develops in me an attitude of conversion from my inertia, procrastination, finger-pointing to blame others, and my failure to contribute positively to our planet. At the same time, gratitude helps me raise the awareness and consciousness that it is never too late to honor the name of our Creator by becoming eco-friendly hic et nunc.
Katie Glenn Brown, MTS '24
I love this call from Pope Francis in Laudate Deum, and think that it is one which cannot be ignored. The invitation to a pilgrimage of reconciliation with the world which, as Francis articulates in Laudato Si’, must also involve a reconciliation with the marginalized, the oppressed, the outcast, is an invitation to walk in solidarity with one another and the earth. Pilgrimage implies movement; it is a call to action, not just empty words or prayers. Francis recognizes that movement towards ecological justice requires individual efforts and interior transformation, but he also holds us accountable to the reality that stopping at the individual level is inadequate; we are called to demand and participate in concrete socio-political changes. Laudate Deum indeed focuses largely on the need for more substantial, more equitable, and more timely international policy agreements, recognizing that our collective actions since the 2015 release of Laudato Si’ have not been strong enough. Ultimately, I hear Pope Francis’ call in this paragraph, and throughout Laudate Deum, as one of invitation and hope. It is an invitation to live our faiths out loud, recognizing the sacred dignity of ourselves, others, and the natural world and ceaselessly demanding that the cultures, structures, and systems around us do the same. And it is a call to hope that this is a pilgrimage that we are on with all of our brothers and sisters, Pope Francis included. It’s not an easy one, but it’s one upon which we must dare to embark.
*If you want to contribute your voice to an effort working towards justice for those on the frontlines of climate disasters, consider signing on to this letter supporting the Loss and Damages Fund at the upcoming COP28 in Dubai.
Dr. Jaime L. Waters, Associate Professor of Old Testament
I appreciate Pope Francis pushing people of faith to recognize that our faith necessitates bold and intentional responses to ecological crises. Laudate Deum builds on Laudato si' by offering an urgent call to address climate change. Section 6, which focuses on the spiritual motivations that underlie this exhortation, resonates most with me. In this section, Pope Francis offers reminders, rooted in Scripture, of the need to recognize the goodness of all creation and to see God in all things. He shifts some language and attitudes that were prominent in Laudato si' where on multiple occasions he calls the world a gift from God, e.g., LS 71, 155, 159. In Laudate Deum, Francis tempers this language and instead quotes biblical texts that conceive of humans as aliens and tenants on land that belongs to God. Drawing on the books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy, Pope Francis reframes gift language to curb reckless behaviors that contribute to global warming. Francis reminds humans to treat the world as if it belongs to God. This reframing hopefully will inspire more care, concern, and action. I explore these topics and other ways that Scripture can inspire our responses to ecological crises in this article for America Magazine.