“To hope and act with creation”: this is the thiol of Pope Francis’ message for the World Day of Creation, which will be celebrated on September 1, 2024 and will open the Season of Creation.
“To hope and act with creation, then, means above all to join forces and to walk together with all men and women of good will. In this way, we can help to rethink, “among other things, the question of human power, its meaning and its limits.
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The protection of creation, then, is not only an ethical issue, but one that is eminently theological, for it is the point where the mystery of man and the mystery of God intersect. This intersection can be called “creative”, since it originates in the act of love by which God created human beings in Christ. That creative act of God enables and grounds the freedom and morality of all human activity. We are free precisely because we were created in the image of God who is Jesus Christ, and, as a result, are “representatives” of creation in Christ himself.
A transcendent (theological-ethical) motivation commits Christians to promoting justice and peace in the world, not least through the universal destination of goods. It is a matter of the revelation of the children of God that creation awaits, groaning as in the pangs of childbirth. At stake is not only our earthly life in history, but also, and above all, our future in eternity, the eschaton of our blessedness, the paradise of our peace, in Christ, the Lord of the cosmos, crucified and risen out of love.
To hope and act with creation, then, means to live an incarnational faith, one that can enter into the suffering and hope-filled “flesh” of others, by sharing in the expectation of the bodily resurrection to which believers are predestined in Christ the Lord. In Jesus, the eternal Son who took on human flesh, we are truly children of the Father. Through faith and baptism, our life in the Spirit begins (cf. Rom 8:2), a holy life, lived as children of the Father, like Jesus (cf. Rom 8:14-17), since by the power of the Holy Spirit, Christ lives in us (cf. Gal 2:20). In this way, our lives can become a song of love for God, for humanity, with and for creation, and find their fullness in holiness“.
Drawing inspiration from the words of Pope Francis, the International Integral Ecology Workshop of the Sisters of Charity of St. Jeanne Antide proposes today, July 3, on the occasion of International Day Without Plastic Bags, some ideas for a more mature reflection of the way we use this resource, which is as precious if well used as it is harmful if dispersed in the environment.
