Creation Jubilation!

CREATION JUBILATION!

9/21/25
Have you ever stopped to think about the amount of garbage picked up each week by our Seattle sanitation workers? For me, as I stuff my weekly waste into the garbage can and haul it to the curb, it’s a little mind-boggling to consider. What does my garbage say about my consumption habits? And then I contemplate multiplying my garbage bag by the 8.2 billion people alive today on planet Earth. Whew! Pope Francis, in his Encyclical Letter Laudato Si’: On Care for our Common Home, paints a stark picture:

"Doomsday predictions can no longer be met with irony or disdain. We may well be leaving to coming generations debris, desolation, and filth. The pace of consumption, waste, and environmental change has so stretched the planet’s capacity that our contemporary lifestyle, unsustainable as it is, can only precipitate catastrophes, such as those which even now periodically occur in different areas of the world. The effects of the present imbalance can only be reduced by our decisive action, here and now. We need to reflect on our accountability before those who will have to endure the dire consequences."

However, Francis, and so many others, wholeheartedly believe in the Earth’s resilience and in human ingenuity and resolve. Little changes, made by many people, can make a difference for the better. How could we consume just a little less and, thereby, haul a little less garbage to the curb this week? Perhaps we heighten our efforts to reuse, recycle, and repair. These ways of caring for God’s creation are within

9/14/25
A right relationship with God includes a right relationship with God’s creation. Three out of four Catholics deeply believe that the Gospel call includes intentional care for the earth. But only one in ten Catholics understands what this actually means for their own lives. [Pilgrims of Hope/ Creation Planning Team, 2025]

Who has the responsibility to care for our world – for God’s Creation? As a community of faith, and as individuals, each of us can make a difference with our actions, both large and small. In our daily habits, are we making the world a better place? It starts with awareness: perhaps we ask how we can conserve in our homes. Turn off lights; use less water; buy only what we need. These tiny steps have a positive impact on the health of our environment. Please consider the words of Pope Francis from his 2015 Encyclical Letter Laudato Si’: On Care for our Common Home:

“What kind of world do we want to leave to those who come after us, to children who are now growing up? …This issue cannot be approached piecemeal…[as] we ask ourselves what kind of world we want to leave behind…Leaving an inhabitable planet to future generations is, first and foremost, up to us. The issue is one which dramatically affects us, for it has to do with the ultimate meaning of our earthly sojourn.”

We are responsible for the health of our planet, for what our children and grandchildren will inherit. This week, could you think about your daily habits and how you might make some small changes that honor God’s creation?