La Salette and Ecology

The charism of the La Salette Missionaries is reconciliation. Since the foundation of the La Salette Missionaries in 1852 by Philibert de Bruillard, Bishop of Grenoble, France, our main purpose has been to preach the word of God, to exercise the Ministry of Reconciliation, to celebrate the Eucharist, and to heal the hurts and deepen awareness of God's ongoing call to repentance. We were asked by Mary to “make her message known”, that is, the message of her Son, Jesus.

We have historically emphasized three aspects of reconciliation in our ministry: reconciliation with God, with others and with self. There is a growing need to look at a particular aspect of “reconciliation with others”, given the words of our Church leaders and the dire situation of God’s good creation. In justice we need to work for our reconciliation with our fragile home, the Earth.

 

Catholics and Ecology

Like Mary at La Salette, Pope John Paul II, in his World Day of Peace Message on December 8, 1989 spoke powerful words of concern and alarm:

“When the ecological crisis is set within the broader context of the search for peace within society, we can understand better the importance of giving attention to what the Earth and its atmosphere are telling us: namely, that there is an order in the universe which must be respected, and that the human person, endowed with the capability of choosing freely, has a grave responsibility to preserve this order for the well-being of future generations… The ecological crisis is a moral issue.”

 

The bishops of the United States published a document in 1991 entitled Renewing the Earth. In it they spoke about the impression that some people have about humans having dominion over the Earth (Gen 1:24):

“Safeguarding creation requires us to live responsibly within it, rather than manage creation as though we are outside it. The human family is charged with preserving the beauty, diversity, and integrity of nature, as well as with fostering its productivity. Yet, God alone is sovereign over the whole Earth. Humanity stands responsible for ensuring that all nature can continue to thrive as God intended.”

Pope Benedict XVI, during his Angelus address on Sunday, Aug. 27, 2006, said:

“… today the great gift of God is exposed to serious dangers and lifestyles which can degrade it. Environmental pollution is making particularly unsustainable the lives of the poor of the world. In dialogue with Christians of various confessions, we must pledge ourselves to take care of creation and to share its resources in solidarity.”

 

La Salette and St. Francis of Assisi

The pristine beauty of the place where the La Salette apparition event happened in September of 1846 is undeniable. Almost any picture of the site evidences the wonderful majesty and power of God’s creation – from the expansive vista of the crisp, clear sky to the jagged mountain peaks that pierce it; from the pristine blanket of winter snow to the festival of alpine flowers in the Spring; from the walls of grey granite rock to the green blanket of grassy knolls. The message of Our Lady of La Salette, although she did not mention the topic of ecology, does contain indirect references to ecological themes and concern for some issues of justice and the need for reconciliation and personal conversion.

Someone recently described St. Francis of Assisi as “arguably the most popular, the most accessible and the best loved of all the saints. In his lifetime he was regarded as a saint. Today he is claimed, by Christians and non-Christians alike, as a spiritual focus for groups and people concerned with the sanctity of creation, with ecumenism, with inter-faith matters, and with animal rights.”(1) Because these areas of concern are intimately connected with the need for unity, peace and reconciliation, we shall explore Francis’ connections with the message given some six centuries later by Mary at La Salette.

 

Francis’ View of Creation

About a year before Francis died, he stayed in a small hut behind the convent of Dan Damiano. Due to an ailment, he had to remain inside because his eyes could not tolerate daylight. One evening, after reflection and talking with the Lord, Francis fell asleep. When he awoke, he composed the first part of The Canticle of the Creatures.

The Jesuit priest, Gerard Manley Hopkins, writes in one of wonderful poems that “The world is charged with the grandeur of God.” This was also the profound belief of Francis. However his “Canticle is more than poetry; it is the work of a mystic, arising from a spiritual depth of love. It is the song of living in the family of creation. In the Canticle we see that nature has meaning in itself because it is created by God…”(2)

St. Bonaventure, in his life of Francis, describes that “(g)rowing in love in union with Christ led Francis to embrace creation as family. Through union with Christ, Francis stood in the midst of creation as a brother and, in turn, all creation spoke to him of Christ…Through his love of Christ crucified Francis came to see the truth of reality, namely, that nothing exists autonomously; rather, everything is in relation to one another.”(3) “Finding himself as a member of the large and diverse family of creation, Francis lived as an ‘ecological self’ or a self inserted into the web of life.”(4)

In his beautiful poem, The Canticle of the Creatures, St. Francis describes what he is thankful for and how he sees all creation as his sisters and brothers. His prayerful words echo the words of Jesus himself:

Look at the birds in the sky. They do not sow or reap or gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them (Matt 6:26).

Think of the flowers growing in the fields; they never have to work or spin; yet I assure you that not even Solomon in all his regalia was robed like one of these (Matt 6:29-30).

 

The Canticle of the Creatures by St. Francis of Assisi (1182-1226), Patron Saint of Ecology

Most High, all-powerful, good Lord!
     Yours are the praises, the glory and the honor and all blessing.
To you, alone, Most High, do they belong,
     And no human is worthy to mention your name.

Praised be you, my Lord, with all your creatures, especially Sir Brother Sun,
     Who is the day and through whom you give us light.
And he is beautiful and radiant with great splendor;
     And bears the likeness to you, Most High One.

Praised be you, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars;
     in heaven you formed them clear and precious and beautiful.

Praised be you, my Lord, through Brother Wind,
     and through the air, cloudy and serene, and every kind of weather,
through whom you give sustenance to your creatures.

Praised be you, my Lord, through Sister Water,
     who is very useful and humble and precious and chaste.

Praised be you, my Lord, through Brother Fire,
     through whom you light the night,
and he is beautiful and playful and robust and strong.

Praises be you, my Lord, through our Sister Mother Earth,
     who sustains and governs us,
and who produces fruit with colored flowers and herbs.(5)

A Fitting Comparison

The message of Mary at La Salette in some ways parallels The Canticle of the Creatures. Francis leads us on a journey, introducing us to his – and our – brothers and sisters. As we walk with him, let us reflect on the similarities of his Canticle with the symbols, words and actions employed by Mary.

Most High, all-powerful, good Lord:

Mary was very clear: she came to bring “good news” to God’s people, represented by Maximin and Melanie. She came to bring her message, which could only be the message of her Son. She was always the “humble servant” of God.

She wore on her shoulders a heavy chain and from a smaller golden chain hung a resplendent crucifix with a hammer and pincers placed on each side of the cross. She came to bring the message of her Son, her Lord, not her own.

Sir Brother Sun, …Sister Moon and the stars, …Brother Fire:

At the very spot where Maximin and Melanie had slept was a globe of fire, as if, in the children's words, “the sun had fallen there.” They mentioned that the Beautiful Lady was tall and seemed to be made of light. Over her brow shone a light in the form of a crown. The brightness of Mary’s face was such that Maximin was unable to bear it; it also dazzled Melanie.

As the radiant vision began to disappear, Maximin later explained: “we saw her head no more, then the rest of the body no more; she seemed to melt away. There remained a great light.”

Sister Water:

On that lofty mountaintop in the pristine French Alps, the children knew about a nearby dried-up stream. Since the apparition, this same stream has not ceased to flow.

Concerning Mary herself, they looked at her and noticed that she did not cease weeping all the time she spoke to them. Her tears, her concern for the faith and welfare of “her people” was most important to the Weeping Mother.

Sister Mother Earth:

Mary was most concerned about justice for the poor and how her children would be sustained by the produce of the Earth:

• I gave you warning last year with the potatoes… They will continue to decay, so that by Christmas there will be none left.”
• “If you have wheat, it is no good to sow it; all you sow the insects will eat, and what comes up will fall into dust when you thresh it.”
• “There will come a great famine…. The walnuts will become bad, and the grapes will rot.”
• “Have you never seen wheat that is spoilt, my children?” “But you, my child,” she insisted, addressing the little boy in particular, “you must surely have seen some once when you were at the farm of Coin with your father.”

She asks them to come back to the ways and message of her Son. The good news is that if her people are converted, the stones and rocks will change into mounds of wheat, and the potatoes will be self-sown in the land.

 

St. Francis’ Ministry of Peace and Reconciliation

The situation in Italy’s cities at the birth of Francis’ fraternity was one of extensive strife and unrest. As Michael Robson, O.F.M. Conv., describes:

“From the beginnings of his vocation Francis was called to be a herald of peace in Assisi, a society which was slowly recovering from the wounds inflicted by the recent civil war; the responsibility of reclaiming peace was noted in the early reports of his preaching in Assisi and elsewhere. Moreover the centrality of this vocation was underlined by the fact that, at the end of his life, the saint recalled that God had revealed to him the greeting of peace which he was instructed to proclaim in a fragmented home, city and country. A crucial dimension of the friars’ ministry was to bring reconciliation to the urban centres of Italy and to inculcate there a heightened awareness of their common responsibility to live in peace and harmony.

“Francis’ insistence on such a greeting, based on the words of 2 Thessalonians 3:16, was considered by some of the early biographers. The risen Christ’s greeting of peace was to be extended to the entire human family. Francis perceived himself as one summoned to carry on the ministry of reconciliation and peace.”(6)

Like Mary at La Salette giving us her mission to “make this message known,” Francis has a similar impetus and message.

“In a society recovering from civil war Francis took to the streets with a message of peace and reconciliation. He preached not only in churches, but also in public squares and his followers did the same… Francis lived in a world which was bristling with sacramental signs and the more fully he entered into communion with God the more he caught glimpses of the divine in the created order. He behaved in a courteous manner towards all sections of the created order and invited it to join him in praise of their common Creator… His purpose as an evangelist to the cities and surrounding countryside was to reunite the human family in praise of its wise and benevolent Creator.”(7)

 

Blindness of Heart and the Need for Conversion

It is interesting to note that: “After he had composed the initial version of his Canticle, a conflict arose between the bishop and mayor of Assisi. Although Francis was ill, he was moved to intervene in the situation. Afterwards he composed a verse of praises included in the final version of his Canticle: ‘Praised be you, my Lord, through those who give pardon for your love, and bear infirmity and tribulation. Blessed are those who endure in peace for by you, Most High, shall they be crowned.’”(8)

Francis believed that “Those who follow the path of peace and reconciliation are liberated from the blindness of heart and can see the presence of the Most High in the simple things of creation.”(9) His prayer was that all people should see that they are truly brothers of each other and part of God’s already reconciled creation. It is wonderful to see that, despite his frail health, he not only believed in and prayed for the unity of all creation but offered his assistance in the concrete process of reconciliation with regard to the bishop and the mayor.

Centuries later, Mary at La Salette expressed her motherly concern for the conversion of God’s people and their need for reconciliation with God and each other. She specifically enumerated where her people showed – to use a term from Francis – “blindness of heart.”

• • • • Respect for the Sabbath: “Six days I have given you to labor, the seventh I have kept for myself; and they will not give it to me…If the harvest is spoilt, it is all on your account.”
      • Daily prayer: “Do you say your prayers well, my children?” she asked the cowherds.
      • Importance of the Eucharist: “There are none who go to Mass except a few aged women. The rest work on Sunday all summer; then in the winter, when they know not what to do, they go to Mass only to mock at religion.”
      • Respect for the Name of the Lord: “When you found the potatoes spoilt, you swore, you took the name of my Son in vain.”
      • Importance of Lenten Practices: “During Lent, they go to the meat-market like dogs.”

 

St. Francis, Patron Saint of Ecology

The similarities of place, content and attitude between the message of Our Lady of La Salette and Francis’ Canticle and personal mission indicate that they are both involved with making the mystery of God’s message known.

Mary’s message concerns the inattention or unbelief of her people and their failure to come back to the ways and message of her Son. Hers is Paul’s own invitation to be reconciled and, in turn, be reconcilers for others (2 Cor 5:18-20). Francis’ message centers on Jesus the Lord and a conversion of heart necessary to see in nature and each other the love, the presence and the beauty of the Creator.

Appropriately, Pope John Paul II in 1979 proclaimed St. Francis of Assisi the Patron Saint of Ecology. His Holiness cited him for being “an example of genuine and deep respect for the integrity of creation. St. Francis,” he added, “invited all creation – animals, plants, natural forces, even Brother Sun and Sister Moon – to give honor and praise to the Lord.” And so should we!

 

Francis Would Be So Proud

St. Francis would certainly be proud of what we as members of the Catholic Church in North America are doing in the area of caring for God’s good Earth and, in particular, for environmental justice. Our U.S. Council of Catholic Bishops has led the way by describing for us a broad framework of action steps which encompasses four priority areas:

1. environmental justice: defined as the strong link between social justice and environmental protection emphasizing the needs of the poor; 


2. sustainable development: with an emphasis on social and economic development that not only protects the sustainability of natural resources but promotes a just distribution of these resources today and for future generations; 


3. worker protection: insisting that workers’ needs should not be sacrificed at the expense of environmental protection or vice versa; and

4. the “commons”: defined as protecting vital global shared resources such as the oceans, land, water and fisheries.

As we continue to pursue the mission to be reconciled with and care for “others,” especially for God’s creation and all its inhabitants, we still have much to do. May our personal and communal efforts join with our parish’s, city’s and state’s efforts to work for the greening of our nation. After all, this was and always should be seen as God’s good Earth.
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Footnotes:
(1) Care for Creation; a Franciscan Spirituality of the Earth, by Ilia Delio, OSF, Keith Douglas Warner, OFM and Pamela Wood, St. Anthony Messenger Press, Cincinnati, OH, 2008, 226 pgs., back cover.
(2) Ibid., pg. 82.
(3) Ibid., pgs. 83-84.
(4) Ibid., pg. 87.
(5) Ibid., pg. 5. St. Francis added two sections to his original “Canticle”, one concerning “those who give pardon for Your love” (added due to a disagreement between the mayor of Assisi and the local bishop) and another concerning “Sister Bodily Death” (added just before his death), which are not included in my quoted text.
(6) St. Francis of Assisi: The Legend and the Life, by Michael Robson, OFM Conv., Continuum International Publishing Group, 1999, 294 pgs., pg. 234.
(7) Ibid., pg. 246, emphasis added.
(8) Care for Creation; a Franciscan Spirituality of the Earth, pgs. 88-89.
(9) Ibid., pg. 90, emphasis added.

Web links:

• “St. Francis Pledge to Care for Creation and the Poor” (Catholic Climate Covenant) 
• Environmental Justice Program (USCCB)
• Center for a New American Dream, 6930 Carroll Ave., Suite 900, Takoma Park, MD 20912
• Climate Solutions: Practical Solutions to Global Warming, 219 Legion Way SW, Suite 201, 01ympia,WA 98501-1113
• Co-op America: Economic Action for a Just Planet, 1612 K Street NW, Suite 600, Washington DC 20006
• Earth Ministry, 6512 23rd Ave. NW, Suite 317, Seattle WA 98117
• Empowerment Institute, P.O. Box 428,Woodstock, NY 12498
• Northwest Earth Institute, 317 SW Alder, Suite 1050, Portland, OR 97204
• The Regeneration Project, National Interfaith Power and Light Campaign, P.O. Box 29336, The Presidio, San Francisco, CA 94129, provides support and assistance to faith congregations in areas of renewable energy, energy efficiency and conservation; 415-561-4891.

Videos:

An Inconvenient Truth. 2006. (Winner of two Oscars, this is a documentary on Al Gore's campaign to make the issue of global warming a recognized problem worldwide). Directed by Davis Guggenheim.

The Next Industrial Revolution. 2003. (Architect Bill McDonough and chemist Michael Braungart bring together ecology and human design.) Produced by Shelly Morhaim.

The Work That Reconnects. 2007. (Starting in the 1970s, Joanna Macy started to offer Buddhist-influenced deep ecology teachings and practices.) Training DVD about the work of Joanna Macy. New Society Publishers.

Thomas Berry: The Great Story. 2002. (Portrays the life and work of this famous eco-theologian.) Produced by Nancy Stetson and Penny Morrell.