Throughout Laudato Sí Pope Francis offers insights that can help us understand and implement Goal 4 from the International Action Platform.

In September we celebrate the Season of Creation (seasonofcreation.org) and Labor Day. It’s a good time to consider the third goal of Laudato Sí, Ecological Economics.

This month we celebrate! August is an ideal month to celebrate Pope Francis’ encyclical letter Laudato Sí, On Care for Our Common Home. In #12 of Laudato Sí we read, "Saint Francis asked that part of the friary garden always be left untouched, so that wild flowers and herbs could grow there, and those who saw them could raise their minds to God, the creator of such beauty. Rather than a problem to be solved, the world is a joyful mystery to be contemplated with gladness and praise."

Is there a connection between this and the goal we considered last month, Response to the Cry of the Earth? Absolutely. Chapter Two in Laudato Sí, The Gospel of Creation, considers sections of Scripture and explores the wisdom found in considering the relationship between humans and nature.

The Erie Benedictine Laudato Sí Platform Committee is working locally to keep alive the message of Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Sí, On Care for Our Common Home. We follow the direction set by the International Laudato Sí Action Platform as it works globally to keep this message of the encyclical before us. The vision: Every sector of the global church is, somehow, finding ways to lessen the climate crisis. All families, parishes, schools, health care, business, agriculture….are promoting and implementing Laudato Sí in their own local communities.