“Many things have to change course, but it is we human beings above all who need to change.” LS202
Pope Francis repeatedly expresses the need for us to not only change the way we live but to also change who we are. Transformation.
An experience shared with us:
One night I laid awake in bed for hours without falling asleep. Finally at 3:00 a.m., I got up. It was a warm clear night so I went outside. I moved a lawn chair onto a narrow sidewalk, with the grassy yard on my left and a small garden area with flowers and tomato plants on my right. As I settled in I became aware of how quiet and still the evening was. I began to be drawn in to the immense sky, filled with stars. As I continued to grow quieter within I felt the presence of life surrounding me – smelled the freshness, the earthiness, the variety of scents saturating the air – experienced the exchange of communications happening within as well as above the earth. When I returned to my bed I was, somehow, a different person.
All around me creation had offered the interplay of simplicity and complexity. It surrounded me with beauty. I knew I was in the presence of God.
Is this what we are invited to cultivate within ourselves so that we can be transformed: Awareness? A relationship with all creation?
Is it when we live with an awareness of our reality —in relationship with all – that we know the grace of God – the presence of God? We receive the touch of God, and are changed. Transformed.
Francis wrote in Laudato Sí, “…as part of the universe, called into being by one God, all of us are linked by unseen bonds and together form a kind of universal family, a sublime communion which fills us with a sacred, affectionate and humble respect. Here I would reiterate that ‘God has joined us so closely to the world around us that we can feel the desertification of the soil almost as a physical ailment, and the extinction of a species as a painful disfigurement.’’’ #67
During this time of Eucharistic Revival we’ve had an opportunity to reflect on transformation.
The gifts of creation, bread and wine, given to us by God are changed into our gifts to God which are returned to us as the Body of Christ. As we consume this Body of Christ we become the Body of Christ. As we are nourished, we become nourishment for others. In this Eucharistic action we could say the Divine embraces and penetrates all creation — a joining of Heaven and Earth. In Laudato Sí #236 we read, “Creation is projected toward divinization…toward unification with the Creator.”
Transformation: A change in who we are. Necessary if we are to change the way we live.
Suggested actions:
- Spend some time outside in a quiet environment. Become aware of the presence of life – of God – surrounding you.
- Consider the Climate Crisis as you select the candidates you will vote for on November 5.
