The Call to cosmic spirituality

Fr. Percy G.Bacani,mj

What thoughts does it bring to your mind?
Look at these photos in silence.cosmos.pps
 Parable of the Prodigal son
A father has two sons. The younger one
goes to this father and demands his
inheritance, which the father gives him.
This son takes the inheritance and
leaves home. Soon, however, he finds
himself profoundly alienated. He's
working for a gentile, feeding his pigs.
For a 1st century Jew this represented
the height of indignity. The turning point
of the story occurs when the son realizes
that he would be grateful to be eating
the food that he's feeding to the pigs.
 The line upon which the parable hinges
follows next: "The son came to his senses"
(Luke 15:11-32).
He returns home, with his confession well
rehearsed. He asks his father to receive him
back, not as privileged son, but as a servant.
But his father sees him coming down the road
from far off and runs out to greet him, takes
him in his arms, kisses him, before the son
can complete his confession.
 When looked at through an ecological
lens, it's not difficult to identify the
human species in the 21st century
with the younger son.
In the last three hundred years during
the modern era we have impetuously
demanded the inheritance of a 14
billion-year universe, left home - the
planet earth - and squandered the gift.
 We are now suffering the indignity of our
arrogance, living in a state of exile from our
own planet, and causing the degradation of
biosystems, and the extinction of other
species.
We are yearning to return home. Our
confession is born of deep lament.
 Our desire is to return home. One of
the key features of the parable is that
the son willingly offers to change his
status from privileged son to hired
servant.
His journey home was the path from
arrogance to humility.
 The question of the 21st century in the
ecozoic era is whether we are willing to walk
this same path home.
Are we willing to change our status from the
entitled ones to willing servants of the one
earth community?
Are we ready as the prodigal species to
"come to our senses"? Paraiso by the Smokey Mountain.flv
 Vatican issues major report on
climate change, May 12, 2011
A working group of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences,
one of the oldest scientific institutes in the world, has
issued a sobering report on the impacts for humankind
as a result of the global retreat of mountain glaciers as
a result of human activity leading to climate change.

In their declaration, the working group calls, on all

people and nations to recognize the serious and
potentially irreversible impacts of global warming
caused by the anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse
gases and other pollutants, and by changes in forests,
wetlands, grasslands, and other land uses. They
echoed Pope Benedict XVIs 2010 World Day of Peace
Message saying, if we want justice and peace, we
must protect the habitat that sustains us.
a comparative map of the Philippines showing the extent
of forest cover lost from the period of 1900-1999.
LASTJULYAUGUST2010
TheworstfloodsandlandslidesinChinain
decadeskilledatleast1,100peopleandleft
morethan600missing.
Theheaviestmonsoonrainsonrecordin
Pakistanfloodedthousandsofvillages,killed
1,500peopleandleft14millionhomelessor
displaced.
ThehottestsummereverrecordedinRussia
(maximumtemperature:37.8degreesCelsius)
causedadrought,reducedthewheatharvest,
sparkedforestfiresandblanketedMoscow
withatoxicsmog.
A260square
kilometer
chunkofice
brokeoffthe
Peterman
Glacierin
Greenlandsfar
northwestthe
mostmassiveice
islandtocalve
offintheArctic
inahalfcentury
ofobservation.
Context is everything.
Climate change or global warming
The United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change
defines climate change as
"a change of climate which is attributed
directly or indirectly to human activity
that alters the composition of the global
atmosphere and which is in addition to
natural climate variability observed over
comparable time periods.
In the latter sense climate change
is synonymous with global warming.
Some of the heat energy is
reflected back into space.

Some of the heat

energy gets absorbed
by the blanket of
greenhouse gases.
Human activities are creating
more greenhouse gases
including carbon dioxide, CO2.

As we burn more fossil

fuels, for example, the
blanket of greenhouse
gases becomes thicker.
More greenhouse gases in the
atmosphere mean that more
heat energy is absorbed.

This increase in the

temperature of the
earth, or global
warming, is what
causes climate change.
 Before the industrial revolution there was roughly 280 parts per
million (ppm) of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
In 1958 Dr. Charles Keeling and his team measured 315 ppm in the
air; by 1960 it has jumped tp 360 ppm and in 2007 it was 383 ppm
and rising by 2ppm each year. Humans are pouring 70 million
tons of CO2 into the Earths atmosphere every 24 hours.
If it reaches 550ppm there will be huge disruptions to the global and
local climate.
Countries by CO2 (MT) emissions via the
burning of fossil fuels (blue the highest)

USA
CHINA

TOP TEN COUNTRIES

1 China
2 United States
3 Russia
4 India
5 Japan
6 Germany
7 United Kingdom
China and USA emit 42% of the world total. 8 Canada
9 South Korea
Of 210 countries, the Philippines ranked 47th. The 10 Italy

top 10 countries in the world emit 67.2% of the

world total. E.C. Godilano, Ph.D.
 Rank Countries
Top Ten 1 Bangladesh

Countries 2 Burma
3 Honduras
vulnerable to the
4 Vietnam
impacts of
5 Nicaragua
Climate Change.
http://www.aneki.com 6 Hait
7 India
8 Dominican Republic
9 Philippines
10 China
 Challenge
Our reading of our social context
reminds us of the imperative of social
transformation: how are we going to
proclaim the Reign of God where the
earth is becoming a toxic wasteland?
"You ask us if we own the land
and mock us, saying 'Where is
your title?' Such arrogance of
owning the land when you
shall be owned by it. How can
you own that which will
outlive you?
- Macliing Dulag, a Kalinga tribal
leader, was killed by Phil. Army
troops on April 24, 1980.
 Interconnected
Humans beings only emerged over 2
million years ago which is merely the
flick of an eyelid in the 3.7 billion years
of life on Earth.
God loves other creatures and we
humans are linked to them through
close biological and genetic bonding.
God has taken as much care in creating
other species, especially the smaller
creatures, as he has in creating the
human.
Jesus and creation
The importance of
nature in the life of
Jesus is highlighted
in St. Marks gospel
in chapter 1.
The Spirit led Jesus
into the wilderness,
where wild beasts
and angels looked
after him. (Mk. 1: 12
- 13).
 It was during his sojourn in the desert
that Jesus came to accept and
appreciate the messianic ministry he
was called to embrace.
In order to be fully open to his call, He
forsook the company of people and
spent time with the wild animals in the
wilderness.
It is clear from his life and teaching that he was not
driven by any urge to dominate or control either his
fellow human beings or the world of nature.
He displayed an appreciative and contemplative
attitude towards creation which was rooted in
God's love for all creation.
He regularly returned to the hills to pray and
commune with the Father (Matt 17:1; Mark 6:46;
Matt 14:23), especially before making important
decisions like choosing the disciples (Luke 6:12).
In Matthew's gospel the beatitudes and
subsequent teachings are delivered on a mountain
(Matt 5:1-7:29). Much of his teaching and miracles
took place on the shores of the Sea of Galilee (Matt
13:1-52; Mark 4:35-41); John 21:1-14).
 Godcaresevenforthebirdsoftheairand
theflowersofthefield.AsCrossanrightly
observes:
WhereGodscarefornaturesbirdsand
flowersshouldobviatehumanworries
aboutfoodandclothing....The
serenityandsecuritypassedbyJesusto
hisfollowersderivesnotfromknowing
hiddenmysteriesofpastorpresentbut
fromwatchingnaturesrhythmsofhere
andnow.
 Focusonwhatisessential:Patientwaiting
asagainstinstantsuccess,providentialcare
againsthumandesiretocontrol,and
plenitudeagainstworriesandanxieties
abouttomorrow.
Jesuswarnsagainsttheurgetocontinually
accumulatemoreandmoregoods.Godwill
provideforourlegitimateneeds:'areyou
notworthmorethanthebirds?'
LookatnatureandfeelGodscaring
presence.
 The greening of Spirituality
What are the key elements?
Live radically for the earth.
Cultivate caring and nurturing qualities in human
beings as opposed to dominating and exploitative
behavior.
Back to simplicity of lifestyle Travel light.
 Develop an inner ecology of the spirit.

For the creation waits with eager longing for the

revealing of the children of God; for the creation was
subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of
the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself
will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain
the freedom of the glory of the children of God. We know
that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains
until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves,
who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly
while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our
bodies. (Rom 8:19-23)
Questons:
1. Where am I in terms of my mindset and
lifestyle? inner and outer ecology?
2. Are we aware of the connection or
disconnection between the earth and the
our community?
3. Are we doing an environmental audit and
geo-justice lifestyle in community?