I’m always struck by how the Bible begins with God blessing his work of Creation as a ‘single block’. He doesn’t distinguish between ‘humanity’ and ‘nature’. Human beings and the environment are blessed as one.
Why am I mentioning this at the start of an appeal for you to contribute to Columban Mission? It is because the Church now realizes that spreading the Gospel goes hand in hand with promoting justice, both social and ecological.
Pope Francis led the way in his 2015 encyclical Laudato Si: On Care for our Common Home by affirming that we are not facing two crises, but one combined social and ecological crisis. In practice, we Columbans have been responding to this crisis for many years and our recent General Assembly committed us to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ by word, by witness and by “responding to the urgent cries of the poor and the Earth”.
In the pages of the current Far East magazine and on our website you can read about how Fr. Alvaro Martinez responded to the impact of water scarcity on ecosystems in southern Chile and the first-hand witness of Fr. Eamon Adams to how rising sea temperatures are having a negative impact on fisherman and the marine community in Korea.
I’ve had the good fortune to see for myself Columbans pursuing many different ecological initiatives – making a desert bloom in Peru, supporting the native Subanen and Higaonon communities in the Philippines to restore a way of life that respects nature, and bringing safe drinking water to the poor in Pakistan.
This is our mission. It is for this that I am writing to you for help.
At our house near Birmingham, we are ‘re-wilding’ the grounds, planting native trees, sowing wildflowers and opening the space for school ‘eco-retreats’, which includes sharing with teachers and students the witness of Columbans overseas. On 25th September we’ll be guiding a day-long pilgrimage to Salford Cathedral from the aptly named ‘Laudato Si’ ecological project near Manchester and we invite you to send us your prayer for Our Common Home.
The Church worldwide is celebrating the ‘Season of Creation’. God is calling us ALL to spread the Gospel, hunger for justice, and nurture our common home. By donating to our September Appeal you will walk side by side with Columban Missionaries answering this call and giving hope to those most affected by the crisis of our time.
I thank you. More to the point, the God of Creation thanks you.
Blessings,
Fr. John Boles SSC
Columban Director in Britain
