www.earthhealing.info

An eco-spirituality through the seasons

By Al Fritsch, SJ

CONTENTS

    * Table of Contents
    * Introduction
    * January
    * February
    * March
    * April
    * May
    * June
    * July
    * August
    * September
    * October
    * November
    * December
    * Appendix

ECO-SPIRITUALITY IN OCTOBER

October is the height of the traditional gathering season,
when corn and soybeans are harvested along with late apples, pears,
late vegetables and nuts. It is also the precious time for winter
preparations -- wood cutting, final insulation and winterizing,
greenhouse furnishing, and late autumn garden protection. A deep
sense of mortality is settling over the countryside as leaves turn
and fall. This is the ideal time to reaffirm our relations with
our friends and relatives, to make remote preparations for the
holiday season, and to enjoy the last of the outdoor celebrations.

Autumn is a time to bring back the memories of things past --
some good and some not so. What was good is treasured but perhaps
somewhat exaggerated. What was bad is partly forgotten but vaguely
remembered with a tinge of regret and guilt. To improve that sense
of good we, as budding healers, seek forgiveness and resolve to
make the rest of life better. Somehow, this is the time for
confronting our rugged journey of faith. We do not travel alone;
now is the season when we are more aware that the journey involves
companions who assist us when in need -- and the coming winter is
a time we need others to assist us on our journey.

In the atmosphere of this transitory October beauty we examine
the bonds that bind us together as communities. These bonds are
recognized as fragile and deserving of nurturing, for they span a
wide range: bonds to plants and animals, bonds to fellow human
beings especially those with whom we share faith, and bonds with
our God. We sustain and repair these bonds through forgiveness,
love and mercy. We strengthen these bonds through the sacramental
life. We deepen these bonds through extending them to others and
through radical (rooted and foundational) sharing of who we are and
what we have. We realize our bonding with God through divine grace
and our loving response. Herein with divine favor lies the budding
of a mystical experience -- something that underlies the healing of
our Earth. God is master healer, and we are companions, teammates,
associates, and participants.


        A. EXPERIENCE OF SHARING

October is the time of varied experience: we share the plenty
that has been given to us, with others who are departing or
staying; we become aware that others need to prepare themselves for
what lies ahead; we sense our deeper kinship with the plant and
animal kingdoms and are moved to show appreciation especially while
the leaves of summer are falling; we find the deeper yearning to
share our love with our Creator and Conserver of life, and are
drawn to desiring to approach the Mystery within. The haunting
feeling of October produces an ambivalent atmosphere deserving of
deeper exploration. All creation -- heavenly bodies, plants and
animals -- has a message for us to find and utilize. As the year
draws to a close this message seems more poignant than ever.

            1. Gazing at the Harvest Moon

And then the moon always punctual,
   to mark the months and make division of time:
the moon it is that signals the feasts,
   a luminary that wanes after her full.
The month derives its name from hers,
   she waxes wonderfully in her phases,
banner of the hosts on high,
   shining in the vault of heaven.
                (Ecclesiasticus 43:6-9)

Gazing at the harvest moon is somewhat haunting. Perhaps it
is the associations in our culture with witches and goblins on
moonlit nights, or the more vicious trick-or-treaters who could do
damage to our property. But it is something far more. The
bittersweetness of autumn is summarized in the gentle moon; the
season of growth is ending and mortal life of that growing year is
coming to an end. And this haunts us as to what could have been
done and wasn't achieved -- and the opportunities have slipped past
us. I think the moonlight makes us aware of what we missed doing.

We can't help but turn our eyes to the heavens, especially on
a frosty autumn night with the full harvest moon shining brightly.
In much of Appalachia, where the light pollution from urban areas
is less intense, the skies are far clearer than in other parts of
populated America. We can gaze upon the immense expanse of the
heavens -- a sight that our ancestors were privileged to see with
clarity but many moderns find increasingly blurred.

Nothing is a more awesome sight than the full harvest moon.
We are struck by its brilliance, golden color, and luster. No
wonder, so many throughout the centuries have been drawn to the
Creator by looking up to the nighttime sky. The shining vault of
the heavens invites us to praise God for the vast panorama before
our eyes. All creatures, especially the awesome distant heavenly
bodies, act as catalysts on our spiritual journey. The moon, that
close highly attractive neighbor, which waxes and wanes before our
eyes, has always enchanted and tugged on us. Nothing compares with
an autumn moonlit night for discovering the heavenly sacred space.
And still each full moon has it own story; certainly the harvest
moon does if we but observe it in its fullness.


            2. Sounds of Coming and Going

The owl will hoot at the window
and the raven croak at the doorstep.
       (Zephaniah 2:14b)

Fall can be at times joyful and at times melancholy. I think
the animals have a special manner of expressing themselves in this
season. The birds and other winged creatures that seek to escape
to warmer climes have all fled, and those that remain have the
winter scene to themselves. In some ways they sound happy to be
left among themselves, but then, on second thought, I think they
miss their departing wildlife partners as well. No matter what we
say, we hate to see our friends move south for the winter, for we
appreciate their temporary presence in our community of beings.

Appalachia, as sacred space, is a home to many creatures, each
with its own niche established a few millennia ago. We are to be
open to the wildlife that lives and moves and sings around us both
day and night. Appalachia was their home long before human beings
arrived, and both permanent and transitory flying birds
enliven our region, giving it a certain natural character. Land-
and water-based wildlife have less mobility and are generally
localized residents.

Some of the birds -- the neo-tropical ones -- leave for warmer
climates at the first signs of frost. These fair-weather
inhabitants prefer milder temperatures somewhat like winter
residents in Florida or Central America. Other more permanent
residents such as cardinals and bluejays stay, make do with what is
here, brighten the winter scenes, and keep us company throughout
the year. We appreciate summer dwellers enlivening our lives by
songs and chants, but value hoot owls and other year-round
residents all the more. We admire the skill and cunning that the
permanent residents must possess or they would surely starve during
winter.

Some Appalachian folks exercise the same opportunistic
instincts. Some go away for jobs and education; others stay
through the harsh winters of life. To each group, we show
appreciation: for those who go, we wish them well; for those who
come back on occasion we thank them for their visits; but we
appreciate most sincerely those who stay put. The blessing of
their presence is so often overlooked.


            3. The Scent of Wet Autumn Leaves

I will fall like dew on Israel
They shall bloom like the lily,
and thrust out roots like the poplar,
their shoots will spread far;
they will have the beauty of the olive
and the fragrance of Lebanon. (Hosea 14:5-7)

I dread to drive in the dense fogs of autumn morns and so I am
more inclined to stay put and savor the season -- only now we
experience the distinct scent of decomposing leaves. No other time
of year is so punctuated by an extended seasonal fragrance. And we
know this is nature's way of returning vegetation to dust and
preparing for new life. Dead leaves are so different from the
harsh odor of decaying animals; fallen leaves emit a perfume that
can be enjoyed. Natural recycling occurs, and it stirs our souls.

The warmer autumn daylight span is shortening and night's
coolness is increasing. Breezes creep up from the valleys to the
higher reaches of the hills; the fog clings to us more closely; the
frost scampers rapidly across the landscape. Hanging autumn leaves
exude a beauty that is fleeting. Really, Halloween marks the last
of normal foliage in Appalachia, even though oaks cling on to their
rust-colored leaves until well into spring. Those fallen leaves
return to Earth's humus, but in the process they give off a
characteristic autumn scent, which tells us that nature is going to
sleep for awhile. This is confirmed through all the senses, but it
is our humble nose that heralds the uniqueness of this season.

Lessons are learned through sight and sound but are then never
so pronounced as those learned through the sense of smell. Nature
beckons us gently through its teaching mode: accept the seasons;
recycle organic matter; regard all things as of value. The humble
leaf teaches us that nothing is "waste;" all is "future resource."
So autumn can be a learning time, if we but give more moments for
reflection.


            4. Flowing Water Refreshes the Soul

...the water that I shall give
will turn into a spring inside them,
welling up to eternal life. (John 4:14b)

So often I think of flowing water in late winter and through
the more traditional wet season of spring. However, looking back
on water experiences, I am now convinced that the sight, sound,
feel, and taste of flowing water in autumn is sublime because it
occurs more rarely than in spring. Autumn rains are blessed
opportunities; few strong springs last throughout the hot summer;
only some creeks continue to flow. The memories of these sources
of autumn water are so treasured.

Water fills the senses with joy, especially if we are
thirsty and discover a supply of clean fresh water. We pause
because this is such a gift -- potable water. One-third of the
world's people do not have the privilege of readily available
clean pure water. Their streams are polluted; their aquifers
fractured; their supplies problematic at best and often dwindling
and threatened with contamination.

On a spiritual level, water is life-giving. We crave the
flowing waters of Baptism, for these are the portal to the
believing community. In Baptism we are bonded to God in a special
way; we enter into the Divine Family; we are vowed and consecrated
to service to God, fellow human beings and Earth; we are watered
with supernatural life; we are furnished with refreshment for
others. If we are saved through water, we are mandated to help
save the water, so others can fully share this life-giving
substance with us both physically and spiritually.


            5. Piled Leaves for Romping

The locusts, these have no king,
   and yet they all march in good order.
(Proverbs 30:27)

There are times in life when I like order, and there are other
times when I glory in disorder -- letting our hair down as they
might say. Looking back, we find that such occasions of disorder
occurred more often than we care to remember (corncob fights,
wrestling matches, sliding down the straw stacks and damaging them,
climbing over fences on the neighbors' land, etc.). Moments of
disorder can be relished, overlooked, forgotten, regretted, or
selectively exaggerated. Only too often they come within the arena
of events needing healing and forgiveness. Amazingly, these can be
contrasted with times of order, but the latter take back seat in
October. Things are changing, and the fallen leaves create a
momentary disorder from a rather ordered summer condition of
foliage.

Is the wild kingdom so chaotic and disordered? If we would
but cease to romp about, we might discover a certain order and
method to microcosmic life beneath our feet. We see swarming
insects such as yellow jackets, just before frost. They have a
mission to transmit life to another generation -- and little time
left to do it. The hustle and bustle of these creatures are for a
greater purpose of preserving the species.

What applies to the insect world extends to our human portion
of Earth's total kingdom. Youth seem to enjoy a certain chaotic
bit of fun, but that is part of becoming bonded and releasing some
of the boundless energy that screams for release. The kids too
must hurry, for their span of youth is short. If their activities
did not demand so much energy, most adults would follow them and
play in the leaves as well. We expend our energy in ordering the
disordered, and rake the leaves into piles -- that is so very
"adult" in autumn.

But the deliberate playful nature of autumn's youngsters
recalls us to our own past experiences in this grander autumn of
life. The autumn-colored dropping leaves trigger us to hasten to
extract a little more out of fleeting life before the longer winter
sets in. But this striving for the fading gusto may be actually
somewhat childish. Are not the more ordered things of life to be
far more treasured, for they have been acquired at a higher price
of a lifetime of experience? Playful experiences had their place
but we should let them rest and show tolerance for others who are
going through that period in life. For us adults, any little bit
of chaos is to be shunned and every additional bit of order is to
be relished. Our tasks are different. Even if the leaves swirl
away in the wind or are spread about by romping youth and their
pets, we are to smile. For us, raking them up is the important
thing to do right now.


        B. REFLECTIONS: MOVEMENT TO FORGIVENESS

We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
(The Nicene Creed)

We need to consider a deeper look into our collective souls to
find the glue that will bring us more closely together. And we
find that the secret is in the constant message of Jesus to forgive
in order to be forgiven, to seek forgiveness, and to forgive not
once or seven times but over and over.

Our Baptism into God's family means we enter family life in
the way we act. We affirm sacramental life by taking on
Christlikeness expressed in the love, mercy and forgiveness that
God shows us. We enter more fully into the mystery of Christ who
comes among us, suffers, dies and rises. We need the fortification
of the other sacraments so that the original vows of Baptism might
endure and grow in perfection during the years. We find that this
sacramental life makes us other christs; we discover an urgency to
confront the unjust systems that are around us, and a pattern of
confrontation that is similar to that of Jesus. And we make a
universal invitation to all people of good will, incorporating them
in a WE because of their devotion to healing the Earth and radical
sharing with others.

God radically shares with us and invites us to share in the
same manner with others. Part of this involves individual sharing
of surplus through a conservationist ethic -- and that is even
necessary for our individual salvation. But in respect to an eco-
spirituality, the sharing must take on all levels of society, but
especially at the global level. What can we do as citizens to
encourage, popularize and promote radical sharing at all levels?
Thus it is not the preoccupation with personal salvation that
occupies our entire attention, but the salvation of the world of
which we are part.

Our incorporation or the "consecrated we" goes beyond the
world of people and includes the plant and animal kingdom with
which we find a deepening and necessary relationship. What has
never been given much theological thought must now be treated in an
eco-spirituality: an intersubjective relationship with others --
human and beyond. We do not treat others (plants and animals as
well as humans) as impersonal objects to be used and then discarded
from our world. Intersubjectivity reaches beyond and is intimate
and yet realized only through our contact with the world through a
thorough ecological stance. In experiencing Earthly creatures we
realize that there is a still deeper intersubjective relationship
with God. Since God enters our everyday life as companion and
friend, we now come to witness the beginnings of mysticism, a state
most needed to heal Earth, for therein lies the substrate of a New
Earth. We want to be better, not only to reach heaven but to truly
love God and neighbor. Thus our restlessness is not allayed but
understood; we are restless for the fullness of God's presence and
our perfect communion with the Divine.

            1. Forgiveness: Total or Partial

And forgive us our debts,
as we have forgiven those who are in debt to us.
(Matthew 6:12)

I stand at a bluff overlooking a surface mining operation that
has not been reclaimed. When in touch with land, it is so hard to
forgive those who come, devastate and then move on. The temptation
is to flee for I find it difficult to forgive in such
circumstances. It takes a deeper spirituality than I have and yet
it is something that I need at this time -- for I must attend to
the hospice victim, and here the very mountains are dying. I stand
in silence and hear the sobbing Earth and yet cannot weep, for
anger overshadows such an emotion, and with it comes a swelling up
of all the forces within. The land mourns, and it calls for those
who can forgive but not forget, those with stamina, with concern,
with compassion and with the grace of hope to stay the course --
and to get others to do the same. This is a moment to forgive.

Forgiveness appears to be the glue that binds us together with
each other -- thus we are taught. The hardest part of prayer and
especially the "Our Father" is that the forgiveness God gives is
somehow related to our own act of forgiving. We know God forgives,
but our receptivity to divine forgiveness resides in our
willingness to imitate God in the manner we treat our neighbor. So
often the parable of the servant who was forgiven a big debt and
then throttles his servant for a smaller debt haunts us.

Giving Forgiveness

Forgiving is difficult. Maybe it is our own imperfect
condition, but it seems to take time to forgive and thus heal
wounds, whereas we know that God is constantly forgiving us. What
emerges upon reflection is that the stumbling block to Earth
healing resides precisely in our failure to extend and receive
perfect forgiveness. It takes courage to forgive another; it takes
double courage to ask forgiveness from another; and it takes deep
faith to rest assured that we are forgiven by God.

Forgive again and again. Forgiveness is sought by us over and
over because we are imperfect and have offended God who is all
loving. With forgiveness comes the peace of soul that we all seek
and crave -- the peace of Christmas night; the mercy of Christ's
gift at Calvary; the joy of Easter's resurrection; and the presence
of God within each of us at Communion. Being prepared to forgive
is at the heart of the Lord's Prayer and that readiness demands
that we have an open heart to those who stumble, especially those
so close to us. Again and again. Jesus tells us to forgive, not
seven times, but seventy times seven (Matthew 18: 21-35). Some
suffer abuse or hard times from people they really love, whether
husband, wife, child, parent, friend or co-worker. Forgiving again
and again brings holiness even though others may counsel leaving,
hitting back, divorcing, or other such drastic measures. But God
constantly forgives us and to constantly forgive is godly.

Creative aspects to our forgiving. Forgiving is bringing back
life -- the life of the person forgiving, the relationship of that
person to a forgiving God, and the relationship of the forgiving
person to the one forgiven. Nurturing these bonds or relationships
of forgiveness is at the heart of healing and is the most creative
thing we can do in our lives as caregivers. We give ourselves
through forgiving; we encourage others to give of themselves in
healing past wounds; and we make our amens with our loving and
merciful God. That is why forgiveness is so utterly important as
a bonding between us and others in our world. We imitate our
loving Creator when we forgive from our hearts, and this imitation
carries over to others as well.

Restorative aspects of our forgiving. Forgiving must go
beyond a mere uttering of forgiving words to another who rubs us in
a wrong manner. We find an added need when reflecting on the
frayed relationships prior to forgiveness. We discover that our
own insensitivity is part of the reason why others hold back and
why we are slow to forgive. The lack of peace among our smaller
family or community or among our neighbors in a broader context is
due to my sinfulness in the past and continued insensitivity. The
basic restorative aspects of healing involve the depth of our
seeking and extending forgiveness, seeking forgiveness from God and
extending forgiveness to our neighbor. Through a forgiving heart
we are able to become compassionate toward others, even aggressors,
and not just to limit ourselves to saying that we forgive them. We
see them in themselves and find there a sense of their human
condition, which needs healing as much as do our own broken
relationships with each other. We bless them through a movement
coming from a forgiving heart, for blessing is the spiritual
fertilizer that allows the community to grow. Our blessing is a
form of Good News, the spreading of God's kingdom in our world.

Complexity of forgiving others. St. Ignatius' three levels
of humility (see April) may be revisited here with respect to
degrees of forgiveness. In reference to my forgiving a personal
act committed by another against me, there are three levels: the
first level involves the bare forgiveness required so that we are
forgiven by the Lord; a deeper level of forgiveness is seeing that
my own faults in some way cause the wrongdoing against me -- at
least in a generic sense; the third and deepest level is to become
at-one with the other party and wish them happiness.

Offenses to others. However, cases arise where I can forgive
because the action done to me has ceased, or because I personally
tolerate it, if still ongoing. But can I speak for a third party
who is being offended by this very wrongdoer who offended me?
Reconciliation needs to occur, not between that person and me so
much as between that person and the third party who is presently
being offended. It involves the present progressive -- not between
that person and past third-parties, but an offending action here
and now. If my forgiven party is in the act of hostility to another
and I know the situation, I must do what Jesus says -- go to the
party and seek change, or to others, or to the larger community
(the Church), but always acting in a forgiving manner. Forgiveness
is not forgetfulness; it does not overlook the action being done
and thereby implicitly, at least, condone the wrongdoing occurring
right now. It sincerely wants the wrongful action to be halted.

Second, I must go beyond a mental attitude of desiring
personal reconciliation. If I say "I forgive you" to another and
make that former estranged person a friend, then we have bonds of
friendship to honor in our act of forgiveness. I must as forgiving
friend try to stop the wrongdoing being done to that third party to
every degree possible. If the person who is doing a wrongful action
or omitting doing a rightful action, is a relative, acquaintance or
collaborator, it becomes more obvious why I must say something. If
the person at this level of forgiveness is one with whom I identify
through forgiveness, I must seek to persuade that person to change
his or her ways. I do not forgive this person in that third and
deepest level of humility and dismiss him or her from my life.
This person is now a friend and a continuing offense weakens this
new-found friendship.

Third, this goes deeper than just establishing obligations
between new-found friends. The broader community that the two of
us share at some level is hurt because the bonds of reconciliation
are not being extended outward to others by my new friend who is
also the wrongdoer. Thus the sense of expanding community requires
that reconciliation extend outward from individuals to a broader
community. Our reconciliation is not complete, if I disregard my
obligation to ensure that barriers are removed, and that we both
continue to progress in reconciling acts. Thus this deepest level
of forgiveness must include the reconciling of myself to all people
as part of the human family.

Note: A cruel deed has been perpetrated. The offender prays
for forgiveness. The victim may have died. The deepest tragedy is
that some of those who are related to the victim have never
forgiven the offender. They await in glee the moment of execution.
What an offense against the moral order!

Receiving Forgiveness

Healing requires that we are willing to forgive as just
discussed, and that we seek to be forgiven by God and others for
offenses committed to the degree that we know them and seek to be
reconciled. Amazingly, we are to forgive so that we can be
forgiven and yet God's forgiveness is always present. In some
ways, the act of forgiveness is part of Divine Mystery. In a more
perfect world, giving and receiving are almost simultaneous. In
our imperfect one, we beg forgiveness even before we are truly able
to totally forgive.

Forgiveness from God. The grace of forgiveness is the pure
expression of God's love shown to us, who in no way deserve this
act of divine mercy. Upon realizing our own faults, we beg through
our own acts of contrition for forgiveness. We do this first in
the "Our Father." That begging shows our human condition. Never
in Scripture does it say that those who sincerely begged
forgiveness did not receive it from Christ. His openness to
forgiveness is a characteristic of his love for us. Even on
Calvary, the good thief begs for forgiveness, and he is the only
person to be personally canonized by Christ -- and even before his
own death. God forgives the sincere heart and we are told to seek
this forgiveness in a perfect manner (because it has offended God
who is all Love) and not just because we deserve punishment.

Miracles and Forgiveness. In Mark 2: 1-12 Jesus does two
important things: he performs a miracle of curing the paralyzed
man; and he forgives the man's sins. Amazingly the miracle is more
easily accepted than the act of forgiveness; the crowd begins to
regard Jesus as a wonderworker; the Scribes accuse Jesus of
blasphemy for saying he can forgive sins. Neither opinion is
correct. Jesus worked wonders but he does not want to be regarded
as a wonderworker; and as God he has power to forgive sins and
thus is no blasphemer. Throughout history God's marvelous deeds
including miracles have punctuated the mercy and love that God has
shown to us, namely, parting of the Red Sea, feeding Manna in the
desert, multiplication of loaves, and forgiving sins.

Forgiveness through the Church. God's mercy includes the
divine willingness to extend the power of forgiveness to the Church
through its ordained ministers. God offers forgiveness, that we
certainly are forgiven, and that we are permeated with an
atmosphere of forgiveness. This we believe, for forgiveness is so
wed to the miracle of the Resurrection, namely, to forgive is to
give new life just as God gives new life after death. The initial
launching occurs on Easter Sunday evening, a clear connection
between the physical and the spiritual healing ministry by
instituting the Sacrament of Reconciliation, "for those whose sins
you forgive, they are forgiven..." (John 20:23). God is forgiving,
and miracles point to that more wonderful act, which is spiritual
and not merely physical healing. Through forgiveness, souls are
healed and renewed. God's mercy is marvelous to behold.

Sharing forgiveness. When we forgive others, and let them
know, we give them new life, and they, in turn, receive forgiveness
in a most wonderful and meaningful manner. Pope John Paul II did
this for the man who attempted to assassinate him. My cousin, the
late Spanky Fister, journeyed to Florida and went to a prison and
forgave in the name of his family the murderer of his brother.
This was heroic and a wonder of God's grace at work. How hurtful
it is to see people who refuse to forgive. But let's glory in
those who can, for in doing so we glory in our forgiving God.
Among the great miracles of grace is willingness to forgive others
from the bottom of our hearts; another is to believe truly that we
are forgiven and that sin has been wiped away. We pray for those
who find it hard to forgive, for forgiveness never comes easily;
but we also pray for those who are forgiven that they may believe
that they are. And we pray for our nation that simply does not
believe in forgiveness under virtually any form.

            2. Sacraments of Life

"You must repent," Peter answered, "and every one of you must
be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of
sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." (Acts
2:38)

While I was performing public interest work in Washington a
varied group of public interest representatives sat down in a
circle and discussing how to add labor unions and others to the
anti-pollution program we were starting. The person next to me
(whom I had never met before) became somewhat dramatic. He asked
emphatically, "Where is the Church?" Someone volunteered, "Well Al
is a priest." Obviously he was embarrassed and moved steadily
further away as the meeting progressed.

Through God's invitation we are invited into the deeper
Mystery of the Divine Family. The Greek word mysterion is
translated into the Latin as mysterium, or mystery, and
sacramentum, or sacrament. "Sacrament" in the Eastern Church
terminology is designated as "the holy mysteries;" this is the
visible sign, and the hidden reality is the mystery -- Christ
himself. Analogously, the Church is a sacrament for she "contains
and communicates the invisible grace she signifies (Cat., #774).

Through Baptism and Confirmation we are consecrated as a
special people of God. A monumental transformation occurs. A
baptismal name is given. When we develop an ecological
consciousness of being close to all creation (the WE) and are
closer to divine Mystery (the emerging WE), we are prepared to
receive the deeper divine call to become a Consecrated WE, one that
includes those others who are part of the vowed (through baptismal
vows to renounce Satan and to believe) Body of Christ. Through
Baptism the stains of sin (both those previously committed
individually and those of "Original Sin") are wiped away. We go
down with Christ into Baptism and rise with him in a new life. We
are born again especially in Confirmation, the fullness of Baptism,
and are being prepared for the special mission to which we are
called.

Consecrated to God's work. Our Christian commitment involves
entering into the divine plan for this world; we become
participants in the establishment of the New Creation (see
November). As consecrated people WE become a word to the world
that needs the healing that we bring as other christs. As part of
the Divine Family we are able to enliven the world around us in a
spiritual way. This threefold process of creative activity,
spreading the word, and extending love to others through radical
sharing is our participation in the Trinitarian Mystery. We
perform godly acts in a public manner. To someone who is thirsty,
we perform the deed as Christ himself giving drink to another.
Being present and thus creating a moment of giving, acknowledging
another's need and responding in an act of shared love is a process
on an individual level that allows us to penetrate the deeper
mystery of our Triune God, Source of water, Word to the world, and
new Life.

Affirmation of new life. At the heart of the Easter mystery
is Christ's resurrection, the universal "yes" to new life. And the
heart of our faith is that this new life extends to each of the
Lord's followers. Death is now conquered; all may now live in the
Lord eternally. Through Baptism, we formally enter into the Divine
Family, and are invited to participate in Christ's death and
resurrection. We die to our old selves and through God's
forgiveness we take on a new life in Christ. Baptism is God's gift
to us, second only to physical life itself. But the gift can be
accepted or rejected for I am the one called to say "yes," a free
act of acceptance of what God gives me to do and be. I am called
through Baptism/Confirmation to participate in the activity of our
Triune God, to walk on a godly path of life -- that which we have
referred to as what the patristic fathers called divinization.
Thus the reason for use of the terms godly and godliness. Even
here, Christians generally prefer to speak in familial and personal
terms -- Abba, brother of Christ, spirit of love, companion,
friend.

Christ-likeness. Through Baptism, God's mystery unfolds
within us in a most pronounced way, especially as we become ever
more willing to be receptive to the divine invitation. We become
like Christ; we become other christs. During our normal lives we
are called to deeper and deeper participation and to deny our very
selves in order to accompany Jesus on the road to Calvary. Some
may not regard this as a happy invitation, but isn't everyone's
life a rocky road involving toils and sufferings. Let's make the
best of it. We can curse on the way or, or we can be blessed to
have divine companionship. Calvary and my road become one.

Our salvation story. This journey or life becomes a personal
salvation story and the challenge is to see the greatness of this
calling. As mentioned in September, none other than Christ himself
as the Bread from Heaven is fitting nourishment for the task we
need for our calling. Part of faith is realizing both Christ's
constant companionship and also the importance of our calling to
heal Earth and its inhabitants. People in no other age have had
this particular calling because never before has God's creation
been so threatened by the sin of human beings. Where sin abounds,
there all the more grace abounds. The territory in which we are
called to make our journey of faith is a devastated Earth in the
21st century, and so we are called in the HERE and NOW to respond
as consecrated people, brought together through Baptism and
enlivened through the other sacraments.

Our sacramental vocation. We are baptized in the name of the
Trinity and called to the Divine Family as brothers and sisters of
Christ. This is the risen Christ empowered and yet this is the
same Christ who has suffered for us. We are to help fill up what
is wanting in the Lord's suffering. It makes me happy to suffer for
you, as I am suffering now, and in my own body to do what I can to
make up for all that has still to be undergone by Christ for the
sake of his body, the Church (Colossians 1:24). Though Christ
fulfilled all in his Calvary event, that event extends in space and
time to today. As companions we enter into this event and we are
present at Calvary in the sufferings of all creation all around us.
The healing work involves self-denial, personal closeness to
Christ, acceptance of sacrificing effort and risks, public
proclamation of the word, keen observation and experience to
initiate and maintain the healing process. The question, "What
would Jesus do?" is asked by some, but it has an unexpected answer.
We are not to imitate the Jesus of 2000 years ago in the Holy Land,
for circumstances were different. Jesus suffers today in our
world, and as other christs through our Baptism, must phrase the
question differently, namely "What does Jesus do with and through
me here and now?"

Sacramental Life. Baptism is an initiation but it does not
stand alone, nor is the event the initiation of our journey within
the Divine Family. In fact, Baptism is completed through
Confirmation when we receive the Holy Spirit -- a rebirth in the
Spirit when we are empowered in a special way to proclaim the Good
News to others. The journey is long and difficult and thus the
Holy Eucharist, as discussed in September, is our nourishment on
the way. Occasionally we stray and take those detours that are not
proper, and the Sacrament of Reconciliation is available to return
us quickly to the right path. Socially, the bonding that makes the
elemental grouping of society, the family, is blessed and affirmed
through the sacrament of Matrimony. Likewise, as sacramental
people, we seek the assistance of the ministers of the Church
through Holy Orders. Occasionally we become ill and need the
special fortification of the Anointing of the Sick.

Proclaimers of sacramental life. Bishops, priests and deacons
are the ordinary ministers of Baptism and to various degrees the
other sacraments. But all Christians are asked to initiate a
healing process, a forgiving of others as the start of healing
Earth. It is the healers who must proclaim the manifestation of
God's self-communication to the world of the Word (forgiving on the
lips) and the Spirit of love (forgiving in the heart). In being
forgiven by the Lord through the words of the priest, we take on
new life and can rise again in power; in forgiving others who
offend us, we manifest that testimony of the resurrection of Christ
in power coming from our own entire being. In extending a
forgiving hand we participate in God's love and mercy. By
forgiving others we communicate the Christ within us to others.
The forgiveness vested in the Church is a powerful tool because it
transcends the quagmire of guilt and gives new life shown
definitely through the words of forgiveness. Our day-by-day
forgiving acts heal broken people and the damaged Earth, all who
await deliverance.

A sense of urgency. At first, believers focus on their
individual salvation, "Repent and believe in the Gospel!" The
shortness of life and the suddenness of illness and death make it
imperative to be always in the graces of God. Through
Confirmation, we realize the Good News must be proclaimed to
others. As mentioned in June, a new paradigm has emerged since
Vatican II, when those who go to another place to spread the Gospel
(traditional missionaries) discover that the ones who receive the
message actually have a message to communicate back to the sending
community. Thus both bearer and receiver proclaim, receive, and
grow together. Concerned people, who see Earth herself threatened
by pollution and global warming, sense an urgency to act, an
urgency in part that springs from the cry of the Earth heard by all
who are in the HERE and NOW. To be attuned to such a lament and
still retain a basic enthusiasm requires sacramental fortification,
for without this the hidden reality of what lies ahead becomes
blurred by the crowding of immediate concerns. The sacraments keep
us alert to the needs of others.

Partaking in salvation history. God performs marvelous works
in this world, and all events and ongoing processes are part of the
divine plan of bringing all things back together in Christ -- and
the record of this process is salvation history. This starts at
creation's beginning and extends through billions of years of the
universe's unfolding; this includes profound events such as the
saving of a people from the deluge, the exodus from Egyptian
slavery, and the call by the prophets to continued fidelity. The
high point is the coming of the Messiah and his presence and action
on our Earth. But salvation history does not end with the Calvary
and Resurrection events; salvation history continues through the
period of the Apostles, the early Church, the Middle Ages, the
Renaissance, and right on down to our own time. Thus we are
immersed in the ongoing movement of salvation history, for it
includes each and every one of us. We are called to engage in the
process and through our sacramental life to participate in all the
events that came before us. The consecrated NOW for each of us is
the presence of the past salvation historical events -- and this
now embraces future events as well.

Coworkers as participants. We have noted earlier that work
can be fulfilling for individuals and for the community if it is
harmonious. Within an atmosphere of forgiveness, the work is both
self-fulfilling and community enhancing. If people are unemployed
or underemployed, they cannot find fulfillment and their talents
are not appreciated. Then they suffer as individuals and the
community social fabric suffers as well. That all have meaningful
work is a major challenge of our age with hundreds of millions
underemployed especially in developing countries. These lands
often become the seedbeds for terrorism. Healing Earth requires
willing and enthusiastic workers doing meaningful and life-giving
work. How can they be reimbursed for necessary labor and still be
able to sustain their own families? When corporations downsize,
they lay off workers who are now without the means of honest
livelihood, and the fewer opportunities make for bitter competition
among an expanded pool of workers. The cooperative spirit erodes
as willing people are pitted against each other for scarce jobs;
all the while an enriched elite reaps profits through cheap labor.

Confronting social issues. The vocation of the Consecrated WE
confronts political and economic reality. Where does forgiveness
fit in now? It cannot be overlooked, ignored, or reduced to kind
words and knowing looks. The confrontation that Christ faced 2000
years ago was as deep rooted as that we face today. We too must be
prophetic witnesses and willing to sacrifice some of our own
security and silence to assist others. We defend those with jobs,
and we seek to raise their pay to a living wage; we help create new
jobs; we confront governments that do not see their duty to be
ultimate employers or to curb the excessive wealth of a few at the
expense of the many. This does not preclude forgiveness; it helps
establish the conditions in which forgiveness can be exercised.

The Church and Christ's presence. The cynic may say that
Catholic Christians idolize their sacramental life, in believing in
the power of forgiveness and the Holy Eucharist. The response is
that we only adore our God, and that God is present in the
sacraments and especially in the Eucharist, which is our
nourishment for the awesome tasks ahead. God is present in the
Church and its activities -- and this is a sacramental church. The
Consecrated WE are humble instruments in God's hands. We become
other christs and act in much the manner he acted when confronting
the powers to be in his day. We Christians acknowledge our
sinfulness, beg God's forgiveness, rise to new life, and enter into
the ongoing work of salvation. We realize we are not the person of
Jesus, but in faith we know he is very near when we stumble.

Confrontation. Forgiveness is the glue that binds us but we
find other bindings in the world around us. Through a vital
sacramental life we realize that Christ's presence means that
injustice cannot go unchallenged. The Church cannot afford to be
afraid, nor can her members. When wrongdoing occurs within, she
must root it out; when wrongdoing occurs without, she must expose
it. The Church is not a bureaucracy with distant leaders issuing
pronouncements and members remaining dutifully silent. When social
ills occur, the Consecrated WE must act in each locality -- and the
actions must be open, swift, and as effective as possible.

Treatment of wrongdoers. Are wrongdoers to be forgiven,
especially while the wrongdoing continues? One answer is we are to
forgive the sinner, but not the wrongdoing. But is that enough?
Just as we should never delight in being superior to wrongdoers, we
should not delight in wrongdoing, nor minimize it, nor ignore it.
Rather we should despise it and publicly speak against it at the
proper time and place. But wrongdoing and doer are often joined
and that requires additional confrontation. "Woe to you scribes
and pharisees!" Those are people Jesus is addressing. When
wrongdoers continue in their act, we are to confront them; when
wrongdoers halt the action, we forgive them; when wrongdoers
change their ways, we welcome them into our company, for we were
once wrongdoers ourselves. Through the power of the resurrected
Christ focused in a compassionate and forgiving heart, we now move
from the wrongdoing to specific corrective actions that must be
undertaken in order to heal our Earth.

People of God and other terms. While we have given some
attention to the Consecrated WE, we must realize that Earthhealers
do and will continue to include those who are not necessarily
Christian or, if they are, do not fully participate in sacramental
life. Are these to be forgotten or ignored? That is hardly the
case. While we do not have to diminish the importance of our
sacramental calling as catalysts in this movement, we do not ignore
the contribution of all others who are people of good faith -- the
WE of this world, who show concern but do not appreciate a
supernatural gift of faith. I have engaged for over three decades
with many of them and, in fact, they are often major participants
in needed environmental work. I do not necessarily like the term
"anonymous" or "implicit" Christian that has been proposed for
these good and determined people. They naturally fit in the
intermediate WE that has no defining adjective. They may enjoy our
including them in the greater WE. No mortal is yet holy and those
of us who are consecrated see our consecration as a calling rather
than as something merited. Besides, overnaming these associates
without their permission is too judgmental or controlling.

Called to be healers as well. WE recognize our more vague
calling to make a better world, to delve into a Mystery beyond,
which captivates us and moves us to a future not yet fully defined.
And if our invitation is sincere enough, those who are concerned
about Earth will radically share to make it a better place. God
calls them through us, not to be us in a consecrated format -- for
that is God's special grace. We continually invite them to join us
in transforming this Earth. The Consecrated WE need the
sacramental life to retain our enthusiasm; we extend our enthusiasm
to others, thus holding up their enthusiasm through our own. We
testify to who we are but more through deed than word; we trust
that our faith-laden graces are contagious. We do not withdraw if
they do not fully agree. It is our God who invites them into
deeper Mystery and ultimately to radical sharing with their
neighbor. And we pray for them -- a sharing that almost all
appreciate, for a blessing is so much more comforting than a curse.

Differences acknowledged. Must we remain silent about our
Christian faith? By no means. Must we proselytize? Never, unless
the other person takes the initiative. How then can we engage in
serious discussion about eco-spirituality? We certainly can
acknowledge that we hold different views on matters when
discussions become farther ranging than an immediate problem area.
One area of difference that few would consider is that of our own
restlessness. We are not restless that they join our ranks for a
uniform constituency. Our restlessness is the energetics that back
up our enthusiasm -- and that is ultimately the God within. We
need not deny but be proud of our restlessness, a counter to
comfort. God's will is to be done -- and we as participants in
bringing that about inherit the restlessness of Jesus who sees the
field white with the harvest. Comforts are intoxicating but a
profound restlessness is energizing.

            3. Radical Sharing With Others

The mission of the Church is not only to save souls, but to
save society. (John Lancaster Spalding, American & Catholic: A
Popular History of Catholicism in the United States, (Cincinnati:
St. Anthony Messenger Press, 2004), p. 111)

In high school in the late 1940s I twice had the privilege to
participate in a youth United Nations gathering in Cincinnati. I
became sold on the role of that organization and have always found
those who oppose it to be misdirected. But today it is more of a
question of strengthening rather than fighting for the United
Nation's existence.

Gradually the divine pattern that we seek to imitate becomes
more than imitation. We realize that God shares radically with us
through the coming of the Son and the inspiration of the Spirit.
We are moved to thus share most deeply with others. And this
sharing is part of salvation history for it involves our personal
salvation and that of all on this planet. As members of the Divine
Family we are called to act globally in a godly manner within a
salvation history that is in progress -- God's unfolding mystery of
love. Our specific acts, whether individual or collective, are
God's very actions in which we are participants. They demand that
we be nourished by Godself in the Eucharist; they require a
Consecrated WE to bring to conclusion; and they involve concrete
actions on our part for our spirituality includes pondering and
promoting concrete acts.

A planet divided among rich and poor, developed, underdeveloped
and overdeveloped, and enemies and friends is in need of healing.
For those committed to the ministry of forgiving, sacramental life
allow us to see the importance of water, bread, wine and oil.
Through a conservationist ethic (January) we realize that we are to
reduce resource use through more efficient vehicles, mass transit,
small living space, organic gardening, renewable energy
utilization, recycling, reduction in meat consumption, and other
practices advocated on this and other environmental and public
interest websites. Furthermore, these conservation measures, which
result in savings, could be converted into monetary amounts to be
shared with relief and development agencies working with less
fortunate people in this country and abroad. While many ways exist
to share such on an individual level, still as a Consecrated We the
emphasis shifts to local, regional, national and international
levels. Much of the first three pertain to where located. Let us
omit these and consider the WE of a global scale, realizing that
the listing below is not exhaustive.

The following are sixteen eco-justice-related practices
deserving of promotion and ultimately requiring radical sharing:

    1. Debt reduction -- The first and greatest impact in a
radical sharing program was publicized during the Year of Jubilee
in 2000. Since then the debts of some seventeen nations have been
forgiven through the World Bank and other international agencies
and governments. Efforts are being made to ensure that the power
elites in these countries do not benefit from the elimination of
such indebtedness. Rather, the money saved from interest payments
could be used for struggling educational and health programs.
Expanding removal of the debts to the next tier of nations is a top
priority, especially when interest payments take a high proportion
of such nations income, enslaving people to distant financial
interests in well-heeled banks.

    2. Fragile Area Protection -- Certain specific regions on this
planet are so fragile and threatened that they should be declared
wilderness areas and protected from human intrusion. These include
delicate rock formations and valleys, remnant tropical and
temperate rain forests, certain springs and water sources, fragile
desert areas with rare desert flora and fauna, specific oceanic
islands, and Antarctica. Poor nations with threatened and
endangered flora and fauna often do not have sufficient resources
for such proper protection. With reference to international areas
(oceans and uninhabited land), a joint commission of all interested
nations should administer research and other activities, much as is
being attempted on and around the continent of Antarctica. This
continent should become a United Nations trust with this fragile
territory being held in common by all member states. Research,
weather data and other information from the continent should be
jointly shared by all United Nations members.

    3. Law of the Seas -- The oceans are truly a "commons" (owned
by all peoples collectively) covering four-fifths of the planet's
surface. In the past, the United States has blocked an effective
Law of the Seas Treaty, especially one where all oceanic resources
especially those on the ocean floor (e.g., mining of manganese)
would be administered through an international body. The proceeds
from such mining should be apportioned according to both maritime
nations and others. Registry and regulation of shipping and
especially oil tankers on the high seas should be handled not by
small nations (such as Panama or Liberia), which are tax shelters
and corporate havens, but by the United Nations. Proceeds from a
general global shipping fee could finance an international maritime
police force that is a future force worth establishing.

    4. International Space Programs -- The space program today
has more international cooperative features (e.g., International
Space Lab) than almost any other international activity outside of
famine relief. This is partly because the program is so expensive
that nations, including both Russia and the United States, have
difficulty keeping separate programs functioning according to plan.
Launches of space probes and satellites are now multinational
ventures. However, after serious accidents such as the destruction
of the returning Challenger space shuttle in February, 2003, much
needs to be done to improve safety and to move towards more
unmanned projects. Furthermore, some form of regulation is
required due to the proliferation of space "junk," which has and is
proving a major danger in space probes and manned space travel.

    5. Controls on Multinational Corporate -- One of the great
travesties of western law has been the declaration of the
corporation as a "person" with certain rights, but few duties.
Corporations are taxed as are responsible citizens, except
corporate tax rates are often manipulated to be far lower ones than
justice would dictate. These corporations move operations quickly
to less responsible or regulated nations, underpay workers (and
sometimes child labor) in less developed nations, and pay off
politicians and governments to weaken fair labor and environmental
regulations. New joint international commercial agreements and
restrictions are necessary for the power of the larger corporations
has grown immensely and even exceeds those of governments of a
majority of (smaller) nations. In some places they are "outlaw"
organizations with no policing present. In this case, radical
sharing involves organizing and supporting an international
regulatory organization to issue licenses to those institutions to
operate internationally.

    6. Support of the World Criminal Court -- Crimes against
humanity should be controlled by legal instruments that transcend
national boundaries. The fear on the part of the United States
government that it will lose some of its autonomy must be overcome
from within our country; we cannot expect outsiders to champion
the cause alone. The Court in the Hague needs power to arrest,
subpoena, try, convict, and punish the culprits of such crimes.
The so-called fear of surrender of American power retards the full
effectiveness of this Court. Radical sharing on the part of
America is of critical importance, and those who seek to heal Earth
in this country will have a vital part to play whether in academia,
public interest groups, the churches or the media.

    7. Trade Barriers -- The so-called developing countries
claim that the $300 billion a year in subsidies paid to
agricultural producers in the wealthy nations has the effect of
driving down prices of their own competing commodities. Thus they
are less able to sell products at decent prices. If these affluent
land subsidies were removed, all would have a chance to sell on an
open market. The World Bank estimates that lowering trade barriers
could boost annual growth in so-called developing countries by 0.5%
a year and lift an additional 300 million out of poverty
(Reference: Harry Dumphy, "World Bank: Boost aid and lower trade
barriers," Lexington Herald-Leader, April 14, 2003, p. A-9).

    8. United Nations Police Force -- Maintaining the over one
trillion dollar annual military budget of the countries of the
world is the greatest act of insecurity that could be imagined.
This high and wasteful expenditure ensures insecurity, especially
among those who deem themselves oppressed or marginalized. Our
radical sharing would involve reducing the military budget by one-
quarter and spending the money saved on true security and
peacemaking measures (see November). This more than $250 billion
of former military expenditures could ensure the realistic dreams
of peoples proper housing, potable water, health, and education.
A minor additional portion would be sufficient to make an
international peace-keeping force available for use when needed.
By autumn of 2006, the recruitment of United Nations forces for
work in Lebanon and Sudan have swelled the police force ranks to
nearly 100,000. When the Berlin Wall crumbled and the Cold War
ended around 1990 many had hopes the military budgets in post-cold
war days would be dramatically reduced. The military-industrial
complex has been quite diligent in seeing that this is not the
case. The "war on terrorism" has contributed much as well.

    9. Availability of Generic Drugs -- The cost of AIDS-related
generic drugs for poorer nations has been dramatically reduced, but
still many affected nations lack adequate supplies (only one-
quarter of AIDS victims in South Africa are being treated). As
victims are kept alive and public and private grants dwindle
through relief fatigue, one can expect that the costs will climb.
Companies deserve a fair return on investment, but not profit at
the expense of those who cannot afford health care. One solution
would be to have an international drug research fund which is open
to drug companies to research medical cures for unprofitable drugs
needed principally in Third world nations. The Gates Foundation is
moving in this direction. What must be considered on a global
level is production and availability of low-cost medicines during
times of epidemics. AIDS with thirty million deaths over a quarter
of a century should surely qualify.

    10. Worldwide Control of Tobacco Products -- A sincere effort
is underway to ban advertisement and promotion of tobacco products
throughout the world. The lead that the United States has taken
has now been picked up by other nations with high smoking rates and
a growing awareness that youth are drawn into tobacco addiction
each year through advertising, that smoking results in severe
health effects and shortened lives, and that second-hand smoking is
likewise harmful to non-smokers, especially infants and the
elderly. The results of research on health effects and citizen
induced restrictions need to be circulated in China and other
nations with high smoking rates.

    11. International Environmental Regulations -- Global warming
is a scientifically established major Earth-threatening phenomenon,
which is considered to be due in great part to the man-made
activities of burning fossil fuels and escape of certain other
natural (e.g., methane) or manufactured gases (e.g., certain
Freons). To date, the world's nations are quite slow at meeting
goals of the Kyoto Treaty on reductions in total emissions. This
is especially tragic since the United States actually consumes
about one-quarter of fossil fuels, which generate carbon dioxide.
More recently, California and certain other states have taken their
own initiative to meet Kyoto-type goals within their respective
boundaries. The emergence of India and China as industrial powers
not stringently covered by the Treaty adds to the total carbon
dioxide burden. What becomes evident in such a massive crisis is
that a world body must have the power to set goals and demand their
enforcement. Earthhealing calls for it.

    12. Renewable Energy Promotion: An Energy Tax -- The
imposition of energy taxes on the use of non-renewable energy
sources (coal, natural gas, oil and nuclear power) would lead to
expansion of traditionally less-subsidized renewable energy
applications. Current multinational energy companies' opposition
should lessen as more of these move to solar and wind applications.
But it is now evident that the cost of environmental cleanup should
be levied on the major culprits. This tax would be highly
effective in moving to a renewable energy economy based on wind and
solar energy -- ranging from domestic solar food cookers (conserve
scarce wood resources now used for cooking) to installation of
photovoltaic panels or shingles for electricity, passive solar
space heating, solar water heating, refrigeration units, water
pumps and solar greenhouse facilities. This is starting to occur
as states and cities vie to become "solar" models. Private solar-
related groups demonstrate that they can live off the grid, or can
remain on the utility network but furnish surplus renewable fuel-
generated electricity through net metering programs.

    13. CITES Treaty -- The Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, to which the United
States is a party, is an effective vehicle for protecting
threatened and endangered species through banning the sale and
export of certain determined commodities. Again, this
international regulatory approach for one of the world's most
serious environmental problems should be strengthened with
enforcement powers to ensure that treaty obligations are met.

    14. Tourism Regulation -- Today tourism, the world's fastest
growing service industry often adversely impact the host
communities; the carrying capacity of certain regions are exceeded.
Such activities as riding off-road vehicles have damaged fragile
areas and disturbed local communities. People and their cultural
heritage are exploited, all at the expense of the tourist agencies
and promotion schemes. A three-part program of satisfaction for
the tourist, preservation of the culture and environment, and just
compensation for the people in the target areas must always be the
stated global tourist policy. Many times, especially in developing
countries, this is not so. Many places vie with each other for the
tourist dollar and overlook the emerging environmental consequences
or just compensation for the workers within the tourist nation.

    15. Language & Cultural Preservation -- At current rates of
disappearance, within this 21st century half of the three thousand
languages of the world will cease functioning. as remnant
populations die out and younger people aspire to write, read and
speak major ascendant languages. Though this loss is partly the
price of globalization, still through concerted efforts threatened
language/culture can be preserved and can even thrive. However,
language preservation takes resources for libraries and proper
recording programs, colleges for training teachers, and effective
educational programs. International language conservation groups
should be funded through international funds.
 

            4. Subjectivity and Deeper Mystery

You have a permanent place in my heart, and God knows how much I
miss you all, loving you as Christ Jesus loved you. (Phil. 1:7b-8)

Do I hug trees that I admire? Yes, to measure them, for my
span from outstretched fingertip to fingertip is six feet, upraise
one hand its five-and-a-half, one hand and arm its four-and-a-half,
and on and on to virtually exactly measurements using hands, arms,
and elbows. Otherwise, I am not too fond of hugging trees.

Mystery unfolds before us: mysteries of creation, mysteries
of the love of Christ redeeming us; mysteries of the active
presence of the Spirit in our world. We look again at our
relationships for we brothers and sisters of Christ; we are the
dwelling place of the Spirit and when we are baptized into the
Trinity we are part of a community, first divine, then in time
divine and human. We are related to the Triune God -- Act acting
and inviting, and we accepting and entering into the Act. We are
on the road and yet we enter into the movement from God and back to
God. And where we stand and move and when we act and do not act
involve a contrast of silent event and restless process. Part of
our own mystery is that we both discover and are restless for
Mystery. It is this dialectic that goes on within and impels us to
discover and establish relations with others beyond ourselves.

Bonding at the elemental level. Sub-atomic particles as well
as atoms are bonded in such ways that larger aggregates of beings
emerge, if one would consider building them from bottom up. In
fact, these particles may be the result of breakdowns of existing
substances. On the levels of sub-atomic physics or structural
chemistry, bonds hold these sub-elements together in particular
patterns. In stereochemistry, one visualizes an atom with specific
characteristics that is bonded with other atoms in a specific
direction and characteristic bond length. But such bonding space
is defined and so we speak of bond angle and bond length, though
the actual picture is more fluid than these concepts might imply.
Here we do not want to penetrate the scientific phenomenon but only
to state that precise relationships exist on these elementary
levels -- and that these are real bonds that involve particles and
distance and direction to others.

Earth as vital. I simply present as a possibility that
portions of Earth respond to other portions in an elementary type
of relationship in which each seems to enhance the other, namely,
movements of the land masses, ocean streams and tides, air
currents, even storms. Earth's self-controlling mechanisms seem to
be at work, and these involve relationships among heavenly bodies,
land forms within, and plants and animals. Since human activity
can disturb these relationships through environmental pollution, a
better understanding is all the more imperative.

Bonding among Plants. The plant kingdom has more complex and
vital relationships both among a colony of a given species, among
companion plants, and within a biosphere in which plants evolve and
flourish. The planet's soil, moisture and climate allow plants to
establish their homes. Animals enter into primitive relationships
with the plants on which they are nourished and protected and even
"bonded." A bee is certainly bonded to the plant that it
pollinates and gathers nectar from. Human beings share that plant
relationship by gathering plants for food. However, we do have
deeper relations with some plants; we appreciate the beauty of
trees and meadows and experience joy in the clothed landscape. In
admiring cultivated vegetables, herbs, and flowers we talk to them.
And amazingly WE perceive that plants respond to our attention.
Does intersubjectivity exist on such a primitive level?

Bonding with Animals. A massive literature describes bonding
of young animals with mothers, and sometimes fathers as well, and
within family groupings. Bonding involves nurturing, mating,
teaching the young, and caring for weaklings, a treasure of rich
relationships on so many levels. In some cases, relations are
hostile as in competing for mates or territory -- the "dog-eat-dog"
world. Many forms of friendly animal bonding include packs, dens,
colonies, hives, flocks, and schools. Human beings have bonds with
animals at various levels -- one hostile, as the animal is the
object of a trophy hunter's gun sight -- or the strikingly
different relationship of a primitive hunter thanking the hunted
for offering itself for food. Animal care-givers express deeper
relationships to livestock, abandoned animals or pets, at times
with an intimacy matching human relationships. Here we witness an
emerging intersubjective relationship between WE and animals.

Bonding among human beings. Our awareness of ourselves in
communion with another is that of a subject (aware of self in
relation to another of comparable awareness). People can be our
objects (competitors, enemy fighters, pushing crowd, hunted
villains, etc.); unfortunately, for some, most people always remain
objects. For most, however, there exist a range of subjects
depending on our free choice and degree of concern and love shown
to others. More intimate bonds of togetherness and common purpose
can be established even before birth and can continue long after
mortal death. The beginning of a radical sharing with others is at
the heart of intersubjective relationships. While moving to the
other, we respect his or her distinctness. Human relationships
begin as linear one-dimensional relationships (mother to child) but
soon expand through socialization to a two-dimensional horizontal
plane and through expanded horizons to three-dimensional
communities, during which the we become a WE. The progress of WE
is one of growing personhood involving deeper levels of
subjectivity, socialization and ecological concern.

Bonding of Divine and Human. Through awareness of our
personhood (mystery within) that is dependent on growing social
relations (mystery without), we reach out to the Mystery beyond,
with a deep innate yearning that this Mystery come ever closer to
us. In historic fact, Mystery becomes one with us through the
incarnation of Christ (Emmanuel or God-with-us). Thus occurs the
most profound bonding of divine and human -- the hypostatic union
in the person of Jesus Christ. St. Irenaeus says that the
revelation of God's Word unites God and world by sealing the
distance between them in the very intimacy of their communion
(Reference: Hans Urs von Balthasar, The Scandal of the Incarnation:
Irenaeus Against the Heresies, (San Francisco: Ignatius Press), p.
6). While we are not both divine and human as Jesus is, still
through faith we know that the transcendent God is an immanent God,
and through Baptism we enter God's family through the process some
of the Eastern fathers called divinization.

Bonding of the Triune God. In August, we introduced the
traditional doctrine of the Trinity and the defined relations of
three persons: Father, Son and Spirit. Beyond this definition we
have not speculated on the relationship of these divine persons
among themselves (immanent Trinity). Here speculative theology
confronts Mystery. The preference here is Rahner's presentation of
the immanent Trinity as being the economic Trinity (Divine persons
as they are revealed and act in salvation history). To better
understand this economic revelation as it applies to us has deep
meaning; to extrapolate from our understanding of social groupings
and community to speculate about the divine community is not of
immediate interest -- maybe some day in heaven. Through God's
marvelous acts, through Christ's forgiveness, mercy and love, and
through the inspiration of the Spirit we discover the Triune God in
our lives -- a personal awareness of divine presence encouraging us
to act. In community, WE are drawn, not through pure speculation
but through an invitation, to a deeper relationship of love
embracing God and neighbor -- human, animal, plant, Earth itself.

Depths of bonding. At the heart of this love affair with our
God, WE sense the vagueness of "Mystery beyond" becoming Mystery
within (now capitalized) and an intersubjective relationship
growing -- not from God's part but from ours. The invitation to
Baptism and entry into God's family opens us to the Consecrated WE,
a believing body of people radically sharing ourselves as God
radically shares Godself with us. This bonding is real, fragile,
worthy of respect, and in need of ongoing nourishment by the Bread
of Life. God relates to us as subject to subject through a
creative intimacy, through our being within the Body of Christ and
temples of the Holy Spirit. As our awareness grows, we sense a
movement to a "mystical union," a growing together of subject and
subject. It is akin to what Martin Buber calls the "Between" or
the common space between two persons in conversation; this lasts
as long as people are in contact (Reference: Martin Buber, I and
Thou, trans. Roland G. Smith (New York: Scribner's, 1970)). We
have space between ourselves as humans, or between us and plants
and animals, the ecological WE. At another level, WE seek to
narrow the distance between the Mystery beyond and ourselves, which
is realized in the Consecrated WE: closeness to the Lord; entrance
into the Divine Family; God as personalized Mystery within.

Subjectivity grows with time. We grow in our relationships
with others. The more our human intersubjectivity grows, the more
WE are in tune with all creation. Thus human-human relations grow
as exemplified in the love within a perfect marriage. But our
relations extend to the deeper sense of Mystery in our lives and so
our relations with God grow through prayer and dialogue -- and
paradoxically, also grow with our more intimate loving bonds with
all levels of being. All assist us in our growth process, for WE
are in process. Do we first know about these relationships and
then come to act, or in acting do our relationships deepen in some
way? Life is not either/or, but both/and. An interactivity of
knowledge and love occurs and through this deepening interactivity
we advance in acting in a godly manner; this is not merely moments
of growth (growth events), but process within salvation history.

God-World Relationship. Our growth in relationship with God
is not a movement towards God in the sense of an amalgamation, a
melting into pure uniformity. From all levels of bonding we find
distinctions between the subjects and the expanding relationships.
The movement closer to God is not "blending" into God through some
sort of "objective immortality" (all actions become part of God's
own experience but individuals lose independent status or
"subjective immortality"). Instead, just as we respect the
distinct existence of other subjects in our relationships, so we
have confidence through divine revelation and Christ's loving
promise that God respects our distinct existence. This is a
component of eschatology in our final months. Our unique
distinctness is a point of stability; our growing relationships are
part of the process of salvation. Joe Bracken's distinction of
God, being immanent in the world and the world being immanent in
God without loss of either independent status, avoids both
pantheism and pancosmism. This "genuinely panentheistic
understanding of God-world relationship will only be achieved if
one thinks of God and the world as interpenetrating fields of
activity with the field proper of creation contained within the
larger field of the divine intentional activity" (Reference:
Joseph Bracken, Society and Spirit: A Trinitarian Cosmology (London
and Toronto: Associated University Presses, 1991), p. 159).

Restlessness/Peace dialectic. Several times (August and
September) we have proposed that restlessness is a characteristic
of Earthhealers as energizing enthusiasm. As we delve into God's
relationship to us, we are at first disturbed that this does not
bring quietism but deeper restlessness, A person who is perfectly
comfortable in the present world situation is disillusioned.
Restlessness stems from the urgency of the times, the cries of the
hungry, the perceived distance we still are from God, the shortness
of time to do what must be done, and the fact we are imperfect. We
find some comfort in telling God in prayer after a certain action
that "We have done our best." It brings a peace of soul underlying
all we do in the short-term, for doing the best is consoling -- but
soon the long-term restlessness returns. Our restlessness is part
of our journey in life; thus it is not allayed but understood; we
are restless through concern for others, Earth; we are restless
for the return of Christ; we are restless for the fullness of
God's presence and our perfect communion with the Divine.

        C. ACTIONS

        1. Forgive Polluters?

Environmental degradation occurs in our world and some are
more to blame than others whether individuals or agencies. To fail
to check such degradation through silence, oversight, or
insensitivity is condoning injustice and is the very opposite of
radical sharing -- for environmental destruction is ultimately
taking from the commons. A forgiving attitude must never be
confused with permissiveness. Remember our March model of Jesus as
perfect ecologist who says, "Woe to you scribes and pharisees." He
means what he says. Do we accept our baptismal role of being
prophetic, along with being priestly and kingly? Are we willing to
speak frankly and direct our remarks to the culprits themselves?

Precondition to forgiveness. Directly addressing culprits
whether individual or corporate agents doing or condoning injustice
is a pre-condition for the act of forgiving. We must make these
individuals (corporations cannot) see their faults and desire to
improve and accept responsibility for their current acts. Radical
sharing on our part involves shaking the curtain of silence and
being willing to confront another, abandoning our sense of security
and good will. We need to share the commons -- land, sea and air -
- which belong to all the people and not to a privileged few who
perpetuate oppression of people and Earth. At times we must speak.

Direct address. A forgiving heart knows when to speak softly
and mercifully. We cannot talk to corporations that are not true
persons devoid of interpersonal relations, but tools of society.
You cannot preach to a sledge hammer. When the corporation has
been misused, it needs to be either reformed or its existence
terminated -- for it exists at the will of the people. Such
actions are not worthy of forgiveness but pertain to basic justice.
Some of us are uncomfortable in addressing corporate practices
though it is certainly necessary. And it could be done in a
variety of ways, some more effective than others.

Dialectical method. Jon Sobrino says that theological
discourse is necessarily more dialectical than analogical.
Dialectical cognition knows things in their dissimilarity, unlike
analogical cognition which knows things in their likeness to
created reality. The dialectical contrary is known by the
structures of oppression as lived experience. Thus one's encounter
with God consists in these realities of oppression, pain and
injustice, opposite that of liberation, life and justice, and
demands a transformation of present reality (Reference: Victorio
Araya, God of the Poor: The Mystery of God in Latin American
Liberation Theology, (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 1988), p. 31).
Effective confrontation may involve the dialectical approach and is
a matter of justice and portrayal of acts of injustice. Actually
the vivid presentation is ultimately a matter of charity to both
victim and culprit. Direct confrontation through organized
protests portray this method quite vividly.

    2. A Green "Our Father"

In an atmosphere of forgiveness we reflect on the prayer that
makes forgiving a key component in our relation to God -- the "Our
Father" (Matthew 6:9-13). Since this is a communal prayer, it is
more fitting to use "we" as the emerging Earthhealing community.
I cannot change the world alone. We can. We praise, beg, confess
and thank God all in one short prayer, the very best.

Our Father, in heaven -- These words take into consideration
the God who directs and guides our family, who created this vast
universe and who is a loving God who wants us to help usher in the
kingdom of peace and justice.
May your name be held holy -- The holy name is given not only
in and among people, but also among all the plants and animals of
creation. Making all the more holy what is already so is part of
an ongoing revelation of which we are part.
Your kingdom come -- The New Heavens and the New Earth are
connected, and are already beginning to appear. We are called to
halt the deterioration of the Earth, to help with the healing
process, and to bring on God's kingdom of a New Heaven and New
Earth.
Your will be done on Earth as in Heaven -- It is the will of
God expressed in the Scriptures that our world will flourish and
all people will have a just share of resources and a proper quality
of life.
Give us today our daily bread -- So many of the world (current
estimates at 850,000,000) are without the basic needs for the day.
Can we worthily receive communion, if so many are without the
necessities of life? Can we solve ecological problems without
addressing all justice issues? Can we hoard when others have empty
pantries?
And forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven those who are in
debt to us -- We need to ask forgiveness for the debts we have
incurred due to our use of world resources. This becomes an
awesome moment for we come to grips with ourselves and our ability
to forgive. Within the process of forgiving do we experience God's
forgiveness? And in this atmosphere of forgiveness do we find our
true conditions, our wasteful consumer practices and our
insensitivity to the needs of others? And are we taking our first
faltering steps towards improvement?
And do not put us to the test -- Most of us are tempted by the
addictive consumer products all around us. We are tempted to take
the easy way and become wanton consumers in this world of scarcity
-- and the consumer culture weakens our collective sense of
togetherness by fragmenting us and leading us to act selfishly.
But save us from the evil one -- The deterioration of the Earth
involves various forms of evil: human greed, selfishness, and
insensitivity -- the very personification of pervasive evil in the
world around us. We need God's help at this time to be free, to
halt the destruction of the environment, and to bring on a sense of
hope for all people. We pray to be properly confrontational
without succumbing to the evil we seek to expose. Finally we pray
that amid evil we retain our hope and enthusiasm.

    3. Discerning Correct Communal Decisions (Part II)

Having overcome barriers that divide us, we look more deeply
into communal discernment. The goal for activists ultimately
involves improved service to, for and among others. To accomplish
this goal we need to take time and discern together joint Earth-
healing actions. We all recognize that individual limitations can
hold us back and so we reach out for like-minded folks to come
together in mutual support. The following are areas of
consideration:

Possible areas of action -- Too often people expect that they
can do more than reasonably possible given limited resources. All
the choices that could be undertaken should be spelled out in
detail by the various proponents. Which course of activity will
make the greater impact given the groups limited resources? Do the
Earth-healing team's physical circumstances (age, experience,
disabilities, and availability) present any obstacles or benefits
to the final choice? What is the anticipated degree of success of
the course of action?

Possible facilitator -- Just as it is important to have a
spiritual companion when one makes individual decisions, so a
qualified and impartial facilitator may be needed within a communal
discernment process. It is possible to conduct the process without
such a person (one trusted and chosen from within the group can so
act), but the importance of the course of action may justify the
investment of resources needed to engage an outside facilitator.

Proper place and time -- Meetings at a stated time and place
should be accessible and convenient. An ideal ecological setting
may prove helpful but not absolutely necessary.

Structure of the process -- Participants should divide the
time into segments. In the first segment treat only the positive
(or negative) aspects of a specific proposed action; then take
time to reflect and pray and treat only negative (or positive)
aspects. During these treatments there should be no discussion of
pros or cons, although clarification is allowed. Open discussion
should not take place until all the positive and negative reasons
and substantiating information have been brought into the open.
Only after some more prayer and private reflection should a general
discussion of all points occur. Small group discussions should not
be encouraged for the person's choice should be his or her own.

Consensus. Sometimes complete and impartial consensus cannot
be reached and additional steps must be taken. It may be necessary
to repeat the process, obtain a new facilitator or incorporate more
members, preparation, or time into the decision-making process. At
this point an open airing of what causes the indecision may be in
order. A second vote may lead to a consensus or near so, which
would satisfy the group.

The Difference between a True and a False Conclusion. If a
consensus or near consensus is reached, one may still wish to test
whether this the correct course of action. The following are
indicators:

* An overall good feeling of peace on the part of all. Each
realizes that the action is beyond pure self interest and is driven
by the inner movement of the Spirit;
* A seriousness in the matter, respect for other members and
reluctance on the part of all for fear of being unworthy for the
task at hand;
* Recognition of possession of a gift, a power, an
opportunity, and an awareness of working for a greater movement and
thus seeing the importance of this particular action;
* Clear perception of the current condition of the problem
area and where it is heading in the foreseeable future. The group
or individuals do not pretend to be fortune-tellers or predictors
of the future, for it is uncertain as to how the events will
proceed, since these depend on the decisions of participants and
others;
* A willingness to risk expressing this matter openly to
others for feedback, and a willingness to live with the
consequences;
* Finally, a moral sense that the emphasis must be on fidelity
to the ultimate goals rather than on the personal success of one or
other party.

Own results. The impact of the course of action may be
enhanced or diminished depending the decision-making team's
confidence and ability to publicize results in a meaningful
fashion.

Failure. Characteristics of an imperfect discernment may be
self-centeredness, a quest for personal gain and self-interest,
desire to be regarded as an authority, a false sense of confidence,
disregard for others (racial, economic, political, etc.), desire
for material success and peer acceptance, a person who is mean
spirited, and a reluctance for any firm spiritual commitment.

Multiple choices. It is quite possible that two or more
courses of action may be determined even after a sincere discerning
process. A clear division of opinion may result in the parties
realigning into two or more respective teams. This may be the
successful result obtained through clarifying issues and a
willingness to sponsor multiple courses of action.

Negative insight. Another conclusion may be that the team
cannot function as such for lack of leadership, spirit or
resources. Again, if all retain their enthusiasm and simply take
it elsewhere, the result could be the betterment of ultimate
service. The discernment could still have been successful, only
the final product was not a specific action.


            SUMMARY: PROPER COMMUNAL ACTIONS

The fullness of the harvest season involves our complete
participation. Through the Church springs sacramental life that
makes us a Consecrated WE capable of forming a catalytic corps of
earthhealers. The glue of such a group is the spirit of
forgiveness. Our loving and merciful God offers this forgiveness
to us and we, in turn, share forgiveness with others. In so doing
we are more able to clear the way for the Earthhealing process to
work without resorting to incrimination and friction.

We thus enter through Baptism into the saving of Earth and all
inhabitants; we become conscious of being participants in
salvation history; we have a privileged position in which we are
to say "yes" to the Spirit in the manner in which Mary said "yes"
during the incarnation event. The ongoing vocational call
mentioned before (January) is not so much new as intensified
through a consecrated HERE, NOW and WE as part of Christ's Body,
the Church, icon of the Trinity. Thus the pattern in which the
Triune God works in the world becomes our manner of procedure.

Gradually our awareness that God shares radically with us
through the coming of the Son and the inspiration of the Spirit
grows, and we know that thus we must share radically with others.
The communal God radically sharing Godself becomes the model for
our action both on an individual level and on the global level
where radical sharing means promoting and encouraging international
initiatives that will control malpractice and institute eco-justice
for all. The concrete suggestions are not exhaustive. Our noted
areas of concern manifest the need for a radical sharing of power
by the more powerful -- thus indicating that American Earthhealers
have their work cut out for them.

But we do not stop here. We look at the nature of being
related to others for we must strengthen our bonds of sharing if we
are to heal the Earth. We have gradually become aware that we live
in multifaceted and interlocking communities of beings and that the
bonds of the lower levels are analogous to those on a higher one.
We establish bonding with Earth, with plants, animals and other
human beings and to some degree we await the response of these
communities to our own invitation. As teammates in healing we take
on a deeper role as a WE that begins to sense the God within and
then through Baptism becomes the consecrated WE needed to
revitalize and act as catalyst for the healing of Earth.

We as catalysts of change and as vowed through Baptism to be
the consecrated WE see the importance of forgiveness, teamwork and
communion with the Lord. Something more should be added related to
a consecrated HERE and NOW. Due to the urgency of the times (NOW)
Jesus sends his disciples with an emphasis on mobility found
through lack of encumbrance (extra equipment) and a basic poverty,
that is, take only what is needed with you. Stay in the place and
do the work and then move on if not welcomed (HERE). Amazingly,
Jesus speaks of catalysts in his teachings, for yeast is a
biological catalyst producing enzymatic action. A catalyst is an
agent of change strategically placed in order to hasten the
process, and that is what we mean by the consecrated HERE and NOW.
Thus communion with the Lord, mobility and strategic position are
the main ingredients for effective agents of change --
Earthhealers.

We will next seek to tackle two final aspects of our mission:
the promised goal of a New Heaven and New Earth (November) and a
realistic look at the final or eschatological happenings
(December), where all things are drawn through Christ to a final
culmination of our mission.
 

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