Celebrating creation                                                                               

This spring, if you feel the special joy of seeing the budding of trees and the blooming of flowers, if you plant seeds in waiting soil, if you tend a garden or appreciate the smell of the earth after a warm rain, you are participating in Catholic social teaching! Care for God’s Creation is one of the basic principles of our faith. We are called to be good stewards of the earth and all its creatures. Caring for and respecting our earthly home is a sacred trust. Appreciating the glory of creation is coupled with the care and respect for all creation.
Here are some practical ways you can carry out this responsibility:

• Read and reflect on the creation story (Genesis 1: 1-31)
• Conserve natural resources, curbing wastefulness
• Avoid polluting
• Recycle
• Don’t litter
• Question over-consumption
• Use environmental friendly cleansers
• Compost your leaves
• Turn off the lights when you leave the room
• Run dishwasher and washing machine only when full
• Re-use gift boxes you receive
• Use fabric napkins
• Give up Styrofoam
• Use organic pesticides only
• Take a 5-minute shower instead of a bath, saving up to 13 gallons of water
• Use a glass of water instead of the tap when brushing your teeth or shaving
• Save up to 80 percent of electricity using energy saving light bulbs
• Re-use plastic bags at the grocery store; just keep them in your car
• Advocate for a just distribution of resources.

Keeping promises                                                                           

• You visit a friend or neighbor in a nursing home;
• you bring a meal over to a family who has just brought home a baby;
• you write to your member of Congress and advocate for laws that will provide healthcare for children;
• you contact the governor and voice your concern for the abolishment of capital punishment;
• you order Fair Trade Coffee when dining out;
• you recycle;
• you pay fair wages to employees.

All of these actions are examples of people living out Catholic social teaching. In many ways Catholic social teaching can be summed up in a single statement: Love God and love your neighbor.  It is as simple as it is profound. As Catholics, we are challenged to live fully the life of faith. This is not an option for us, but a promise we make at baptism and renew at confirmation. Promises come with both rights and responsibilities. Let’s look at some of the basics of Catholic social teaching and how living this message shapes our lives and our world. The American bishops have outlined seven basic Catholic social teaching themes: The life and dignity of the human person; call to family, community and participation; rights and responsibilities of the human person; option for and with the poor and vulnerable, dignity of work and rights of workers; and finally, solidarity and care of God’s creation.

In the coming months we will examine these principles and how we can integrate them as conscious parts of our lives. We do make a difference; we want this difference to be for good and to make God’s love and light more present in our world. If you are ready to consider this topic more fully right away, simply go to the Web at erieRCD.org and click on Catholic Charities. Scroll down to Parish Social Ministry/ Respect Life for links to both the Parish Care and Concern newsletter and the monthly Justice and Peace/Respect Life bulletin. If you wish to be placed on the mailing list call 814.824.1254.