Home by Yan Arthus-Bertrand

It is appalling to know that 20% of the earth's population consumes 80% of its resources.

Does this not point to our selfishness and greed?

Yet, there are solutions and there are people who are making a difference in the way we live on this earth.

Change the way you live.

Where is it in the CCC?

For all or hard core Catholics out there, we may be very keen to find out where is 'Caring for Creation' stated in our CCC or Cathecism of the Catholic Church?

The Catechism of the Catholic Church

Respect for the integrity of creation

2415 The seventh commandment [thou shalt not steal] enjoins respect for the integrity of creation. Animals, like plants and inanimate beings, are by nature destined for the common good of past, present, and future humanity. Use of the mineral, vegetable, and animal resources of the universe cannot be divorced from respect for moral imperatives. Man's dominion over inanimate and other living beings granted by the Creator is not absolute; it is limited by concern for the quality of life of his neighbor, including generations to come; it requires a religious respect for the integrity of creation.

2416 Animals are God's creatures. He surrounds them with his providential care. By their mere existence they bless him and give him glory. Thus men owe them kindness. We should recall the gentleness with which saints like St. Francis of Assisi or St. Philip Neri treated animals.

2417 God entrusted animals to the stewardship of those whom he created in his own image. 197 Hence it is legitimate to use animals for food and clothing. They may be domesticated to help man in his work and leisure. Medical and scientific experimentation on animals is a morally acceptable practice if it remains within reasonable limits and contributes to caring for or saving human lives.

2418 It is contrary to human dignity to cause animals to suffer or die needlessly. It is likewise unworthy to spend money on them that should as a priority go to the relief of human misery. One can love animals; one should not direct to them the affection due only to persons.


Clearly we are called to be gentle and respect towards nature yet at the same time, not be nature-worshippers. We can be aware of our consumerism, go out to parks and appreciate nature, treat all living creatures as brothers and sisters, but never place them in a position that is higher than the Creator Himself.

In 2418, it also states clearly the need not to over-spend our resources on animals but to also channel those resources to help people from their oppression or suffering. Unfortunately, this can be interpreted very differntly from people who choose to see an opportunity to exploit nature.

With this knowledge with you, how are you going to respond?

Happy Earth Day!

I'm currently helping the Society of Conservation Biology, Religion and Conservation Biology Working group. We are compiling a set of notes to inform conservation biologists and religious figures on the role of faith in conserving our natural world. While preparing my research, I stumbled upon a website called Catholic Climate Covenant. It really seems to me that the Church is taking its green issues seriously! Pretty amazing how far we have come... but we still have a long long way to go!



If you are thinking of what to do for Earth Day, why not start by taking the St Francis pledge!

These are the aims and purposes of the St Francis pledge:

The St. Francis Pledge is a promise and a commitment by Catholic individuals, families, parishes, organizations and institutions to live our faith by protecting God’s Creation and advocating on behalf of people in poverty who face the harshest impacts of global climate change. To join the Covenant, you commit to act on each of the five elements of the St. Francis Pledge.

I/We Pledge to:

* PRAY and reflect on the duty to care for God’s Creation and protect the poor and vulnerable.
* LEARN about and educate others on the causes and moral dimensions of climate change.
* ASSESS how we-as individuals and in our families, parishes and other affiliations-contribute to climate change by our own energy use, consumption, waste, etc.
* ACT to change our choices and behaviors to reduce the ways we contribute to climate change.
* ADVOCATE for Catholic principles and priorities in climate change discussions and decisions, especially as they impact those who are poor and vulnerable.

CATHOLICS GO GREEN!

O, and if you happen to be on facebook, I invite you to join this group called Catholics Go Green! I will post information on the Church's teachings on ecology and the environment. :)

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On a personal side...

I was praying in the adoration room last night and I felt that God was cautioning me to not lose sight of what I am doing all this for. I fear I may be too caught up with my own personal agendas and take too much pride or seek popularity in what I do. That is definitely not what I want, and I seek God's graces to purify my intentions and lead me in this cause/ belief that I have. That all I do, may be for the glory of God.

:)

Climbing Mt. Kinabalu

Last week, a group of us from St Francis Xavier Church went on a Mt. Kinabalu climbing expedition in Sabah. Personally, I have scaled the mountain twice but only managed to reach the peak on the first try. I succumbed to altitude sickness on the second attempt and had to be content reaching the half-way point Sayat-Sayat. That was when I was 17 years old and was there with a group from the VJC Odac. I felt very disappointed and a little upset with myself, but I recalled looking at the mountain and telling myself that I will be back to conquer it again.




And conquer it I did.



Along the way, I did manage to see a wide variety of amazing mosses, plants, orchids, picther plants and also some animal life like birds, squirrels and a very quick tree shrew. Amazing! I was simply soaking up the beauty of creation all around me and even managed to capture the endemic Giant earthworm and Giant Leech of Mt Kinabalu on film!

I need to figure a way to use flicker so that all of you can access the pictures easily online. :)

Thank you Lord for the beauty of the mountain and for granting our team a safe and enjoyable trip to Mt. Kinabalu. I praise you for all creatures big and small that we have encountered and am awed by the wonder of your creation.

Inspirational!

After watching so many presentations showing forests disappear over time, watching forests emerge over time is a wonderful change.



What an inspiration!

of cute animals and francis the musical

My cell group decided to act out various scenes of St. Francis of Assisi last Sunday. It was riotous fun! :) I had the brief opportunity to speak before my community and talk a about Franciscan spirituality towards Caring for Creation. It was quite a pity that I did not read more and prepare my presentation well. I just had an information overload and did not know where exactly to begin! So I did a sketchy introduction to the concepts and principles behind environmental concerns in the Catholic Church.

The next time, I vow to do better.

Just like to share a picture of some uber-cute elephant seals from the National Geographic photo-of-the-day!



The next time I will try to upload the video of our skit! ;p hilarious!!

A lovely walk in the garden

The 'Care for Creation' book club went for a nice walk around the Singapore Botanic Gardens and got to discover a little more about the rainforest ecosystem within the Botanic Gardens.

We started at 8.30am at the Tanglin entrance of the Singapore Botanic Gardens and were enchanted by a Plantain Squirrel Callosciurus notatus.





After having some 'bao' brought by one of the Franciscan sisters, we made our way to the Rainforest Trail which was somewhere in the middle of the Singapore Botanic Gardens.



Along the way, we stopped by to admire anything which I could at least say
something about! ;p



Spotted a juvenile pigeon (I think!), resting on the branch of a Tembusu tree Fagrae fragans.



Learning more about Bird's Nest Ferns Asplenium nidus.



Initially I thought it was a flowering tree... but it was the Kapok tree Ceiba pentandra fruiting! We picked up little fluffs of white fibre with the seed attached within.



The Rainforest Trail! A little briefing beforehand and some pictures along the way...





The beautiful strangling fig tree.. We could hardly see the host tree from where we were standing. I spent a good 15 min sitting here absorbing in the quietness of the forests after the walk.





Could these be their figs?



A dipterocarp tree of the genus Shorea or meranti. Dipterocarp trees are characteristic of Southeast Asian forests and can grow up to 50 m in height! These majestic trees have very angular branching and a very straight trunk. Gorgeous!



After our time in the forest, we had a short time of prayer and reflection along Liana Road. I felt rather odd singing the 'Canticle of the Sun' in the forests, but after a while, I did enjoy the time of praise with my fellow sisters, giving thanks and praise to God for all that we have experienced through nature.

It was a good learning experience for me as well, on how to communicate to the public, how to conduct a tour outdoors (I guide in the museum so it's much easier when your animals don't move anymore...), how to talk to others and try my best in answering questions.

Thank you Lord for this lovely walk in your garden. :)

Toddycat walk 21st Feb 2009 Singapore Botanic Gardens

Are you interested in knowing more about nature in Singapore and learn more about rainforests in the region? How about connecting with them spiritually and caring for creation like St. Francis did?

The Care for Creation book club from CANA will be organising a field trip to the Singapore Botanic Gardens, to learn more about nature as well as understand the spirituality behind caring for creation.

If you are keen, feel free to join us!

Date:21st Feb 2009, Saturday
Time:8.30am - 12pm
Meet at:Entrance of Botanic Gardens (Tanglin side)

Contact me at my email if you are keen to make it! j_lee12@yahoo.com.sg

Looking forward to new people :)

Adoring the precious gifts of God's creations

Taken from Good News Refection (forwarded by a friend)

Adoring the precious gifts of God's creations



Photo credit: blakophoto

One of my patron saints is Francis of Assisi. He reminds me of what the first reading and the responsorial Psalm teach us: All creation is sacred. God made everything and declared it "good."

We don't worship creation, but by appreciating it and protecting it we worship the Creator. This is why St. Francis could genuflect before every person he met, even very un-Christian folks. He bowed to honor the creation God had made, no matter how unlike God the person behaved, and in so doing, he worshipped the Lord in every person.

Imagine what would happen if all of us starting doing this today and it became a new Christian fad! Respect for one another would increase dramatically. Eventually it would spread to produce a culture of respect even for the unborn and the elderly and the handicapped who seem to have no value in this world. Ahhh, but we're dreaming of the ideal. Let's look at the real, at what we CAN do.

All of creation is a reflection of God and an opportunity to worship him. Why waste time in front of the artificial world of the television screen when we can be delightfully entertained in our back yards watching the shows that God produces? They're all commercial-free!

For example, simple, little dew drops are far more enjoyable than early morning TV gossip shows. When the sun touches these tiny globes of water, they sparkle like shiny diamonds, and when God touches them with a gentle breeze, they glitter with bursts of rainbow colors. Each one is a precious gift from the Creator. God placed those dew drops there for our benefit! Sadly, we miss a lot of his shows. So many dew drops never get appreciated.

Well, that's not true. God sees every dew drop in the entire world, and he thoroughly enjoys watching them. He started entertaining himself with dew drops long before he created people who could appreciate them.

If he gets this delighted over simple dew drops, imagine how wonderfully happy he feels about you! You are far more delightful to him than mere bits of water. He smiles over every nice gesture, every kind deed, every helpful outreach, every use of your gifts and talents, even the tiniest ones. And when you do something that displeases him, he's still tickled by everything that's good about you.

As reflections of God, let's follow his example. Even if we don't genuflect when we meet his creations, we can silently (or not so silently) say, "Wow Lord!" in every encounter with people, with dew drops, and with all the gifts of creation through which he likes to delight us.


© 2009 by Terry A. Modica
For PERMISSION to copy any of my reflections, go to:
http://gogoodnews.net/DailyReflections/copyrights-DR.htm

Good News Reflection
Monday of the 5th Week in Ordinary Time
February 9, 2009

Today's Readings:
Gen 1:1-19
Ps 104:1-2a, 5-6, 10, 12, 24, 35c (with 31b)
Mark 6:53-56
http://www.usccb.org/nab/readings/020909.shtml
Audio:
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/09_02_09.mp3

not alone

I was at the major seminary at Punggol for a short retreat two weeks ago and had another 'revelation' in my relationship with creation. Major seminary at Punggol has beautiful natural surroundings, lots of trees, birds, beautiful sky and lots of space to roam around and be reflective.

During one of the evenings, I was sitting at the basketball court, doing my quiet time. After my reflection, I thought about doing what St. Francis did, speak to the birds and trees, and sky and sun, and addressing them as my brothers and sisters in Christ. It seemed pretty wacky at that time, but gradually I learned to appreciate each creature for what it is.. thanking the birds for their beautiful sounds, thanking the trees for providing cool shade, thanking the sun for his warmth, the wind for his comforting touch..

And it just occurred to me that I am not alone wherever I go. Even if I'm standing on the hills of England or trekking through the forests in Malaysia, I can always feel a sense of solidarity and shared kinship with creation all around. I guess that's God's way of telling me that I am not alone on this earth. He walks with me, and creation is His way of showing His presence. I am never alone.

Have you spoken to brother sun or sister moon today? :)

Jean-Michel Cousteau Ocean adventures

I had the opportunity to watch this documentary on National Geographic channel today. If you missed it, don't worry! Catch part 2 next Wed!

The focus was on the marine nature parks off the coasts of America. As I was watching the documentary and beautiful footage of coral reefs, fishes, dolphins, whales... I could not help but feel absolutely in awe of nature. There was this particular scene where they filmed a leatherback turtle (one of the largest and most endangered in the world) laying her eggs on the beach and returning to the sea at day break. The sight of the largest living sea turtle being reclaimed by the ocean at dawn was simply breathtaking and if it was so beautiful a moment for me in my living room, I can't imagine what the videographer must have felt watching this scene before his or her eyes.

Just watching scene after scene of magical moments on TV, dolphins jumping in front of the ship, humpback whales flipping out of the water, thousands of eggs and sperms spawned from coral reefs... all these instilled within me a great awe and wonder for God's creation. Perhaps this sense of awe and wonder is but a small fraction of what we will experience when we see God face-to-face. It is an opportunity, to recoginse Him and appreciate Him for His creation, and an opportunity for us to be reminded of our responsibilities as stewards of this earth, to protect this beauty in nature for future generations to love and respect.

When was the last time you were in awe of God's creation?



Humback whale