“LAUDATO SI”

Last five years ago the Pope had released an encyclical letter, that is addressed

to the people of the world, intitled “Laudato Si”, that means praise be to you my lord,

from the canticle of saint Francis of Assisi. this letter is not only to be read and ignore

but it is an awakening letter of what is happening right now in our environment, the

abuses the utilitarian way of the large businesses that cause our home to deplete, and

the lack of discipline of each individual, that cause pollution and waste , climate

change , water contamination and access , and the depletion of natural resources.

According to Pope Francis we are not indifferent with each other, not in physicality but it

is in the fact that we are all created by God and this environment is our common home,

and it is in our hand to give protection to the environment. This document is an appeal

and the urging of the pope that there is really a need to protect our home, because of

the threat of climate change and he believe and hope that this document will help the

humanity to bring back the harmony between the man as the caretaker and the mother

earth.

Pope Francis started his letter with the Franciscan spirituality, and for me he is

right. Earth as our home indeed is a gift from God. Our mother earth needs us and in

return we need her the more. But now our mother earth is crying and in harm because

of the irresponsible use and abused of the goods that God has given to her. The core

of “Laudato Si” was the call to listen to the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.

Following St. Francis of Assisi, he speaks of the earth as our sister ‘who cries out to us

because of the harm we have inflicted on her.’ He speaks of the poor calling out to us

for justice and a share at the table. It is difficult to separate ourselves to the world, most
especially the poor. So, the pope argued that When we fail to acknowledge… the worth

of a poor person, a human embryo, a person with disabilities…it becomes difficult to

hear the cry of nature itself (no.117). A sense of deep communion with the rest of nature

cannot be real if our hearts lack…concern for our fellow human beings (no. 91).

Pope Francis argues that in our reflection on the environment, we must make

central the connection between the cry of the poor and the cry of the earth. If we pollute

and neglect the earth and fray the relationships that keep it fertile and sustaining, we

trigger the droughts in which poor people starve and pollute the waters that they drink. If

we neglect and exploit the poor, we trigger illnesses that plague our cities and destroy

our economies. As what happened recently in our country the Corona virus, flooding

and the strong typhoon. Who suffered a lot? Who are the victims? Majority of the are

the poor, that has no access to the modern world, those who are left by the fast phase

of development of the world.

Today we are put into a miserable and chaotic world were the typhoon the

natural calamities are more devastating compared from the past history. Maybe this is

the way of the of the earth to cleanse herself from the rubbish that man has piled in her,

as what pope Francis is telling that every year hundreds of tons of waste are generated,

much of it is non-biodegradable, highly toxic, and radioactive. That cause the earth our

home to be look like an immense pile of filth (no.21). the things that outlived their

usefulness is being throwaway instead of recycled and reused. With this the pope

argues that this filth the pollution causes harm to the people most especially the poor.

The Pope also argued that this problem is closely linked to the throw away culture. 1A

widespread mentality that treats everything as disposable, irreplaceable, and temporary.

1
https://www.micatholic.org/advocacy/focus/2020/on-care-for-our-common-home-reflecting-on-laudato-si.pdf
With this mentality the natural cycle of the ecosystem is destroyed. For example, the

food chain. 2 Food chain refers to a sequence or chain of organisms existing in a natural

community in which each link of the chain feeds on the one below and is eaten by the

one above. With the advent of the industrial system, many cycles had been stopped,
3
and the natural production are ended and replaced by industrial waste. However, he

also points out that the throwaway culture “affects the excluded [person] just as it

quickly reduces things to rubbish” (no. 21, emphasis added). Relationships are easily

abandoned, and for many in society, an individual’s worth is viewed as inextricably

linked to their achievements or perceived usefulness. This type of attitude is troubling,

as it ignores the inherent dignity that each person is afforded because he or she is a

child of God. For the faithful, respecting the value of each person—from conception until

natural death—is an integral part of the daily lives of Catholics. The ability to practice

this respect in every encounter with others will inevitably impact the way human beings

treat the environment, as the natural world is a gift from God.

There is also one thing that I want to give emphasis in the letter of the pope. That

there is melancholy to see that the resources and goods are being consumed many

resources had been abuse, but still the issue about poverty is not tampered. The poor

becomes poorer and the rich which are few becomes very rich. Many of the resources

are easy to be consumed but takes time to be replaced. many of us are great

consumer, most especially in well developed countries. consuming without making an

effort of helping the world to maintain the resources not making it extinct. We must

2
Environmental Science
3
https://www.micatholic.org/advocacy/focus/2020/on-care-for-our-common-home-reflecting-on-laudato-si.pdf
(page3)
inculcate to the young generation to learn to be sensitive from what is happening in our

environment, we must have the mentality which people should learn how to value

ecological sensitivity and generous spirit…, in making admirable efforts to protect our

environment (no.209). The pope also argued that material things and pleasures in this

world are not enough to give meaning, and joy to the human heart, yet they cannot give

up what the markets sets before them. As what the pope said it a big challenged for the

developed countries to change their consumer habits. It is true to say that people who

are enjoying their life and live better each moment, are those who have given up dipping

here and there, always on the look for what they do not have. With this statement of the

Pope I was put to a deep realization, that the true key to happiness is to learn how to

accept things, and be contented of what I have. No matter how rich and famous you are

if you don’t know how to be satisfied and contented, you will thirst for more, to the point

you are out of your limitation.

I also agree with the Pope when he speaks about the need of education or an

awareness, with regards to the issue. There is really a need for educating the young in

terms of the environment, the covenant between the humanity and the environment. By

this as child being aware of what will happen if he/she ignore the cry of the mother

earth, he/she will grow with an awareness that chaos and catastrophe will be

experienced if there is continual degradation and abuses of the people to the mother

earth. With this little effort there could spring from the young, the love and care for the

environment.

Being a seminarian, I am called to live this vocation, a vocation which is to be an

advocate of taking care of the mother earth. As what pope argued that we are called to
live this vocation, each community should learn to value and protect our own home, in

order to ensure its fruitfulness for the coming generation. It is a challenge for us as a

servant of God to be the first to make an act, and to show people that we care for the

environment. To live the vocation that is entitled to us. Our actions should conform in

the teachings of church and one of them is to protect the creation of God.

With this I was put into a realization, and put me into the state of reflecting

on my actions towards taking care of mother earth. There are questions that pop-up in

my mind. First is, do I render this service to the poor? what measures am I doing in

order to protect God’s creation? What lifestyle must I change, to conform my actions in

combating this particular milieu? Am I a person who is consuming more than I need? Do

I consider the poor in my everyday living? There are lot of questions that struck me.

Questions that is telling me that I have to do more, if I will put it in a Filipino context,

“marami pa akong kakaining bigas”. This will be a challenge for me even doing the

simplest thing here in the seminary, like, the proper disposal of the waste, to be creative

in recycling of the non-biodegradable materials such as bottles, plastics, etc.

Being an advocate of taking care of the mother earth, we must start within

ourselves, to be sensitive to the cry of the nature. To be aware of the proper disposal of

the waste, to be less consumerism, to replace the goods that takes time to reproduce,

like trees. As what Pope is saying “Living our vocation to be protectors of God’s

handiwork is essential to a life of virtue; it is not an optional or a secondary aspect of our

Christian experience.” (No. 217).

“REACTION PAPER IN LAUDATO SI”

BY: SEM. JOHN PAUL M. GONZALES

In partial fulfillment in the subject:

ENVIRONMENTAL PHILOSOPHY

San Lorenzo Ruiz Seminary, Poctoy, Odiongan, Romblon.

December 7, 2020