The Church needs to publicly reclaim her long held respect for God's gift of creation by replacing the secularized celebration of Earth Day with the long held sacred celebration of Ember Days.
Pope Benedict XVI is leading the way to something close to this with his focus on the Church's teaching regarding the environment as part of her social doctrine. As with all Church teachings, the pope is not presenting any new teaching but helping the faithful realize the treasure of her deposit of faith. And the teachings are lived out in the liturgical life of the Church.
From the earliest times of the Church, she has set aside certain days for the faithful to give thanks to God for the blessings of creation. These days are called Ember Days, days of fasting from vintage and days of moderation from bounty. In the context of Christian ecology, one might look at fasting and moderation as today's conserving and recycling. But unlike today's Earth Day, the Ember Days keep our proper focus on the source of our natural resources, namely God. Through prayerful and sacrificial acts, we are not only conserving what God has provided, but directing our actions toward the Creator. Instead of devoting the world's attention to how humans take from nature, the Church calls our attention to how we should prudently moderate our just use of natural resources. Perhaps focusing on the good that God has given and our just use of those natural gifts, we might courageously cherish and care for the environment. This is the beauty of Ember Days.
To reclaim the Ember Days over and against Earth Day is to reclaim our responsibility as God's stewards of creation. Instead of looking out for our "carbon footprint" maybe we first need to see God's handiwork. Maybe then today's green will be tomorrow's ember.
Pope Benedict XVI is leading the way to something close to this with his focus on the Church's teaching regarding the environment as part of her social doctrine. As with all Church teachings, the pope is not presenting any new teaching but helping the faithful realize the treasure of her deposit of faith. And the teachings are lived out in the liturgical life of the Church.
From the earliest times of the Church, she has set aside certain days for the faithful to give thanks to God for the blessings of creation. These days are called Ember Days, days of fasting from vintage and days of moderation from bounty. In the context of Christian ecology, one might look at fasting and moderation as today's conserving and recycling. But unlike today's Earth Day, the Ember Days keep our proper focus on the source of our natural resources, namely God. Through prayerful and sacrificial acts, we are not only conserving what God has provided, but directing our actions toward the Creator. Instead of devoting the world's attention to how humans take from nature, the Church calls our attention to how we should prudently moderate our just use of natural resources. Perhaps focusing on the good that God has given and our just use of those natural gifts, we might courageously cherish and care for the environment. This is the beauty of Ember Days.
To reclaim the Ember Days over and against Earth Day is to reclaim our responsibility as God's stewards of creation. Instead of looking out for our "carbon footprint" maybe we first need to see God's handiwork. Maybe then today's green will be tomorrow's ember.
