Ecology and our religious consciousness

Hello friends, Honesty demands that in the realm of doctrine, Christianity does not lend itself easily to becoming a nature spirituality. Ecology has hardly penetrated the shell of modern Christianity. The new challenge calls us far beyond recycling, or a few prayers for the earth at Mass, or turning the church garden into a bird sanctuary.

If we take the challenge seriously, it will cut to the roots of our religious consciousness. Even the famous Catholic doctrine about grace building on nature was about human nature, not about the nature of rivers, birds, and mountains. I write often about ecological concerns in my fourth poetry collection, Interbeing, and you can find more about my books by clicking on the links to the right. Best, Gene

Creation as Home

“But it is inhuman now to miss one’s home,” the disciples protested.
To which the master said: “You cease to be in exile when you discover
that creation is your home.”  from One Minute Wisdom, Anthony de Mello

Many religious people see themselves exiled from God,
who will accept them only after a life of obeying rules.

Yet our era calls us to embrace a suffering earth,
while fires and floods portend the coming chaos.

It’s too complex for us, we say, leave it to scientists,
as we stay distracted by the shiny toys of modernity.

Even church services leave us unconscious of global death
from our exhaust pipes and other poisons.

We remain ignorant that our true home
lies under our feet in the leaves of fall.

That struck me today as I fed the birds
and caught a glimpse of my favorite ginko,

sun-yellowed, leaning toward a new garden
of boardwalks, carefully placed stones and plantings.

This design carries my twenty-year-old home
to new beauty, welcoming me from inside and out.