Posted on 06/18/2015 9:07:16 AM PDT by FourtySeven
222. Christian spirituality proposes an alternative understanding of the quality of life, and encourages a prophetic and contemplative lifestyle, one capable of deep enjoyment free of the obsession with consumption. We need to take up an ancient lesson, found in different religious traditions and also in the Bible. It is the conviction that “less is more”. A constant flood of new consumer goods can baffle the heart and prevent us from cherishing each thing and each moment. To be serenely present to each reality, however small it may be, opens us to much greater horizons of understanding and personal fulfilment. Christian spirituality proposes a growth marked by moderation and the capacity to be happy with little. It is a return to that simplicity which allows us to stop and appreciate the small things, to be grateful for the opportunities which life affords us, to be spiritually detached from what we possess, and not to succumb to sadness for what we lack. This implies avoiding the dynamic of dominion and the mere accumulation of pleasures.
223. Such sobriety, when lived freely and consciously, is liberating. It is not a lesser life or one lived with less intensity. On the contrary, it is a way of living life to the full. In reality, those who enjoy more and live better each moment are those who have given up dipping here and there, always on the look-out for what they do not have. They experience what it means to appreciate each person and each thing, learning familiarity with the simplest things and how to enjoy them. So they are able to shed unsatisfied needs, reducing their obsessiveness and weariness. Even living on little, they can live a lot, above all when they cultivate other pleasures and find satisfaction in fraternal encounters, in service, in developing their gifts, in music and art, in contact with nature, in prayer. Happiness means knowing how to limit some needs which only diminish us, and being open to the many different possibilities which life can offer.
224. Sobriety and humility were not favourably regarded in the last century. And yet, when there is a general breakdown in the exercise of a certain virtue in personal and social life, it ends up causing a number of imbalances, including environmental ones. That is why it is no longer enough to speak only of the integrity of ecosystems. We have to dare to speak of the integrity of human life, of the need to promote and unify all the great values. Once we lose our humility, and become enthralled with the possibility of limitless mastery over everything, we inevitably end up harming society and the environment. It is not easy to promote this kind of healthy humility or happy sobriety when we consider ourselves autonomous, when we exclude God from our lives or replace him with our own ego, and think that our subjective feelings can define what is right and what is wrong.
225. On the other hand, no one can cultivate a sober and satisfying life without being at peace with him or herself. An adequate understanding of spirituality consists in filling out what we mean by peace, which is much more than the absence of war. Inner peace is closely related to care for ecology and for the common good because, lived out authentically, it is reflected in a balanced lifestyle together with a capacity for wonder which takes us to a deeper understanding of life. Nature is filled with words of love, but how can we listen to them amid constant noise, interminable and nerve-wracking distractions, or the cult of appearances? Many people today sense a profound imbalance which drives them to frenetic activity and makes them feel busy, in a constant hurry which in turn leads them to ride rough-shod over everything around them. This too affects how they treat the environment. An integral ecology includes taking time to recover a serene harmony with creation, reflecting on our lifestyle and our ideals, and contemplating the Creator who lives among us and surrounds us, whose presence “must not be contrived but found, uncovered”.[155]
226. We are speaking of an attitude of the heart, one which approaches life with serene attentiveness, which is capable of being fully present to someone without thinking of what comes next, which accepts each moment as a gift from God to be lived to the full. Jesus taught us this attitude when he invited us to contemplate the lilies of the field and the birds of the air, or when seeing the rich young man and knowing his restlessness, “he looked at him with love” (Mk 10:21). He was completely present to everyone and to everything, and in this way he showed us the way to overcome that unhealthy anxiety which makes us superficial, aggressive and compulsive consumers.
227. One expression of this attitude is when we stop and give thanks to God before and after meals. I ask all believers to return to this beautiful and meaningful custom. That moment of blessing, however brief, reminds us of our dependence on God for life; it strengthens our feeling of gratitude for the gifts of creation; it acknowledges those who by their labours provide us with these goods; and it reaffirms our solidarity with those in greatest need.
Also, because the above excerpted portion will undoubtedly go unnoticed by all the pundits, self-appointed "experts", bloggers and other assorted anonymous Internet commentators. Those who seek to tell you, the reader here, what the Encyclical says instead of doing what I have done, and do now again, which is to urge you to read it yourself.
Does he begin with the premise that "global warming" is "man-made". Yes.
Does this negate or somehow falsify his later exhortations, namely what I have excerpted above? No.
He doesn't call for any kind of "world government" or any other political activism devoid of the Christian mind, despite breathless conspiracy claims to the contrary.
Read it yourself, and indeed, feel free if you wish to even ignore the beginning where he states in no uncertain terms that it is his belief that global warming is caused by man. At least take note not only of the above, but also where he says in no uncertain terms that it is not the role of the Church to provide guidance in the areas of the sciences, or to definitively suggest new political systems. (Paragraph 188) Beyond that though, he merely goes into saying what should be on every Christian's heart, which is that we have a greater responsibility than only to ourselves.
Read it yourself, all of it; don't be a fool and let others tell you what it says.
So the man that buried his talent is of course the new model for what is good yes ?
Kindly stuff Laudato Si where the sun don’t shine.
Not according to my Bible.
The world is going insane before our eyes.
Yet, that is exactly what he did by putting his own personal political views in an encyclical. He has the bully pulpit as Pope, he has a lot of influence. Leftists around the world are dancing with glee and bugeyed with power.
Ah, so Pope Chuckles is now a shill for the teachings of the Goreacle, eh.
Interestingly, if I had read those passages and didn't know who had written them, I would have guessed that they were written by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.
Exactly. Every lefty I know, including those who have no particular religious belief, LOVE Pope Chuckles - they believe that he is speaking their lingo.
A simple life as defined by whom? Are we talking mud hut level of simple?
I don't think anyone in a nation that is $18 trillion in debt ... and with an average household debt of more than $95,000 ... has any credibility when it comes to economic matters.
If national debt is a measure, then most countries ranging from France to Argentina would not have much credibility.
No argument from me on that one. It’s no small coincidence that historically “Catholic” countries like France and Argentina tend to be the ones that are most economically dysfunctional.
I agree. The ignorance of the so called "experts" is manifest to anyone who has actually read it for themselves.
The entire encyclical is 184 pages, have you read it all?
There is probably something for everyone in it. But the damage is done with just a few lines where the Pope affirms AGW and asserts we need to “solve it”. That is all the Left needs to add much more fuel to the AGW agenda.
The Pope should have stayed out of climate politics. He didn’t, and he has damaged his credibility and furthered the Leftist cause which cloaks itself in the common good but is all about power and control.
174. Let us also mention the system of governance of the oceans. International and regional conventions do exist, but fragmentation and the lack of strict mechanisms of regulation, control and penalization end up undermining these efforts. The growing problem of marine waste and the protection of the open seas represent particular challenges. What is needed, in effect, is an agreement on systems of governance for the whole range of so-called “global commons”.
175. The same mindset which stands in the way of making radical decisions to reverse the trend of global warming also stands in the way of achieving the goal of eliminating poverty. A more responsible overall approach is needed to deal with both problems: the reduction of pollution and the development of poorer countries and regions. The twenty-first century, while maintaining systems of governance inherited from the past, is witnessing a weakening of the power of nation states, chiefly because the economic and financial sectors, being transnational, tends to prevail over the political. Given this situation, it is essential to devise stronger and more efficiently organized international institutions, with functionaries who are appointed fairly by agreement among national governments, and empowered to impose sanctions. As Benedict XVI has affirmed in continuity with the social teaching of the Church: “To manage the global economy; to revive economies hit by the crisis; to avoid any deterioration of the present crisis and the greater imbalances that would result; to bring about integral and timely disarmament, food security and peace; to guarantee the protection of the environment and to regulate migration: for all this, there is urgent need of a true world political authority, as my predecessor Blessed John XXIII indicated some years ago”.[129] Diplomacy also takes on new importance in the work of developing international strategies which can anticipate serious problems affecting us all.
Here the Pope is essentially saying that it is immoral to deny AGW and that these "deniers" are against the poor. This would also mean that it is sinful. What a disaster.
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