Addressing Consumption and Consumerism
To understand chapter two of Laudato Si’, we cannot overlook its title: The Gospel of Creation.
It is not by chance that Pope Francis chose those words because a theme that animates all of Laudato Si’, but is particularly developed in this chapter, is that creation is a sacred text in which every page reveals something of God.
“God has written a precious book, ‘whose letters are the multitude of created things.”
LS 85
This means in everything that exists lives some unique manifestation of the beauty and holiness of God.
There is nothing novel in Francis’ affirmation; indeed, he notes that Thomas Aquinas taught not only that there is a “trace” or “vestige” of the Creator in every creature, but also that there is such overwhelming diversity in creation because it takes all of creation to even begin to reveal the unfathomable beauty and goodness of God (LS 86).
Nothing God created is merely material. Everything is both matter and spirit because God is “intimately present” in all things (LS 80). Every creature, even the tiniest and seemingly most inconsequential, is a unique word of God.
This luminous theology of creation must inform how we interpret the passage in which God gave human beings “dominion” over creation (Genesis 1:28). Dominion is not permission to exploit and abuse creation; rather, when God grants humans dominion God gives us the awesome responsibility of cultivating, protecting, and preserving creation so that what God declared beautiful and good in the beginning will always remain so (LS 67).
For Passionists, that responsibility is also a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with St. Paul of the Cross’ exhortation to listen to the sermon preached by all of creation.
