We may have missed spring and summer – but now we’re in the 2020 Season of Creation, the liturgical period held annually between September 1 and October 4. This year’s theme is “Jubilee for the Earth”.
A jubilee year according to Leviticus is one of universal pardon, and the intention is to give all creation a well-deserved rest. After all, instead of being careful stewards of the earth, as God asked us to be, we have become cruel exploiters wielding a very big stick.
It has been so easy to fall into habits bad for Creation, advantageous to us. And we have been making mouth music for too long about reducing our massive carbon footprint, without actually following through.
Then along came COVID 19 and we all had to stay home, giving the Earth a temporary rest from human exploitation. Can the Season of Creation jubilee get the patient into a fit enough state to receive proper treatment and have a convalescence that – well, let’s not kid ourselves, goes on forever?
Air pollution dramatically reduced during lockdown, and wildlife moved back into spaces from which it had been excluded. Even here in the countryside where I live in Argyll, nature has breathed more easily.
The jubilee offered by the Season of Creation is the starting block. Now we have to run with ways that will create a real ‘new normal’. The steering committee of the Season of Creation is seeking what it calls the ‘moral imagination that accompanies the Jubilee’.
Let’s take the opportunity not just to care for our common home but for our sisters and brothers who share it. Justice and Peace Scotland has the environment firmly on its agenda, and there are resources on our website that can inform and inspire.
Our Scottish Bishops are joining with Bishops in England and Wales to reduce the carbon footprint of the Catholic Church. And as Eco-Congregation Scotland tells us, that isn’t just about making our church buildings greener, but about every parishioner taking responsibility for reducing their individual carbon footprint.
A member of the Season of Creation’s advisory team asked that we all push our governments and businesses for a “green economic recovery” that is socially fair and environmentally sustainable. I think that means curbing our shopping habits, doing a lot more recycling, and a lot less travelling.
COVID-19 has shown that it’s possible to work together for the common good. Our faith tells us that’s the way to go – the Vatican’s Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church says that ‘Respect for human life means respecting all of God’s creation.’
Catholic Social Teaching adds, ‘We must re-engage with our environment and take responsibility for it; live sustainably, live so that there are enough resources for everyone. The relationship between human activity and global warming must be constantly monitored for “the climate is a good that must be protected”.’
Let’s start in this Season of Creation to give our common home a permanent jubilee.