Happy Earth Day!

It seems like everything these days is green. We have green energy, green cars, green cleaning products, green appliances, green businesses and green burials, to name a few. 

We could even say we have a green Pope! Pope Francis’ encyclical on the environment, Laudato Si,was published in 2015. The title, which means “Praise Be to You,” is taken from the “Canticle of the Sun,” a song written by Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of the environment. In the encyclical Pope Francis calls us to be attentive to, to respect, and to care for all creation. He presses for a change in “lifestyle, production, and consumption” in order to ensure the survival of the earth.

If we look closely and listen attentively, we will see and hear how the liturgy helps us to attend, to respect, and to care for creation, for the liturgy and creation are deeply intertwined.

The entire liturgical calendar is governed by the cosmos. The full moon of spring determines the date of Easter, from which the entire year is ordered. The Easter Vigil, the most significant liturgy of the year, begins outside in the darkness under the spring moon and the stars. A fire  lights up the night sky symbolizing Christ as the light of the world who overcame the darkness of sin. The fire, one of earth’s primal elements, is blessed and is used to light the large paschal candle which is made from the wax of honey bees. After the candle is incensed, the Easter Proclamation, filled with images of creation is sung:

  “Receive it (the paschal candle) as a pleasing fragrance, and let it mingle with the lights                of heaven. May this flame be found still burning by the Morning Star.”

The candle stands next to the ambo from which the lectionary readings are proclaimed. On this night, we hear how creation played a part in the stories of salvation. We begin with the creation account in Genesis and hear how God called everything “good.” In the Exodus reading, the waters of the Red Sea are seen as the waters of salvation for the people of Israel. Isaiah calls all who are thirsty to “come to the water,” and Ezekiel assures us that God will cleanse our hearts with clean water. 

In the liturgy of baptism, water, another of earth’s elements, is blessed. Then the elect are baptized in the blessed water, marking their death and resurrection into Christ. They are then anointed with oil extracted from olives in the sacrament of confirmation.

Apart from the Easter Vigil, our Sunday liturgies, what we call “little Easters,” are also filled with the elements of the natural world. We are renewed with water in the sprinkling rite. In the Creed, we profess our faith in the God who created heaven and earth, through whom all things were made. In the Sanctus,we proclaim in song that heaven and earth are “full of God’s glory.” We bless and eat bread, “fruit of the earth.”  We bless and drink wine, “fruit of the vine.” 

The liturgy not only uses elements of our good earth, it demonstrates a reverence and respect for them. Water is blessed, bread and wine are incensed, oil is sanctified, altars made of material from the earth are dedicated and consecrated. These rituals teach us how to be good stewards of creation. They also tell us that God’s presence permeates the environment, that all of creation reveals the divine, that not the smallest component of our planet is to be taken for granted. All is holy and is to be treated as sacred. If we do this, we will heed the call of Pope Francis, to look broadly, to live simply, and to care deeply.