Laduato Si

Today I had the pleasure of attending a day of contemplation and reflection on Pope Francis’ Encyclical, Laduato Si.   At first I was not quite sure how the day was going to flow but I found it to be a wonderful experience.  We began with setting the context of the day and then had input on chapter 3, The Human Roots of the Ecological Crisis, which deals with technology.  It was very interesting to hear and see the impact of technology on our daily lives.  Every minute of every day we are influenced by the use of technology.  Each day there are new advances in technology.  Gadgets of every kind are now part of our everyday existence.  We have information accessible to us at every moment.  We live in a world where we need to be aware of our dependence on our technical gadgets.  As part of the experience we were invited to place our cell phones on a table and be disconnected for our time together.  It was an interesting feeling within to be disconnected even for a short period of time.   After a period of contemplative silence we had the opportunity to share on our experience and what we heard.  Everyone in the room had different experiences of using technology and different abilities in using it.

Pope Francis in a General Audience once said, “Creation is not some possession that we can lord over for our own pleasure; nor, even less, is it the property of only some people, the few: creation is a gift, it is the marvelous gift that God has given us, so that we will take care of it and harness it for the benefit of all, always with great respect and gratitude.”  Let us try to live out Pope Francis’ desire to respect creation and one another.

Pat Schifini, OSU