http://www.franciscan-sfo.org/ecology0.htm#SCRIPTURE

SECULAR FRANCISCAN FRATERNITY'S ECOLOGY COMMISSION


The Canticle of Brother Sun
by Saint Francis of Assisi

Most high, all-powerful, all good, Lord!
All praise is yours, all glory,
all honor and all blessing.

To you, alone, Most High, do they belong.
No mortal lips are worthy to pronounce your name.

All praise be yours, my Lord, through all that you have made,
And first my lord Brother Sun, who brings the day;
and light you give to
us through him.

How beautiful is he, how radiant in all his splendor!
Of you, Most High, he bears the likeness.

All praise be yours, my Lord, through Sister Moon and Stars;
In the heavens you have made them,
bright and precious and fair.

All praise be yours, my Lord, through Brothers Wind and Air,
And fair and stormy, all the weather's moods,
by which you cherish all
you have made.

All praise be yours, my Lord, through Sister Water,
so useful, lowly, precious and pure.

All praise be yours, my Lord, through Brother Fire,
Through whom you brighten up the night.
How beautiful is he, how joyful!
Full of power and strength.

All praise be yours, my Lord,
through Sister Earth, our mother,
Who feeds us in her sovereignty and produces various fruits with
colored flowers and herbs.

All praise be yours, my Lord,
through those who grant pardon
For love of you; through those who endure sickness and trial.

Happy those who endure in peace,
By you, Most High, they will be crowned.

All praise be yours, my Lord, through Sister Death,
From whose embrace no mortal can escape.

Woe to those who die in mortal sin!
Happy those She finds doing your will!

The second death can do no harm to them.
Praise and bless my Lord, and give him thanks,
And serve him with great humility.





Moreover they should respect all creatures, animate and inanimate,
which bear the imprint of the Most High,
and they should strive to move from the temptation of exploiting creation
to the Franciscan concept of universal kinship. (Rule of St. Francis)


CATHOLIC CATECHISM
on the Integrity of Creation

Providence and the scandal of evil

319. God created the world to show forth and communicate his glory. That his creatures should share in his truth, goodness, and beauty - this is the glory for which God created them.

320. God created the universe and keeps it in existence by his Word, the Son "upholding the universe by his word of power" (Heb 1:3) and by his Creator Spirit, the giver of life.

321. Divine providence consists of the dispositions by which God guides all his creatures with wisdom and love to their ultimate end.

323. Divine providence works also through the actions of creatures. To human beings God grants the ability to cooperate freely with his plans.

The Visible World

339. Each creature possesses its own particular goodness and perfection. For each one of the works of the "six days" it is said: "And God saw that it was good." "By the very nature of creation, material being is endowed with its own stability, truth, and excellence, its own order and laws." Each of the various creatures, willed in its own being, reflects in its own way a ray of God's infinite wisdom and goodness. Man must therefore respect the particular goodness of every creature, to avoid any disordered use of things which would be in contempt of the Creator and would bring disastrous consequences for human beings and their environment.

340. God wills the interdependence of creatures. The sun and the moon, the cedar and the little flower, the eagle and the sparrow: the spectacle of their countless diversities and inequalities tells us that no creature is self-sufficient. Creatures exist only in dependence on each other, to complete each other, in the service of each other.

341. The beauty of the universe: The order and harmony of the created world results from the diversity of beings and from the relationships which exist among them. Man discovers them progressively as the laws of nature. They call forth the admiration of scholars. The beauty of creation reflects the infinite beauty of the Creator and ought to inspire the respect and submission of man's intellect and will.

342. The hierarchy of creatures is expressed by the order of the "six days," from the less perfect to the more perfect. God loves all his creatures and takes care of each one, even the sparrow. Nevertheless, Jesus said: "You are of more value than many sparrows," or again: "Of how much more value is a man than a sheep!"

343. Man is the summit of the Creator's work, as the inspired account expresses by clearly distinguishing the creation of man from that of the other creatures.

2415. The seventh commandment enjoins respect for the integrity of creation. Animals, like plants and inanimate beings, are by nature destined for the common good of past, present, and future humanity. Use of the mineral, vegetable, and animal resources of the universe cannot be divorced from respect for moral imperatives. Man's dominion over inanimate and other living beings granted by the Creator is not absolute; it is limited by concern for the quality of life of his neighbor, including generations to come; it requires a religious respect for the integrity of creation.

2416. Animals are God's creatures. He surrounds them with his providential care. By their mere existence they bless him and give him glory. Thus men owe them kindness. We should recall the gentleness with which saints like St. Francis of Assisi or St. Philip Neri treated animals.

2417. God entrusted animals to the stewardship of those whom he created in his own image. Hence it is legitimate to use animals for food and clothing. They may be domesticated to help man in his work and leisure. Medical and scientific experimentation on animals, if it remains within reasonable limits, is a morally acceptable practice since it contributes to caring for or saving human lives.

2418. It is contrary to human dignity to cause animals to suffer or die needlessly. It is likewise unworthy to spend money on them that should as a priority go to the relief of human misery. One can love animals; one should not direct to them the affection due only to persons.

Love for the Poor

2451. The seventh commandment enjoins the practice of justice and charity in the administration of earthly goods and the fruits of men's labor.

2452. The goods of creation are destined for the entire human race. The right to private property does not abolish the universal destination of goods.

2456. The dominion granted by the Creator over the mineral, vegetable, and animal resources of the universe cannot be separated from respect for moral obligations, including those toward generations to come.

2457. Animals are entrusted to man's stewardship; he must show them kindness. They may be used to serve the just satisfaction of man's needs.





SCRIPTURE
on the
Integrity of Creation

As I look at all the work of God: plainly no one can discover what the work is that goes on under the sun or explain why man should toil to seek yet never discover. Ecclesiastes 8:17.

By his commands he sends the snow, he speeds the lightning as he orders. In the same way, his treasuries open and the clouds fly out like birds. In his great might he banks up the clouds, and shivers them into fragments of hail. At the sight of him the mountains rock, at the roar of his thunder the earth writhes in labor. At his will the south wind blows, or the storm from the north and the whirlwind. He sprinkles snow like birds alighting, it comes down like locusts settling. The eye marvels at the beauty of its whiteness, and the mind is amazed at its falling. Over the earth, like salt, he also pours hoarfrost, which, when it freezes, bristles like thorns. The cold wind blows from the north, and ice forms on the water, settling on every watery expanse, and water puts it on like a breastplate. He swallows up the mountains, and scorches the desert, like a fire he consumes the vegetation. But the mist heals everything in good time, after the heat falls the reviving dew. By his own resourcefulness he has tamed the abyss, and planted it with islands. Those who sail the sea tell of its dangers, their accounts fill our ears with amazement: for there too there are strange and wonderful works, animals of every kind and huge sea creatures. Thanks to him all ends well, and all things hold together by means of his word. Ecclesiastics 43:13-28

Next I will remind you of the works of the Lord and tell you what I have seen. By the words of the Lord His works come into being and all Creation obeys His will. As the sun in shining looks on all things, so the work of the Lord is Bill of His glory. Ecclesiasticus 42:15-16.

As for you. Be fruitful, multiply, teem over the earth and be lord of it." God spoke to Noah and his sons, "See, I establish my Covenant with you, and with your descendants after you; also with every living creature to be found with you, birds, cattle and every wild beast with you: everything that came out of the ark, everything that lives on the earth. I establish my Covenant with you: no thing of flesh shall be swept away again by the waters of the flood. There shall be no flood to destroy the earth again." God said, "Here is the sign of the Covenant I make between myself and you and every living creature with you for all generations. I set my bow in the clouds and it shall be a sign of the Covenant between me and the earth. Genesis 9: 7-14.

There is no fidelity, no tenderness, no knowledge of God in the country, only perjury and lies, slaughter, theft, adultery and violence, murder after murder. This is why the country is in mourning, and all who live in it pine away, even the wild animals and the birds of heaven the fish in the sea themselves are perishing. Hosea 4: 2-3

The designer and maker of the earth who established it, not creating it to be a waste, but designing it to be lived in. Isaiah 45:18

If you would learn more, ask the cattle, seek information from the birds of the air. The creeping things of the earth will give you lessons, and the fishes of the sea will tell you all. Which of all these does not know that the hand of God has done this? He holds in his power the soul of every living thing, and the breath of each man's body. Job 12: 7-10

No doubt about it, but God reveals wonders, and does great deeds that we cannot understand. When He says to the snow, "Fall on the earth," or tells the rain to pour down in torrents, he brings all men's strivings to a standstill so that each must acknowledge His hand at work. Job 37: 5-7

Seeds shrivel under their clods; the barns are broken down, and granaries lie in ruins, for lack of harvest. What mourning from the beasts! The herds of cattle wonder bewildered because they have no pasture. Even the flocks of sheep must bear their punishment. To you, God, I cry: fire has devoured the pastures on the heath, flame has burned up every tree in the orchard. Joel 1:17-19

Land must not be sold in perpetuity, for the land belongs to me, and to me you are only strangers and guests. Leviticus 25: 23

You care for the earth, You fill it with riches. Your river in heaven brims over to provide its grain, and thus You provide for the earth; You drench its furrows, you level it, soften it with showers, You bless its growth. Psalm 65

Earth is completely full of things you have made: among them vast expanse of ocean, teeming with countless creatures, creatures large and small, with the ships going to and fro and Leviathan whom you made to amuse you. All creatures depend on you to feed them through the year; you provide the food they eat, with generous hand you satisfy their hunger. Psalm 104: 25-28.

For I know the Lord is great, that our Lord is high above all gods. The Lord does whatever He wills, in heaven, on earth, in the seas. He summons clouds from the ends of the earth; makes lightning produce the rain; from His treasuries He sends forth the wind. Psalm 135.

God's tenderness embraces all His creatures. Father, all Your creatures thank You, and your faitbibi bless You. Kingly and glorious they proclaim You, they affirm Your might. Psalm 145: 9-11.

He covers the heavens with clouds: He prepares the rain for the earth, making mountains sprout with grass and with plants to serve man's needs. He provides the beasts with their food and young ravens that call upon Him. Psalm 147: 8-9.

He sends out His word to the earth and swiftly runs His command. He showers down snow white as wool, He scatters hoar-frost like ashes. He hurls down hailstones like crumbs. The waters are frozen at His touch; He sends forth His word and it melts them: at the breath of His mouth the waters flow. Psalm 147: 15-18.

Let earth praise Yahweh: sea monsters and all the deeps, fire and hail, snow and mist, gales that obey his decree, mountains and hills, orchards and forests, wild animals and farm animals, snakes and birds. Psalm 148: 7-10.

Look at the birds in the sky. They do not sow or reap or gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Matthew 6:26.

Think of the flowers growing in the fields; they never have to work or spin; yet I assure you that not even Solomon in all his regalia was robed like one of these. Matthew 6:29-30.

At the time Jesus exclaimed, "I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to mere children. Yes, Father, for that is what it pleased you to do. Everything has been entrusted to me by my Father. Matthew 11: 25-27

For creation was condemned to become worthless, not by its own will, but because God willed it to be. Yet there was this hope, that creation itself would one day be set free from its slavery to decay, and share the glorious freedom of the children of God. For we know that up to the present time all of creation groans with pain like the pain of childbirth. Romans 8: 20-22



QUOTES FROM POPE JOHN PAUL II

"In our day there is a growing awareness that world peace is threatened not only by the arms race, regional conflicts and continued injustice among peoples and nations, but also by a lack of due respect for nature, by the plundering of natural resources, and by a progressive decline in the quality of life." World Day of Peace Message, Jan. 1, 1990.

"Moreover, a new ecological awareness is beginning which, rather than being downplayed, ought to be encouraged to develop into concrete programs and initiatives." World Day of Peace Message, Jan. 1, 1990.

"As nature reawakens to new life at this beginning of spring, I would also like to stress the value of penitential practices as a deeper education in respect for the environment according to God's plan." Before praying the Angelus on Sunday, 24 March?.

"Theology, philosophy and science all speak of a harmonious universe, of a "cosmos" endowed with its own integrity, its own internal, dynamic balance. This order must be respected. The human race is called to explore this order, to examine it with due care and make use of it while safeguarding its integrity." World Day of Peace Message, Jan. 1, 1990.

"Although people are rightly worried - though much less than they should be - about preserving the natural habitats of the various animal species threatened with extinction, because they realize that each of these species makes a particular contribution to the balance of nature in general, too little effort is made to safeguard the moral conditions for an authentic "human ecology." Encyclical letter, May, 1991.

"The ecological crises is essentially a moral crises and the solution of many of the ecological problems confronting the entire human family requires strategies and motivation "based on a moral coherent worldview." World Day of Peace Message, Jan. 1, 1990.

"I pray the Lord to make the members of the International Labor Organization the servants of man, the image of the Creator, called to be stewards of creation." To members of the International Labor Organization, May 30, 1992, Vatican.

"The first consideration is the appro-priateness of acquiring a growing awareness of the fact that one cannot use with impunity the difference categories of beings, whether living or inanimate - animals, plants, the natural elements - simply as one wishes, according to one's own economic needs. On the contrary, one must take into account the nature of each being and of its mutual connection in an ordered system, which is precisely the "cosmos." "On Social Concern," December, 1987 Encyclical.

"While population growth is often blamed for environmental problems, we know that the matter is more complex. Patterns of con-sumption and waste, especially in developed nations, depletion of natural resources, the absence of restrictions or safeguards in some industrial or production processes, all endanger the natural environment." Address to Mrs. Nafia Sadik, Secretary General of the 1984 International Conference on Population and Development, and Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund, 18 March 1984, Vatican.