Relationships

Having finally finished for a second reading "Laudato Si",  I will no doubt be reflecting on some passages for a long time. I did begin to jot down the main thoughts for each section but only reached the fourth chapter with note-taking. It is the last two chapters that speak to me most and therefore I have not yet tried to take notes. In Chapter Six, the last Chapter on Ecological Education and Spirituality, #240, Pope Francis writes: "The divine Persons are subsistent relations, and the world, created according to the divine model, is a web of relationships. Creatures tend toward God, and in turn it is proper to every living being to tend toward other things, so that throughout the universe we can find any number of constant and secretly interwoven relationships. This leads us not only to marvel at the manifold connections existing among creatures, but also to discover a key to our own fulfillment. The human person grows more, matures more and is sanctified more to the extent that he or she enters into relationships, going out from themselves to live in communion with God, with others and with all creatures. In this way, they make their own that Trinitarian dynamism which God imprinted in them when they were created. Everything is interconnected, and this invites us to develop a spirituality of that global solidarity which flows from the mystery of the Trinity."

There is much to reflect upon in each section. If you have not yet read the Encyclical, I hope my brief reflections this week will help motivate you to do so. It is out there on the web for all to have easy access.