Impregnated with Divine Presence

“We have turned this sacred abode into a marketplace.” (Fr. Joshtrom Isaac Kureethadam, Salesian Pontifical University in Rome) He adds: “The contemporary ecological crisis lays bare precisely our incapacity to perceive the physical world as impregnated with divine presence.”

This fifth anniversary of Pope Francis’ encyclical, Laudato Si’, has been largely overshadowed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the accompanying national and worldwide economic recession/depression. Yet, something good has come out of this suffering. Many cities in the world – including Los Angeles, New York, São Paulo, New Delhi, Mumbai, Wuhan, Seoul – have clean air. People can see that the sky is blue and there are stars to behold at night.

We will get through this pandemic, but when we do, will we go back to the way things were, or will we respond to the pope’s urgent appeal “for a new dialogue about how we are shaping the future of the planet”? That new dialogue requires the whole human family, not just world leaders. There are reasons for optimism, but also pessimism. “Obstructionist attitudes, even on the part of believers, can range from denial of the problem to indifference, nonchalant resignation or blind confidence in technical solutions.” (Laudato Si’, #14).

Time to put politics aside and unite in the vision that the physical world is impregnated with divine presence.

Your thoughts? Share with us by email: [email protected].