Be Praised! The Canticle of Creatures

Pope Francis recently released the encyclical letter Laudato Si. I am still reading and thinking about it, but would like to offer an initial, limited reaction for your consideration. The title of encyclicals typically comes from the first line and this particular first line has a storied past. Here it is along with the opening section:

“Laudato si’, mi’ Signore” – “Praise be to you, my Lord”. In the words of this beautiful canticle, Saint Francis of Assisi reminds us that our common home is like a sister with whom we share our life and a beautiful mother who opens her arms to embrace us. “Praise be to you, my Lord, through our Sister, Mother Earth, who sustains and governs us, and who produces various fruit with colored flowers and herbs”. This sister now cries out to us because of the harm we have inflicted on her by our irresponsible use and abuse of the goods with which God has endowed her.… Nothing in this world is indifferent to us. (1,2)

Here is the full text of the poem by St. Francis, The Canticle of the Creatures (or Canticle of the Sun):

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.

Be praised, my Lord, through all Your creatures,
especially through my lord Brother Sun,
who brings the day; and You give light through him.
And he is beautiful and radiant in all his splendor!
Of You, Most High, he bears the likeness.

Be praised, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars;
in the heavens You have made them bright, precious and beautiful.

Be praised, my Lord, through Brothers Wind and Air,
and clouds and storms, and all the weather,
through which You give Your creatures sustenance.

Be praised, my Lord, through Sister Water;
she is very useful, and humble, and precious, and pure.

Be praised, my Lord, through Brother Fire,
through whom You brighten the night.
He is beautiful and cheerful, and powerful and strong.

Be praised, my Lord, through our sister Mother Earth,
who feeds us and rules us,
and produces various fruits with colored flowers and herbs.

Be praised, my Lord, through those who forgive for love of You;
through those who endure sickness and trial.

Happy those who endure in peace,
for by You, Most High, they will be crowned.

Be praised, my Lord, through our sister Bodily Death,
from whose embrace no living person can escape.
Woe to those who die in mortal sin!

Happy those she finds doing Your most holy will.
The second death can do no harm to them.

Praise and bless my Lord, and give thanks,
and serve Him with great humility.

I am reminded of the Canticle from Daniel 3 that is found in the breviary to sing for feast days: “Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord…”

Regardless of where one stands on man-made global warming or the prudential actions that may or may not be required personally or on the level of national economies to solve it (or not!?), I hope that we can all agree to take seriously our solidarity with and stewardship over nature. Pope Francis clearly does and, in my opinion, this encyclical is a sorely needed reminder for us to reflect on our obligations to creation.

Pope Francis comments further on The Canticle of the Creatures,

When we can see God reflected in all that exists, our hearts are moved to praise the Lord for all his creatures and to worship him in union with them. (87)

We miss the point of both the poem and the encyclical if we examine them through the lens of contemporary politics. All of this pales in comparison to the astounding fact that nature is God-shaped. In nature, there is beauty that leads us ever upward and into the eternal beauty of the divine. Our hearts are moved to praise God. Knowing this, how could we possibly disagree that it is our sacred obligation to care for our world? To deface creation is to deface the image of God himself.

So that we do not misunderstand, Pope Francis makes clear that a hierarchy is in place,

This is not to put all living beings on the same level nor to deprive human beings of their unique worth and the tremendous responsibility it entails. Nor does it imply a divinization of the earth which would prevent us from working on it and protecting it in its fragility.

Human beings are special, for we have a rational soul that is crafted in the image of God. This does not separate us entirely from nature but rather places responsibility on us. The hierarchy brings us to the heart of The Canticle of the Creatures,

Woe to those who die in mortal sin!
Happy those she finds doing Your most holy will.
The second death can do no harm to them.

Human beings are different than other creatures. Nothing is indifferent to us because we cannot be indifferent to ourselves. If indeed we are destroying the world it is only because we have first destroyed and alienated the human being. Neither Pope nor Saint Francis promotes sappy do-gooderism, sentimentality, or a cheap, overweening definition of love. No discussion of environmentalism can proceed without first considering what Pope Benedict XVI refers to as the ecology of the human person. What is a human being? What is our status as created beings in the image of God? What effect does sin have on us? What is our duty and obligation in solidarity with other creatures? How do we join in the praise offered God by all of creation?

I appreciate that Pope Francis always says exactly what he means,

Since everything is interrelated, concern for the protection of nature is also incompatible with the justification of abortion. How can we genuinely teach the importance of concern for other vulnerable beings, however troublesome or inconvenient they may be, if we fail to protect a human embryo, even when its presence is uncomfortable and creates difficulties? (120)

If we want to be sensitive to the environment, we begin by protecting human beings: the innocent, the defenseless, the meek, and the exploited. Our commitment to creation is comprehensive, finding its source not in this world but in the world to come. God made us and he sees that we are good. We care for the environment by guarding her from rapacious economic activity and pollution. We also care for the environment when we defend the unborn and the criminal condemned to death. Most of all, we do so when we examine our own hearts and put our own spiritual house in order. When we are at peace with ourselves we will we be at peace with the world around us, for only then will we be acting with true human freedom and unreservedly embrace the beauty in all created things.