Official of Justice and Peace Commission in Angola, São Tomé Urges Christians to “hope and act with creation”

Referring to this year’s Season of Creation theme, “Hope and Act with Creation”, the Angolan member of the Society of Jesus (SJ/Jesuits) said, “Hope and act with creation means living an incarnated faith, entering into the suffering and hopeful flesh of people, the poor, and victims of natural disasters, sharing in the expectation of bodily resurrection for the faithful predestined in Christ the Lord.”

“Hope and act with creation, brothers, and sisters, means, above all, uniting forces. By walking together with all men and women of goodwill, helps to rethink the question of human power, its meaning, and limits. Our power has increased frenetically in a few decades,” he said.

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Fr. Epalanga continued, “The Lord created everything that exists; creation precedes us. He created man last and entrusted him with the care of creation. Often, we are not aware of this mission and responsibility for caring for creation and the Earth.”

“This crisis caused by humans affects not only humanity but the universe, nature itself, and our vital environment. It encompasses creation as the earthly paradise, Mother Earth, which should be a place of joy and promise for all,” the CCJP Executive Secretary of CEAST said.

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However, he went on to say, “as time goes on, we share in the pain and suffering. All creation groans, Christians groan, and the spirit itself groans. Groaning expresses anxiety and suffering, along with yearning and desire.”

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“The land is violated and devastated; just look at our country,” the 45-year-old Angolan Jesuit Priest lamented, and posed, “Will the Son of Man find faith on this earth when He comes? Will He find creation intact? Will He find our planet?”

He continued, “The moral struggle of Christians is linked to the groaning of creation because it has been subjected to destruction. The cosmos and every creature groan and eagerly await the current condition to be overcome and the original state restored.”

“Creation, without its fault, is enslaved and incapable of fulfilling its purpose. It is subject to dissolution and death, exacerbated by human abuses of nature,” he said.

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Fr. Epalanga said that “the salvation of humanity in Christ is a secure hope, even for creation.” 

“Indeed, creation too will be freed from slavery and corruption to attain freedom in the glory of the children of God. Therefore, in the redemption of Christ, we can contemplate the bond of solidarity between humans and all other creatures,” he explained.

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João Vissesse is an Angolan Journalist with a passion and rich experience in Catholic Church Communication and Media Apostolate.