Living Simple Lives Can Help Preserve Environment, Missionary Cleric in Uganda

He gives the example of St. Francis who taught the Church the value of poverty and simplicity through Franciscan charism; St. Ignatius of Loyola with his Society of Jesus who stood strong with the Church during reformation; and more recently, St. John Bosco who cared for numerous orphans at the peak of industrial revolution in Europe.

“Let us also not forget the many other missionary societies who evangelized people in challenging places of the world,” the Indian-born Missionary Cleric says.

The other key figure in Religious Life who dedicated her life to the care of the environment was St Hildegard of Bingen who, Fr. Arasu says, “had a profound sense of being related to the earth.”

“For her, the earth was something sacred and precious, to be cherished and protected: our home. She speaks of the ‘greening’ (viriditas) of the universe, brimming with life, vitality and creativity. She awakens the rhythm of the cosmos in us,” the Cleric recounts in his January 28 reflection.

He adds, “For Hildegard, God created humankind so that we might ‘cultivate the earthly and thereby create the heavenly’. God made us to bind the wounds of the earth.”

The Cleric recalls that St. Francis of Assisi of the 12th century considered the fellow creatures, sun and moon, as brother and sister.

“He (St. Francis of Assisi) integrated all the things of the earth as part of his prayer and daily life,” Fr. Arasu says.

He quotes Pope Francis’ second Encyclical Letter, Laudato Si, saying St. Francis, “is the example par excellence of care for the vulnerable and of an integral ecology lived out joyfully and authentically.”

According to the Holy Father, St. Francis lived in simplicity and in wonderful harmony with God, with others, with nature and with himself.

“He shows us just how inseparable the bond is between concern for nature, justice for the poor, commitment to society, and interior peace,” says Pope Francis in Laudato Si.

In his January 28 reflection shared with ACI Africa, Fr. Arasu also highlights the work of Br. Carlo Carretto, a mystic and social activist “in our own time” whose writing promoted the care of the environment.

In his fictionalized biography, I, Francis, Br. Carlo has St. Francis responding, “It is a terrible sin you have committed all around you, and I do not know whether or not you can still be saved. You have violated the forests, defiled the seas, plundered everything like a bunch of bandits. And now that you have destroyed nearly everything, you have appointed me patron saint of ecology. You have to admit, it is a little late.”

According to the Salesian Missionary Cleric, overconsumption of material things is depleting the earth’s resources, which ought to be preserved for the future generation.

“Throw away culture is against charity and brotherly love; it is egoistic and conceited and inconsiderate towards the less fortunate and our future generations,” he says.

To avoid misusing earth’s resources at the expense of those who have nothing, the member of Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB) advises people to acquire only what they need for survival.

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“We can make a change through living a frugal and simple life, using things that are locally available, acquiring things that are strictly needed for daily living, becoming aware of our own environment mistakes and ‘sins’ and educating others to care for the earth,” he says.

The Director of a refugee camp that has, for over three years, hosted refugees from various parts of Uganda and neighboring South Susan lauds Religious and Consecrated people for being a great gift to the Church and the world.

“Through the practice of evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience, they (Religious and Consecrated persons) bear witness to living the gospel in an authentic way. They are a shining light in a world that is engrossed in materialism, consumerism and pleasure-seeking life all akin to idolatry and atheism,” the Cleric says in his reflection dubbed Religious Life and Ecological Concerns.

He adds, “Religious men and women through their life of service dedicate their life to uplifting the poor and needy especially in the much-needed areas of education, health care and in other socio-economic and justice areas.”

Fr. Arasu says that Religious and Consecrated people are in touch with the people at the grassroots.

Often, he says, they are the thoughtful opinion leaders in grassroots communities as educators and social workers and are able to combine their study in philosophy and other secular studies with the Christian thought and spirituality.

Many Religious and Consecrated men and women, the Cleric says, have had the privilege of studying subjects such as Eco-Philosophy and Eco-Theology and they in turn are educating the masses in best practices that would preserve nature and protect the earth.

The Salesian Cleric is optimistic that many Religious Congregations and Societies of Apostolic Life will come up with a keener interest in the environment. 

He further says, “I often used to think that it is high time a Religious Society springs up in the Church with the exclusive charism to protect the environment and care for the earth. It is surely being a prophet in our time.”