Chapter 3

Prayer: God of my ancestors, Lord of mercy,
you who have made all things by your word
2And in your wisdom have established humankind
to rule the creatures produced by you,
3And to govern the world in holiness and righteousness,
and to render judgment in integrity of heart:
4Give me Wisdom, the consort at your throne,
and do not reject me from among your children;
Now with you is Wisdom, who knows your works
and was present when you made the world;
Who understands what is pleasing in your eyes
and what is conformable with your commands.
10Send her forth from your holy heavens
and from your glorious throne dispatch her
That she may be with me and work with me,
that I may know what is pleasing to you.       Wisdom 9: 1-4, 9-10
 
Pope Francis began Laudato Si with a sobering look at the current reality of our Common Home.  In Chapter 2 he spoke of the Gospel of Creation, expressing the gift it is, and why our stewardship for all creation and each human person is essential in living this Gospel. 

Now we come to Chapter 3 and look at how human beings must claim responsibility for the ecological crisis and the need to reflect thoughtfully on how we proceed forward.  “A certain way of understanding human life and activity has gone awry, to the serious detriment of the world around us.  Should we not pause and consider this?”(101) is Pope Francis’ question to us.
This chapter has some difficult vocabulary.  Please don’t get stuck on that.  Move on and notice what you do understand and what the invitation is.

I. Technology: Creativity and Power

The modification of nature for useful purposes has distinguished the human family from the beginning….  Technology has remedied countless evils which used to harm and limit human beings.  How can we not feel gratitude and appreciation for this progress, especially in the fields of medicine, engineering and communication? How could we not acknowledge the work of many scientists and engineers who have provided alternatives to make development sustainable?” (102)

“Technoscience [technology and science] when well directed can produce important means of improving the quality of human life….” (103)  For Francis, this includes the arts and music.

Paragraphs 104 and 105 show us that having power does not ensure wise of it.  “…our immense technological development has not been accompanied by a development in human responsibility, values and conscience. (Emphasis added)   Our freedom fades when it is handed over to the blind forces of the unconscious, of immediate needs, of self-interest and of violence.  …we cannot claim to have a sound ethics, a culture and spirituality genuinely capable of setting limits and teaching clear-minded self-restraint.” (105)

Can you think of a time when technology seemed to take over in your life?  How might we be invited to foster a culture and spirituality capable of setting limits and self-restraint?
 
II.  The Globalization of the Technocratic Paradigm

            This is a difficult section to absorb.  Here are the key points:

a. “Men and women have constantly intervened in nature, but for a long time this meant being in tune with and respecting the possibilities offered by the things themselves.  It was a matter of receiving what nature itself allowed, as if from its own hand.  Now, by contrast, we are the ones to lay our hands on things, attempting to extract everything possible from them while frequently ignoring or forgetting the reality in front of us.” (106)

b. “It is based on the lie that there is an infinite supply of the earth’s goods, and this leads to the planet being squeezed dry beyond every limit.” (106)

c. “It has become countercultural to choose a lifestyle whose goals are even partly independent of technology, of its costs and its power to globalize and make us all the same. Our capacity to make decisions, a more genuine freedom and the space for each one’s alternative creativity are diminished.” (108)

d. “The economy accepts every advance in technology with a view to profit, without concern for its potentially negative impact on human beings. Some circles…showing no interest in more balanced levels of production, a better distribution of wealth, concern for the environment and the rights of future generations.”(109)

e. “The specialization which belongs to technology makes it difficult to see the larger picture.  ….it often leads to a loss of appreciation for the whole, for the relationships between things, and for the broader horizon.” (110)

f. “…we need to slow down and look at reality in a different way….   …to recover the values and the great goals swept away by our unrestrained delusions of grandeur.” (114)

III. The Crisis and Effects of Modern Anthropocentrism (making humans the center of everything without regard for the rest of creation)

a. “The time has come to pay renewed attention to reality and the limits it imposes; this in turn is the condition for a more sound and fruitful development of individuals and society.” (116)

b. “Everything is connected.”  (117)

c. Pope Francis urges us in the next sections to a seeing rightly the place of humanity—recognizing our unique capacity and dignity while also living into right relationship with all of creation and with every other human person. (118-121)

Reflect for a moment on how each material object you use has a story leading you to somewhere in creation.  How might you foster an awareness of your inter-connectedness with everything and everyone?

            Part III ends with three particular challenges:

1. Practical relativism   “When human beings place themselves at the center, they give absolute priority to immediate convenience and all else becomes relative.   …the rise of a relativism which sees everything as irrelevant unless it serves one’s own immediate interests.” (122)

2. The need to protect employment     “Underlying every form of work is a concept of the relationship which we can and must have with what is other than ourselves.” (125)

“Work is a necessity, part of the meaning of life on this earth, a path to growth, human development and personal fulfillment” (128)

3. New biological technologies “Certainly, these issues require constant attention and a concern for their ethical implications.” (135)

 
Conclusion: “A technology severed from ethics will not easily be able to limit its own power.” (136)

You made it!  May you be open to the invitation of God in this chapter. 

Laudato Si  Home |  Week 1  |  Week 2  |  Week 3  |  Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6