St. Francis of Assisi has been officially proclaimed as the "father of ecology". To the Italians, he is San Francesco, affectionately called "il poverello" for he gloried in giving up all his earthly wealth to be filled instead with God’s assignments.
The Canticle of Brother Sun
St. Francis composed an ode (praise) to nature. Below are excerpts of Il Cantico delle Creature, which is actually a canticle to life proclaiming God’s creation as our brothers and sisters:
"Most High, omnipotent, good Lord,
To You praise, glory and honor and all benediction.
To You alone, Most High, do they belong...
... most especially by Sir Brother Sun,
Who makes the days, and illumines us by his light:
For he is beautiful and radiant with great splendor;
And is a symbol of You, God most High.
Praised be my Lord,
by means of Sister Moon and all the stars:
For in heaven You have placed them,
clear, precious and fair...
Praised be my Lord, by means of Sister Water:
For she is very useful, humble, precious and chaste.
Praised be my Lord,
by means of our sister Mother Earth,
which sustains us and keeps us,
And brings forth varied fruits with colored flowers and leaves.
Prince Philip gathers Buddhists, Christians, Muslims, Hindus and Jews
This year is the 45th anniversary of World Wildlife Fund International (WWF). Prince Philip, who headed WWF in 1986, brought all the major faiths together to discuss conservation at the same time went on a pilgrimage to Assisi. So it was in September 1986, during its silver anniversary, that thousands of people converged in Assisi, the birthplace of St. Francis.
They came as pilgrims from all the major faiths and main conservation bodies, and travelled the roads of Umbria with their banners and flags, culminating in their dramatic entrance into Assisi.
During this time, a unique retreat was taking place in the convent of St. Francis. Here, for the first time ever, representatives of the five major faiths – Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism – met together with conservationists to discuss what each faith had to say on conservation. Each faith boldly stated what its teachings had to say about how we should live in relationship with nature. From the tower of the Church, the five religious representatives proclaimed their Declarations.
Prince Philip stated: "I believe that today, in this famous shrine of the saint of ecology, a new and powerful alliance has been forged between the Forces of Religion and the Forces of Conservation. Neither can ever be quite the same again."
Excerpts from the Assisi Declarations on Nature, received from the five major faiths, follows:
In the words of Buddha Himself: "Because the cause was there, the consequences followed; because the cause is there, the effects will follow." These few words present the interrelationship between cause (karma) and its effects... happiness and suffering do not simply come about by chance or irrelevant causes. Buddhism is a religion of love, understanding and compassion committed towards the ideal of non-violence. As such, it also attaches great importance towards wildlife and the protection of the environment on which every being in this world depends for survival.
In my faraway country, I still remember what my parents said, they told us that various spirits and forces are dormant in the rivers, mountains, lakes and trees. "Any harm done to them," they said, "would result in drought, epidemics and sickness in the human beings and the loss of the fertility of the earth."
The fathers of the Church understood well the marvel of man’s dual citizenship and the responsibility it placed upon him. Man’s dominion cannot be understood as license to abuse, spoil, squander or destroy what God has made to manifest His glory. That dominion cannot be anything else than a stewardship in symbiosis with all creatures.
Many are the causes of ecological disaster which mankind faces today. In the name of Christ, Christians repudiate:
1. All forms of human activity – wars, discrimination and destruction of cultures – which do not respect the authentic interests of the human race; and
2. All ill-considered exploitation of nature, which risks destroying it and, in turn, makes man the victim of degradation.
The essence of Islamic teaching is that the entire universe is God’s creation. Allah makes the waters flow upon the earth, upholds the heavens, makes the rainfall and keeps the boundaries between day and night. For the Muslim, mankind’s role on earth is that of the khalifa, vice-regents or trustees of God. We are God’s stewards and agents on earth. We are not the masters of this earth; it does not belong to us to do with it what we wish.
Unity, trusteeship and accountability, that is tawheed, khalifa and akhrah, the three central concepts of Islam, which are also the pillars of the environment ethics of Islam.
They constitute the basic values taught by the Qur’an. It is these values, which led Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam, to say: "Whoever plants a tree and diligently looks after it until it matures and bears fruit is rewarded", and "the world is green and beautiful and God has appointed you his stewards over it."
In the ancient spiritual traditions, man was looked upon as part of nature, linked by indissoluble spiritual and psychological bonds with the elements around him. This is very much marked in the Hindu tradition, probably the oldest living religious tradition in the world. According to the Vaishnava tradition, man did not spring fully formed to dominate the lesser life forms, but rather evolved out of these forms itself, and is therefore integrally linked to the whole of creation.
This leads necessarily to a reverence for animal life. The Yajurveda lays down that "no person should kill animals helpful to all." The natural environment also received the close attention of the ancient Hindu scriptures. Forests and groves were considered sacred, and flowering trees received special reverence. The Mahabharata says that: "even if there is only one tree full of flowers and fruits in a village that place becomes worthy of worship and respect."
What is needed today is to remind ourselves that nature cannot be destroyed without mankind ultimately being destroyed itself.
In the Kabbalistic teaching, as Adam named all of God’s creatures, he helped define their essence. Adam swore to live in harmony with those whom he had named. Thus, at the very beginning of time, man accepted responsibility, before God, for all of creation.
Judaism, of course, knows the doctrine of the world beyond death, but its central concern is with life in this world.
Our ancestor Abraham inherited his passing for nature from Adam. The latter rabbis never forgot it. Some 20 centuries ago, they told the story of the two men who were out on the water in a rowboat. Suddenly, one of them started to saw under his feet. He maintained that it was his right to do whatever he wished to the place which belonged to him. The other answered that they were in the rowboat together; the hole that he was making would sink both of them.
We have a responsibility to life, to defend it everywhere, not only against our own sins, but also against those of others. We are all passengers, together, in this same fragile and glorious world. Let us safeguard our rowboat – and let us row it together.
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace
Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
Where there is injury, pardon.
Where there is doubt, faith.
Where there is despair, hope.
Where there is darkness, light.
And where there is sadness, joy...
(Reference: The Writings of St. Francis of Assisi, translated by Ignatius Brody, pp. 20-22, 1979)
(For more information or reaction, please e-mail at exec@obmontessori.edu.ph or pssoliven@yahoo.com)