Cedras of Lebanon. photo Paul Saad/Flickr.com.
Pope Francis’ monthly intentions are prayed around the world. In September, the intention is “For the Cry of the Earth.”
“We pray that each one of us will hear and take to heart the cry of the Earth and of victims of natural disasters and climate change, and that all will undertake to personally care for the world in which we live,” the Holy Father has asked.
On 4 October, we celebrate the Feast of St Francis of Assisi, the Patron Saint of the Environment. In the Maronite Calendar, we also acknowledge the importance of the environment by celebrating two days connected with the land: Our Lady of the Plantation on 15 January and Our Lady of the Harvest on 15 May.
Current environmental crisis in Australia include pressing issues of renewable energy and climate change, local concerns such as overgrazing and bushfires, droughts and flooding, household wastes, health of waterways, pollution and extinction of species, agricultural clearing and overfishing.
In Lebanon, where many Maronites have originated from, the environmental concerns include deforestation leading to desertification, polluted waterways partly due to the trash crisis and poor air quality.
Remembering that most Maronites came from village life, with home-grown foods, and a simple sustainable lifestyle, they know the value of the earth. Patriarch Elias Howayek wrote in his compilation, Love of the Nation, in 1930:
“In the natural order, we see in our land, in the sun that lights it, in the rivers that water it, in the mighty mountains that protect it, and in the Mediterranean Sea spread before it, what helps us attain the greatest good among all goods, which is the sustenance of our lives. This land, which has in a way been like a mother to us, nourishes her children with the plants she grows and the animals that live on her surface, offering us foods that suit our temperament and health.
“The gentle air that blows over it is the air our lungs require, and the light that illuminates it is what captures both our sight and our hearts, so that nothing else pleases us as much.”
Lebanon is the land of cedar trees. In Scripture, God planted the cedars in Lebanon as a sign of his power and goodness. We read in Psalm 104:16, “The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.”
Lebanon is also known for its olive groves, snow-capped mountains, deep valleys and a shoreline on the coast of the Mediterranean. Such an appreciation of nature reflects God’s pronouncement in Genesis 1:31 that what he has created is “very good.”
It is an appreciation and admiration of the world gifted to us and following from this, an understanding of our place in the world as caretakers, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it” (Genesis 2:15).
Patriarch Howayek understood the human call to till the land and so he sought irrigation for the land of Bkerke and insisted on the planting of olives and blackberries in lands owned by the Patriarchate, as a means of living a sustainable lifestyle.
Today, over a century later, countries are becoming aware of the importance of purchasing organic produce, protecting arable land and beginning to take seriously our role as stewards of creation.
Khalil Gibran, the famous Lebanese Maronite poet wrote about the environment, “And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair” (The Prophet). However, he also noted how we neglect the value of the environment:
Trees are poems the earth writes upon the sky,
We fell them down and turn them into paper,
That we may record our emptiness.
So, as we reflect on the pope’s September intention, we are aware that many Maronites have recognised the beauty and value of creation but also the urgent necessity to live sustainable lives in.
Cedars of Lebanon. photo Paul Saad/Flickr.com.
Kadisha Valley And Caves, Blouza Village Lebanon. Photo: Paul Saad/Flickr.com.
