I’m not sure if you have been following the latest studies from the world’s best climate scientists, but the news is not good.  Not good at all.  At the time of this writing (Wednesday), we are experiencing the 23rd straight day of record global temperatures.  More than likely, the past 23 days have been the hottest in the last 100,000+ years.  A new study suggests that the Gulf Stream system could collapse as soon as 2025 (or perhaps as late as 2095).  The shutting down of these vital ocean currents would bring catastrophic climate impacts.  It would disrupt the rains that billions of people depend on for food in India, South America and west Africa.  It would increase storms and drop temperatures in Europe, leading to a rising sea level on the eastern coast of North America. It would further endanger the Amazon rainforest and the Antarctic ice sheets.  And speaking of Antarctica, it is mid-winter there, the season when loads of sea ice should be produced.  But in recent days, there has been a net decrease in sea ice.  This is just crazy!  All of this data and, of course, much, much more, has led climate scientists to conclude that the heating up of planet Earth is happening at a much faster rate than even the most dire of doomsters would have predicted.  Indeed, this is not good news at all. Frightening, actually.  Most serious climate scientists are now using the term climate collapse rather than climate change.   

I’m sure that none of what I have just written comes as a surprise to many of you because we have been experiencing first hand the ramifications of the earth’s climate on the verge of collapse.  It has been hot in White Bear.  It looks as if it will continue to be hot in White Bear.  We are in the midst of a severe drought.  For several days this summer, it was actually dangerous to be outside due to the poor air quality driven by fires in Canada.  Those fires are so severe because the forests of Canada are tinder dry.  We should keep our n95 masks handy because fires like these are probably the new normal.  No longer can we just ignore what is going on with the climate.  No longer is it hypothetical.  What is happening on a global scale has come to our doorstep. Faithful folk pay attention to what is going on, and faithful folk face the truth, even when that truth is hard to swallow.  

That said, it is easy to become overwhelmed, depressed and even despairing when faced with such alarming climate conditions. People of faith, however, are called to resist allowing bad news to overcome our lives.  We are called to “rejoice in the Lord always” and to “live abundantly.”  We are called to be people of good news.  But how?  How in the world are we supposed to do that?!  Or better, where may we go to find good news in the face of such bad news?  

As a Christian, I go to the promises of God and to the teachings of Jesus, both of which clearly and consistently proclaim that the earth belongs to God and that God, in God’s good time, will make all things new.  Faith is a matter of trusting the truth and persistence of God’s love even in the face of the brokenness of our lives and the brokenness of the world.  And as we become more trusting of God’s faithful love, may our hearts and minds and lives develop attitudes of gratitude, compassion and action.

Gratitude… for the beauty of God’s creation and our place in it.  May we take time each day to be aware and astounded by the natural world. 

Compassion… for all of God’s creatures, both human and non-human, that are victims of the climate collapse.  May we come alongside them for comfort and support and advocacy.

Action… in our own lives to become better stewards of God’s creation and towards community and world leaders, holding them accountable for their decisions.  May we do what we can to participate in God’s plan of salvation for the entire creation.

So, as we live in this frightful chapter of our planet’s life, fear not, faithful friends. Face the truth of the dire situation of our planet, but also receive the even greater truth that God is good and loving.  Trust in God’s love.  And emerging out of that trust, may we become more grateful, more compassionate, and more active.  Now that is a picture of an abundant life!

~Father Art