In a recent Catechesis, Pope Benedict XVI focused on “how to speak about God in our times”. While his talk emphasized the importance of prayer and direct contact with Jesus, among other elements, towards the end he mentioned the importance of listening to the signs of the times. The care for creation was 1 among […]
Tag: nature
Science and God: Benedict XVI’s Paths to Faith
Since the beginning of the year of faith, Pope Benedict XVI has been giving some masterful teachings on faith, and many of them tie in with environmental themes. Last week he raised the question of whether faith still made sense in a world of technology and science: Does faith still make sense in a world […]
The nature of nature in Michelangelo
Recently Pope Benedict XVI gave a homily on occasion of the 500th anniversary of the Sistine Chapel. He touched, guided by Michelangelo’s paintings on the ceiling, on a theme very dear to him: the purpose of creation. The idea that nature has a purpose, that creation is not a fruit of chance or only blind […]
Families that make an (environmental) difference
Below a text from Pope Benedict XVI delivered in Milan for the 7th World Meeting of Families. The core of his speech centered on holiness and family life, and the challenges for modern faithful families. But certainly, among the benefits of a united, holy and prayerful family was the improvement of the environment. Since every […]
Christ and Nature in Images
The last few posts have been filled with content about the reality and relationship between Christ and nature. Here is a very different expression of that reality in images from the city of Rio de Janeiro that was covered in clouds this morning. The statue of Christ the Redeemer has its base engulfed by clouds […]
Lent and Nature Part I: Preamble for Reconciliation
I have spoken before about the relationships between the season of Lent, that precedes Easter, and the environment: last year Pope Benedict XVI spoke of conversion, related to the ecological conversion. This year the reference to the environment is somewhat more explicit. Yesterday was Ash Wednesday, which marked the beginning of lent, and in yesterday’s catechesis […]
Threads and Colors
Here is a trailer of a documentary being produced by ICTY’S about art in poor Peruvian villages (in Spanish). The title translation is: “Threads and Colors: The Value of Every Stitch”. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yn0GNCHQ4Xc&context=C3370ae9ADOEgsToPDskKJwx7yRKqLTZxqrDCzDkg4]
Is it possible to be happy with this life?
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71HzYChzTbA] The question: “Is it possible to be happy with this life?” is a line from a video produced by Gnarly Bay productions. I don’t know much about Gnarly Bay, except that they produce excellent narrative and visual material. The answer to the question seems to be: yes, it is possible, in NATURE fundamentally, through […]
Nature, not Naturalism
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7n9BUnr1as&feature=player_embedded] In a previous post I have talked about the philosophical tendency towards naturalism. “From the Stoics through the Latins like Lucretius and Cicero there was a strong Naturalistic tendency in Western thought. Augustine, using Plato, rescues the centrality of God and resist this naturalism, while Boethius nails naturalism’s coffin and puts ‘nature in its place’.” In a recent […]
Technology, Silence and the Pedagogy of Farming
After the historic speech in Germany and his mention of the environmental movement as one example of a challenge to the bunker of relativism, Pope Benedict XVI continues to make reference to the environment. In a speech to the Carthusian monks in southern Italy, he gave an interesting diagnostic of our world, where technology and […]