Tipperary (Ireland). On 12 October 2024, in a conference centre in Tipperary, the Cosmology Group of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians of the Province of Our Lady Queen of Ireland (IRL) organised a Conference on Integral Ecology for the FMA and collaborators of the Dublin and Limerick Communities, presented by Diarmuid O’Murchu, Missionary of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (MSC).
The theme of the conference, in keeping with the call of our General Chapter XX1V to adopt Integral Ecology as our way of living, opened many avenues leading to a deeper knowledge of Laudato Si’. The participants were invited to acknowledge the words of Pope Francis in Laudato si’: “It cannot be emphasised enough how everything is interconnected” (LS n° 138) and “Nature cannot be regarded as something separate from ourselves or as mere setting in which we live. We are part of nature, included in it and thus in constant interaction with it” (LS n° 139).
From these statements, the relator helped to reflect on the fact that “We belong to the large community of life and here, no alienation is possible, all are sacred.
Jesus is the human face of God made radically visible here on earth- his coming marks the embodiment of God among us. Jesus was all inclusive in his approach to moving towards a fuller sense of life – he knew the need for togetherness, for community, he is often found celebrating with others in their own local setting- Jesus made efforts to rework the tradition of his people who treated the land as sacred”.
Diarmuid O’Murchu quoted the scripture scholar, John Dominic Crossan who stated: “We are waiting for God’s intervention, but God is waiting for our collaboration”.
He therefore invited to allow the Spirit of God to send things our way and allow the Spirit of God to pray in each one, quoting Paul, “We are the Body of Christ” and all of God’s Body is sacred. He also said: “We belong to a region of our planet earth as Jesus did and we are called to revisit our sense of belonging”.
As the Catholic scholar Thomas Berry says: “The full diversity of life functions is carried out, not as individuals, or as a species, but as a community that includes the physical, as well as the organic components of a region. Such a bioregion is self-propagating, self-nourishing, self-healing and a self-fulfilling community. Each of the component life-systems must Integrate its own functioning within this community to survive in an effective manner” (Dream of the Earth, 163-171).
Participants appreciated this opportunity to listen and engage with the content and to find ways of making it a reality in everyday life.
