Jubilee for the Earth cover art

Jubilee for the Earth

Jubilee for the Earth

Written by: Missionary Society St Columban
Listen for free

About this listen

 “Jubilee for the Earth” is a podcast about biodiversity and our sacred story produced by the Missionary Society of St. Columban.

The Columbans are a Catholic congregation of priests and lay people who live in solidarity with those who are made poor and marginalized, including the wounded earth. We put this experience into dialogue with Scripture, Catholic Social Teaching, and science, and this has compelled us to find ways to restore our relationships with God’s creation. We believe that ethical behavior must no longer be confined to our relationship with God and other human beings, but must include all of creation too.

Over the course of twelve episodes, we’ll explore the beauty of biodiversity and the threats it faces. We’ll travel around the world to hear from Columbans who are working to renew the face of the Earth. Grounded in Catholic Social Teaching, we hope that this podcast will help us all to see how caring for our common home is fundamental to our lives as people of faith and as global citizens.Copyright Missionary Society St Columban Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Creating Healthy Politics: Biodiversity Loss + Advocacy for the Common Good

    Creating Healthy Politics: Biodiversity Loss + Advocacy for the Common Good
    Oct 4 2022
    Learn more about https://columbanjpe.org/jubileepodcast

    In his encyclical letter on the environment, called Laudato Si’, Pope Francis writes: “ It is remarkable how weak international political responses have been [to addressing our ecological crises]. … There are too many special interests, and economic interests easily end up trumping the common good and manipulating information so that their own plans will not be affected” (LS #54).

    Both the climate crisis and the biodiversity crisis are accelerating rapidly, with scientists warning us that there’s not much time left to act before the worst consequences are unavoidable. In the face of seemingly indifferent or callous political leadership, it’s tempting for us to give up hope that meaningful solutions to our ecological crisis can be implemented. How can we move past inaction? How can we create a “healthy politics” capable of prioritizing the common good?

    The solution is for each one of us to get more involved in politics. It’s important to remember that politics is not about politicians and political parties. What it’s about is every member of a community building the kind of communities they want to live in.

    Quoting the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, Pope Francis reminds us that “‘in order to make society more human, more worthy of the human person, love in social life – political, economic and cultural – must be given renewed value, becoming the constant and highest norm for all activity.’ … When we feel that God is calling us to intervene with others in these social dynamics, we should realize that this too is part of our spirituality, which is an exercise of charity and, as such, matures and sanctifies us” (LS #231).

    It’s our responsibility, as much as it’s our right, to use our moral voices to advocate alongside the earth and its more marginalized children for a more just, sustainable world. To solve the ecological crisis, we need every person to be a part of the solution, starting with their local community and moving all the way up to the highest levels of society and government.

    Music from https://purple-planet.com
    Show More Show Less
    15 mins
  • Prophets of the Future: Biodiversity Loss + Young People

    Prophets of the Future: Biodiversity Loss + Young People
    Sep 29 2022
    Learn more about https://columbanjpe.org/jubileepodcast

    In his encyclical letter on the environment, called Laudato Si’, Pope Francis writes: “the notion of the common good also extends to future generations. The global economic crises have made painfully obvious the detrimental effects of disregarding our common destiny, which cannot exclude those who come after us. We can no longer speak of sustainable development apart from intergenerational solidarity” (LS #159).

    Across the world, young people are raising their voices to make it clear that caring for our common home is a major concern for them. Given scientific reports and planetary trends, they're being frank about their anxieties for the future: what will the world look like in the coming decades? Will it be hospitable enough for them to build thriving lives? Is it responsible for them to bring children into this world?

    Research into the growing rates of “ecological grief” make it clear that the destruction of the web of life is having a profound impact on young people’s mental health and overall happiness.

    Older generations have a responsibility to steward the earth so that it can be passed down to those that come after them. They also have a responsibility to listen to the perspective and the experience of young people, keeping in mind St. Benedict’s maxim that “it is often to a young person that the Lord reveals what is best.” (Rule of St. Benedict III).

    If we want to solve the world’s ecological crisis, we have to listen to young people. Decisions must be made with their input, because it will be their generations who will be responsible for facing the worst consequences of this crisis.

    Music from https://purple-planet.com
    Show More Show Less
    17 mins
  • Saqueando Nuestra Tierra: La Pérdida de Biodiversidad + Sobreexplotación

    Saqueando Nuestra Tierra: La Pérdida de Biodiversidad + Sobreexplotación
    Sep 22 2022
    Learn more about https://columbanjpe.org/jubileepodcast

    En su carta encíclica sobre el medio ambiente, Laudato Si’, el Papa Francisco nos enseña que “la tierra es esencialmente una herencia común, cuyos frutos deben beneficiar a todos. … Por consiguiente, todo planteo ecológico debe incorporar una perspectiva social que tenga en cuenta los derechos fundamentales de los más postergados” (LS #93).

    La sobreexplotación de la biodiversidad del planeta trastorna los estilos de vida de las comunidades pobres y,muchas veces, las cambia de tal manera en la que comunidades enteras son obligadas a migrar porque carecen de los recursos naturales que necesitan para subsistir. Los impactos de esta extracción irresponsable de recursos naturales también hacen un daño permanente e irreparable a los ecosistemas en nuestros planeta.

    Si bien cada uno de nosotros puede tomar lo que necesita de la naturaleza para sobrevivir, cada uno de nosotros también tiene el deber de hacerlo de manera responsable y sostenible (cf. LS #67). Como personas de fe viviendo en una era de crisis ecológica, se nos invita a examinar cómo nuestros estilos de vida perpetúan estas condiciones de extracción injusta de los recursos naturales y a encontrar formas alternativas de vivir de manera más sostenible. Hay tantas formas en la que podemos empezar a cambiar nuestros estilos de vida y por consiguiente a nuestras sociedades –solo necesitamos un poco de compasión e imaginación.

    Music from https://purple-planet.com
    Show More Show Less
    15 mins
No reviews yet