Planet vs. Plastics

Earth Day  -  April 22, 2024        PLANET VS PLASTICS

Image: Amy Shamblen/Unsplash

I remember my first participation in an Earth Day celebration.  It was a lovely simple celebration which helped us welcome spring and new life.  Earth Day was first held on April 22, 1970.  From that first celebration to 2024 we have grown in our understanding of the many ways that our beautiful earth is in crisis.  A wide range of events have taken place and are planned  worldwide with at least 1 billion people in more than 193 counties marking this day.  As we hear more about damages affecting people and planet, the theme for this year is “Planet vs Plastics”.  More than a theme, this effort has become a movement.

Planet vs Plastics unites students, parents, businesses, governments, churches and other faith communities, unions, individuals and NGO’s in an unwavering commitment to call for the end of plastics for the sake of human and planetary health, demanding a 60% reduction in the productions of plastics by 2040 and an ultimate goal of building a plastic-free future for generations to come.

Plastics are not biodegradable.  They break down into smaller and smaller pieces which are ingested by animals, fish, birds and humans.  Eighty-four percent of plastics contain toxins which pass into animals and our food chain.  The oceans are sick, our planet is suffering and life is endangered.

All of us are invited to do something for the care of our only home and to turn to contemplate the creation around us.  This contemplation of creation allows us to discover in each thing a teaching which God wishes to hand on to us, since, “for the believer, to contemplate creation is to hear a message, to listen to a paradoxical and silent voice.”  (Laudate Si, 85) urging us to act.

-Sister Joan Atkinson, CSJ | Office for Systemic Justice

Good Neighbours

SEPTEMBER 28 - National Good Neighbor Day

We hear a great deal about conflict and suffering in our cities and towns, as well as in many far-off places. We also know that in many of these places, there are countless stories of "good neighbors." These are the people who step up in the face of need and do good deeds. Most of them do not make the headlines. Therefore, I am writing this blog to call attention to these good deeds that go unnoticed, yet make life a little easier for us or someone else.

I have a little story about a neighbour of mine.  We needed to replace the storm door at the front of our condominium.  The neighbour had us examine the door on his place and said he could order one like it and then install it for us.  Other then the cost of the door which we paid for, all the labour and time were generously offered by this good neighbour.  He checked with us each step of the way, and worked very quietly doing this deed and then came back to see if we were satisfied at the end of the process.  He asked for nothing and was glad to help.

This deed and so many other countless good deeds seemingly unnewsworthy, that actually make the world go around. Look around you today or tomorrow. There are many neighbors around us who could benefit from us being a "good neighbor".

Welcome all these moments – they are moments of grace in which God is among us.

- Joan Atkinson, CSJ

Images: Unsplash/Christian Stahl

Sustainable Development Goals

In July this summer the United Nations held what they call their High-Level Political Forum in which governments report on their efforts to implement within their countries what they are doing to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s).  There are 17 different goals and those countries whose turn it is to report, reports on a few that the UN has chosen for this Forum.  It was Canada’s turn to report on certain goals.

Sisters Sue Wilson and Joan Atkinson at the UN in New York, as part of a delegation from Canada representing NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) from Religious Communities. Pictured left to right: Brentella Williams, Sarah Rudolph' IBVM, Sue Wilson, Joan Atkinson, Varka Kalydzhieva.   

A small delegation representing some Canadian Religious Congregations attended. 

In preparation for this meeting, some of the religious Congregations that have NGO offices at the UN agreed to submit a report alongside the official Canadian Governments report.  The bottom-line conclusion of all the countries that reported was that none of us are doing as well as we had hoped.  Part of this slow progress was due to the impact of the Covid pandemic, and the world economy to recover.  However, what is uplifting about the sessions we attended was the very positive aspiration of countries to do better.  I always come away from the meetings at the UN feeling we remain very hopeful with a commitment to keep trying to do better.

The below video link from the UN website is worth the time to watch and despite all the problems we see and hear about around the globe there is also a very dedicated group of people who are committed to keep working to improve our world.  

-Sister Joan Atkinson, CSJ  

Holy Thursday

Today Christians of many faith traditions gather to begin the solemn celebrations of Holy Week – sometimes referred to as the Triduum.  It is the celebration of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Many of us who take part in this extended sacred feast, have parts we like and other parts we find difficult to move through - and even that may change for us from year to year.

Of course, the liturgies of these days focus on the Scriptural texts which are both historical and theological and spiritual.  We probably all know the flow of the historical events as recounted in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.  But these days are more than an historical remembering.  They have application and meaning today for each of us who try to understand how God is acting in us and in our world today. We need to understand that God’s action is still with us as we seek to respond to the woes and agonies of today.

“We need to understand that God’s action is still with us as we seek to respond to the woes and agonies of today.”

Today on Maundy Thursday many begin with a special supper, as Jesus and disciples did around the Seder supper.  I know that in my mind it is easy to slip into an “audience mentality” and watch the story unfold.  But much more is happening here.  I am being invited to see this story unfold with God’s eyes in my life and in our world today.  I am being invited to borrow God’s senses.  Therefore, this is not a forced experience, but a grace that is offered.  So God may offer us in some way, the capacity to see with God’s eyes, hear with God’s ears, and speak with God’s mouth, and love with God’s heart.

As we look around the world, and see the pain and suffering of so many, the deeper meaning is not to despair because of the pain and suffering and loss of so much, but to see it all with the eyes of love – the eyes of God.  This is a radical stance.  It is for me a grace and the invitation is to discover how God is inviting us to learn the meaning of hope.  As we remember together and ask to see this time with God’s eyes.

Sister Joan Atkinson, CSJ

St. Joseph's Day

Today the Sisters of St. Joseph mark another year to celebrate the feast of our patron, St. Joseph.  We don’t know much about him from Scripture and what we do know mostly centers around the Nativity stories as told in the Scripture.  We don’t know when he was born or when he died.  So what do we as Sisters of St. Joseph find so compelling about this quiet carpenter?  The image of pilgrim comes to mind.  Not a pilgrim that goes out to the desert to find God, but one who is open to find God where we are.  Joseph can teach us how to discover the presence of God within and around us.  

Growing into the life of God is not an exercise in spiritual gymnastics.  It is one long, day by day attempt to put on the mind of God wherever we are and whatever happens to us along the way. 

Growing into the life of God is not endless prayer taking us out of life’s challenges.  In fact, like Joseph, we are here to grow through everyone of those challenges and move day by day into a deeper communion with God.  If we do have special prayers or leave for some quiet time, these are little rests along the way meant to build our strength for the rest of journey ahead.

“like Joseph, we are here to grow through everyone of those challenges and move day by day into a deeper communion with God”

Joseph’s quiet and challenging life reminds us that we usually find God in the ordinary things we do day by day.  The many attempts we make to turn our attention towards God, in prayer, in service, in compassionate listening are simply signs that God is with us.  This is what Joseph’s life journey can show.  Joseph, an ordinary carpenter listened deeply and met the challenges of each day.  Joseph was not God, but a mentor for any of us who want to know how God is present in our daily lives.

Happy St. Joseph’s Day to all who have shared this journey and continue to seek God each day.

-Sister Joan Atkinson, CSJ

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Header Image: Unsplash/Saint John's Seminary