A New Way of Living an Ecological Life

The Eucharist is the center of a Catholic's Liturgical life. Jesus wanted to be in the bread and wine of the Mass. For this to happen the earth, sun, water and human cooperation preceded God's action, making Jesus present on our altars-- the cosmos became present in the Eucharist with Jesus.

Ecological Spirituality sees the world with these lenses. This new way of seeing our environment will be discussed during the year in the Catholic Kyeong Hyang Magazine. Thinking of creation as independent and separate from ourselves and placing humanity at the center of Creation have led to the ecological crisis we face today. We have misunderstood "to subdue, to tend and take care of " to mean do as we please.

The Magazine begins the discussion in the current issue by making the sin of pride the culprit, and ends the article by showing how the steps used for confession may help us to achieve a correct ecological spirituality.

The five steps used in Confession:

1) Examination of Concience: To see where sin has caused the destruction of ecosystems and the crisis we face-- as we replaced God with humans at the center of creation, as we mistake capitalistic industrialization as the basic structure of society, and as we constantly search for more comfort.

2) Contrition: To be sorry for our failings in this area. Sorry for what we have done to God and his Creation--perfect contrition. Sorry out of fear for the harm that we have done to ourselves and creation--imperfect contrition.

3) Resolve: Firm resolution not to again be a cause of ecological destruction, to see with a new heart the ecological problems we have created.

4) Confession: Honestly and accurately confess the sins we have discovered, such as being conscious only of human development, with no interest in nature, resulting in the polluting of air, water and earth. The overuse of disposables, abuse of resources, supporting growth at any price, and the contempt for life. .

5) Penance: Living an ecologically friendly life. Work for the green revolution and against reckless development. Be a good Samaritan to nature and accept willingly some uncomfortableness. Use more public transportation and consider ecology when buying. And perhaps most important of all, cutting down on our needs and not indulging in luxuries.