Season of Creation – Peace with Creation
This Season of Creation selection, “What we Need to Know to fight to Find Peace with Creation,” highlights the significant climate challenges we face in 2025 and the key considerations we must have in mind to improve our environment actively. At the end of this article, we seek to inspire your Season of Creation experience with these inspirations:
- John, Associate in WNY, recommends the book: “Come, Have Breakfast.”
- Eleanor Therese Vargas shares her love for creation with a favorite poem and image that captures nature’s beauty and power.
What We Need to Know to Fight to Find Peace with Creation
“Know your enemy.”
It’s a well-known quote from Sun Tzu, ancient Chinese military strategist and author of “The Art of War.” So if we’re going to find Peace with Creation during this Season of Creation, we must know our enemy.
Earth.org lists these 10 items as the most significant climate challenges for 2025:
- Global warming from fossil fuels — 2024 was the hottest year in history; each of the years 2015-2024 is among the warmest years on record. Greenhouse gas concentrations are at their highest; greenhouse gas emissions cover the Earth and trap the sun’s heat.
- Fossil Fuel Dependence — For years, economists and environmentalists have been asking for a carbon tax — increasing the price on activities that emit greenhouse gases. While 27 countries worldwide have such taxes, the U.S. does not.
- Wasting Food — We in the U.S. waste as much as 40% of our food supply, according to the USDA. Food waste accounts for up to 10% of the global greenhouse gas emissions.
- Biodiversity Loss — We are using more of Mother Earth’s resources than she can replenish naturally. Population sizes of mammals, fish, birds, reptiles and amphibians have declined an average of 68% since 1970.
- Plastic Pollution — 14 million tons of plastic end up in our oceans every year. Despite constant reminders to recycle, only 9% of all plastic produced has been recycled.
- Deforestation — every hour, we lose forests equaling the size of 300 football fields. If we don’t stop destroying them, just 10% of Mother Earth’s forests will be left by 2030.
- Air Pollution — The World Health Organization estimates air pollution kills 4.2 to 7 million people throughout the world every year. Yet in late August, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced plans to declare that the air pollution from power plants and motor vehicles poses little risk to human health.
- Melting Ice Caps and Rising Sea Levels — We’ve all heard that global warming from greenhouse gas emissions is warming the Earth. Melting ice caps cause sea levels to rise, causing flooding and the destruction of arctic animal habitats.
- Ocean Acidification — Oceans absorb almost 30% of the carbon dioxide released into Mother Earth’s atmosphere. Even small changes to the ocean’s acid levels have devastating impacts on marine ecosystems and species.
- Food and Water Insecurity — Climate change has caused topsoil to erode at alarming levels. Heavy with fertilizer, this soil ends up in waterways where it contaminates drinking water. At the same time, global food demand is expected to increase by 70% by 2050, and just 3% of the world’s water is freshwater.
It is now clear who is Mother Earth’s enemy — we are.
Learn more about the largest threats to Mother Earth.
2025 Season of Creation Inspirational Endorsement
Fr. John Leising, Associate and Chaplain at Fredonia Place, enthusiastically recommends “Come, Have Breakfast.” Author Elizabeth A. Johnson, CSJ, explores God’s endless love for all of creation and our connection to our “common home.” Each chapter offers a brief meditation based on Scripture, especially the Psalms. Her perspective is always refreshing and encourages you to think about all of creation in new ways. This isn’t a heavy book filled with complex theological concepts; instead, it will open your eyes and your heart!”
Imagery and poetry that nature inspires breathes life into our inner soul. Begin and end your reflections on nature’s beauty and power with gratitude, especially for our Creator God. S. Eleanore Therese Vargas shares an image and a poem from ‘Mindfulness in Daily Life,’ that sets a perfect example of nature’s artistic gift.
