Trash

Many years ago in my Coast Guard life, while stationed in Hawaii, my family and I met an Army Chaplain by the name of Fr. Mac. Fr. Mac was a type who would use visual aids in order to get a point across.  Once a year he would have the community celebrate what he called "TRASH SUNDAY".    What made me think of this, is of course the Holy Father's Encyclical Letter LAUDATO SI'. The way we celebrated this event was we came into the chapel and we had to wade through papers, bottles and cans and other trash in order to get to our pews. The lesson for the day involved, care for the environment.  We learned to be aware of the carelessness of discarding bottles and cans and other debris from our cars or beaches, or public ways. With the celebration of September 1st as being "the World Day of Prayer for the Care of creation" I think it is fitting to be reminded again to discard trash in an appropriate way. To be aware, and act. Just a couple of suggestions may be taken into consideration.



1.  Keep a plastic bag or similar receptacle in your car to put coffee cups, water bottles or paper wrappers in, until you get to a trash bin.

2.  Take a walk around your neighborhood with a bag and pick up the papers, bottles, cups and nips that unthinking people toss out of their car window.

3.  Take time to re-cycle bottles, cans and papers or card board.There are many ways we can help our environment and every little bit helps.   (Laudato Si', 216) "The ecological crisis thus summons us to a profound spiritual conversion whereby the effects of their encounter with Jesus Christ become evident in their relationship with the world around them" For "Living our vocation to be protectors of God's handiwork is essential to a life of virtue; it is not an optional or a secondary aspect of our Christian experience".

Dcn R. D. Lemay