Hear Creation’s Cry
Monthly reflection to deepen our eco-conversion
Action rather than just talk
By. Sr Loredana Dalla Libera, LSA,
Kinshasa, DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo)
If we’re living in a global ecological crisis, we’re also
living in a crisis of human relationships.
Here in Kinshasa, where I’ve been living for a year, the
relationship between humans and creation is broken.
After several attempts to start the Laudato Si training, I thought it was necessary
to take action rather than just talk. But after a year here in Kinshasa, and after
studying the environment and the people, I’ve come to this conclusion:
Kinshasa is a very big city, but very dirty and unlivable. It has a population of
20,000,000, a city full of smog, dirt, poverty, and disease. At the diocesan level,
there’s also an environmental unit within the Justice and Peace Commission and
they try their best. At the parish level (remember, we’re in a very big city and
there are a lot of parishes), not many people know about the Laudato Si’
encyclical. With a small group of Laudato Si’ Animators, we’re beginning to find
the right time and contacts to start spreading the word about Laudato Si’ on
radio broadcasts, in parishes, and on all ecumenical websites, and to form
groups of ecologically aware people. Even religious men and women are
becoming more aware of the issue.
There’s no such thing as difficulty per se, just the slowness and patience required
to get the message of Laudato Si’ across and to arouse interest in and
knowledge of Laudato Si’.
In front of our house, many students pass by every day, coming from other
districts and also passing by on their way to work. Now, given the slowness, it
takes patience to organize and schedule training courses and start
awareness-raising work in schools, parishes, and groups. During this Season of
Creation, I thought it might be interesting to put up a mural about ecology and
the reality we live in, as a way of getting everybody to ask themselves questions.
I got the idea and consulted first my sisters who supported it. I called some artists
who helped me to put on the mural the burning ideas that I had in mind. The
idea of drawing on the wall came from my intention of showing those who pass
by our congregation Combonian Missionary Sisters and our home that there is a
desire for change.
The message behind my mural is on the one hand the beauty of nature, a
pollution-free nature with trees and green horizons. On the other, the pollution
that fills our lungs with poison, drowning us in garbage and endangering the
seas and people themselves. At the center is a man who flees pollution and
decides to give his hand to nature, that is, he decides to relate to it, because he
sees his future only in a change of mentality that can only be realized in relation
to nature… This man loves life. And he sends out a message in the words of the
encyclical Laudato Si: “The earth, our home, is beginning to look more and
more like an immense pile of filth (LS 21). In the face of the environmental and
social crisis, each of us is called to act.”
Today it inspires many who stop their cars and enter our compound to ask for an
explanation of the mural. One of the people who was very touched proposed
that I go with her to see our parish priest and propose him a mural at our parish.
People pass by and look, read, ask questions… People are beginning to say that
it’s important to take care of each other and nature too, I see there is hope to
act with creation. I invite them to start with themselves, with their families… I
don’t know if anything will change, but seeing people starting to ask questions
about their lifestyle is already a step forward.
Image of the current relationship between human and creation, a toxic relationship
with pollution that fills our lungs and water, before it kills fish
Questions for Reflection
Answer each question with at least 3 complete sentences.
How did Sr Loredana’s story resonate with you, thinking about the challenges
she faced and the creative solution she found to engage her community?
What are the negative aspects of your surroundings that usually upset you when
you think about the challenge of caring for creation in your local community?
What are some creative ways you can think of to engage your local
community, to touch their hearts and minds, different from the solutions or
projects you usually consider?
