God's creation and human destruction

I have the blessing of living in an extremely beautiful place – surrounded by mountains, valleys, trees, coffee fields, and more.

This time of year there are also many flowering trees that bring color in the midst of the brown dust and dry fields.

I have also been able to plant flowers on the south side of the house and they are blooming.

I also have experienced between dawns and sunsets – and other gorgeous views that open my heart in gratitude to God for the beauty of creation.

 

Dawn

Sunset

I also have experienced the cicadas whose cacaphony is nearly deafening.

chiquirín

But there are times when I fear for what we humans do.

A few night’s ago I noticed a fire on a nearby hill which spread. Someone was burning the hillside.

at night

the next morning

There are a good number of fields that are being burnt. One of the largest and most devastating is on the road between the main highway and Dulce Nombre. The owners have burned acres of land and cut down trees – to plant coffee.

In the midst of this, we are experiencing hot and dry days. Here in Plan Grande we have water once or twice a day, partly because of some road construction that has affected the pipes but also because the source is not as abundant as normal.

In some parts of the country the situation is more serious and people have little or no food because of the drought.

The hand of “man” [sic] is wreaking havoc.

Creation groans

Pope Francis, following in the steps of Orthodox Patriarch Bartolomeos, has asked us to set aside today as a day to care for God’s creation.

What is striking about Pope Francis’ encyclical on creation, Laudato Si’, is his  insistence on care for creation and for the poorest among us. He and many others know that the environmental crisis affects the poor more.

Sunday, before Mass here in Plan Grande, I was speaking to a young man who farms. He noted that up to half of the basic grains harvest has been lost due to the drought. That means that many will not have enough food to eat and that prices for these grains will be controlled by those who have the money to buy up and store the grains.

The drought is serious. Even though we have had three strong rains in the past ten days, the damage has already been done. Some farmers did not plant since the rains had not fallen to loosen up the soil. Others lost some or all of their crops due to the drought. Even some coffee farmers are seeing the effects of the drought with premature ripening of coffee beans as well as some infestations that cannot be controlled since the inputs need rain to get rid of the insects.

A friend who has been here in Honduras for 32 years recently told me that this is the hottest and driest year she has ever experienced.

Global warming and a strong El Niño are possible causal factors. But the situation is complicated by deforestation as well as by the burning of fields which I saw even yesterday.

And so today is the time to begin to find ways to really care for the creation which God has shared with us and to help all experience the "global ecological conversion" that Pope John Paul II called for and that Pope Francis reiterated in his encyclical.

This means, first of all, recovering a sense of awe and wonder. As Pope Francis wrote, 

If we approach nature and the environment without this openness to awe and wonder, if we no longer speak the language of fraternity and beauty in our relationship with the world, our attitude will be that of masters, consumers, ruthless exploiters, unable to set limits on their immediate needs.

Drought and torrential rains

It’s been a very dry year so far – and this is a cause for concern. It has also been very hot!

A lagoon that I have often passed appears to be drying up – partly due to the drought, partly to the local government that has been sucking out the water for use on road work.

The rainy season usually begins in May but this year there has been little rain. In some places, the ground is dry and hard; so people have not planted. Others who planted earlier have been fearing that their crops would dry up or would yield only a limited crop.

There is a concern about possible hunger scenarios.

But the weather yesterday and today may mark the beginning of the rainy season.

Yesterday was a beautiful day.

As I left the Celebration of the Word with Communion here in Plan Grande, I remarked to someone how clear and fresh it was.

In the afternoon I went to the youth group meeting in the nearby aldea of Candelaria, noting the threatening sky in the distance.

The rains came in the middle of the meeting and the torrential rains on the tin roof made it almost impossible to hear each other. So I did an activity with them – a trust fall.

After the meeting I drove home – in the midst of rain and fog.

When I arrived at the house I noted that the electricity was off. Then I went upstairs and noted a little lake on the terraza.

The drain is too small for all the rain to flow out and so I proceeded to push water over the side with a broom.

The rains continued – something with a lot of force – during most of the evening and into the night.

When I got up about 6:00 am, the electricity was still off and a thick fog engulfed the house.

Ar midmorning it's overcast, but the sun is peaking through the clouds.

Whether the dry season is over, I do not know. I hope so – for the well-being of the people.