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First prize

Creation and peace

By Margaret Miller

Respect of creation and peace in the world are greatly intertwined. Peace between people and between all forms of creation comes from respect and nurturing that goes as far back into Scripture as the first creation story in Genesis. The creation Scripture calls for humankind to be stewards of the creation of God, not to rule but to take responsibility for it so that the world may be self-sustaining and prosperous. As humankind strays from its responsibility to creation, we defy what the God of Scripture has requested of us. We stray from how our world is supposed to be.

The connection between care of creation and peace has been a particularly serious issue in this generation. Both Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI have written about this connection in relation to the World Day of Peace.

In each of their messages, they speak about our responsibility to the earth as well as each other. Both call for peaceful unity internationally in spite of differences to combat the harmful habits of the past so that future generations may prosper in what God has given us, as we have all of our lives.

As stories of malnutrition to overeating or mistreatment of ecosystems to global warming darken our present, we are called to look to the future. If what we are doing to our societies is bad now, think how badly our children and our children’s children will suffer for our mistakes toward nature.

Even though our youngest generation is called to make changes for the future, that is not the only change needed. As Pope Benedict XVI assures, peace between people cannot be acquired until the connection between God and all of his creation is re-established and acknowledged. People of all generations must recognize that all creation is of God before finding peace in humanity alone.

By receiving a Catholic education, I have been able to compare scientific environmental responsibility to that offered by theology in scriptures and teachings. Students of Catholic education have the opportunity to discuss belief in God in relation to everything we study, from global warming to the food industry to deforestation.

The combination of religious and secular education teaches not only what is wrong but why, with an emphasis on ways to correct those wrongs. Students are given the chance to learn the dignity of humanity and creation alike, as well as practice that dignity through studying the ways of the world.

Personally, my education in the Catholic faith has shown me where to look for the answers I need. Just recently in a theology class, we discussed the connection between the creation story and changes occurring in God’s creation today.

Through a reimagining of what the words meant during our discussion, I was reminded that no matter who we are or where we came from we are all in the image of God and creation and, therefore, must be good.

Nothing in the world is inherently bad, so why is there ever justification for separation over an issue as universal as respecting life, from conception to natural death, whether animal, plant, or whatever else?

My Catholic education, especially in my second half of high school, has strengthened my faith and convictions regarding the protection of life as created by God wherever it may be harmed.

Second prize

Dividends for Life

By Jamie Pitts

Dividends for life. It has a nice ring to it, but what does it actually stand for? The term “dividends” means a sesultant, return or reward to be divided and distributed. In most cases, dividends are usually given in forms of cash or stock from companies to shareholders as incentive to continue to invest in their stock. With that in mind, we look at this phrase in a new context, and understand that our dividends in the Catholic faith have nothing to do with money, but everything to do with a different kind of resultant.

The Catholic faith supplies us with dividends of knowledge, faith, discipline, but most importantly morals. Being educated in the Catholic faith, we have formed our ideals, our ethics, our morals. We have grasped a deeper understanding of our proper code of conduct and our responsibilities towards humanity. Through our Catholic dividends, we can comprehend our responsibilities of tending to and protecting all of God’s creation. In which brings us to our roots: that of the relationship between protecting God’s creation and peace.

According to Pope Benedict XVI, “If you want to cultivate peace, protect creation.” This means that we must all be responsible stewards. He brings us to realize the nature of our vocation. That is, no matter what you do, do it for the greater good of all. What the relationship between God’s creation and peace comes down to is simple: respect. As quoted by Pope John Paul II, “In our day, there is a growing awareness that world peace is threatened ... also by a lack of due respect.”

In order to gain peace, we must respect all creation. This means respect to all rights of humanity, including rights to life, health, progress and happiness, to our environment, and all other walks of life. We cannot go on living selfishly, nor can we hold indifference towards others and expect peace just to happen. We must look with compassion among all. For when compassion is present among all, then peace can come into existence. However, it is only in a peace holding environment that all creation can be respected.

After all, as a Catholic, isn’t it what we’ve learned from the beginning? The characteristics we must hold that Jesus Christ himself declared to all those so long ago? To those who seek fair trials and equality, let us thirst for righteousness. To those whose opinions clash with our won, let us be merciful. To those who have done wrong and been drawn towards evil, let them strive for a clean heart. To those who have encountered numerous obstacles and climbed mountains for the sake of what is good, let justice find them. To those who have been affected by war or destruction, let us be peacemakers. Let us be peacemakers.

We are called to do God’s work. We are called to bring protection and peace to all. In his message for the celebration of the World Day of Peace, Pope Benedict XVI goes on to say that, “Contemplating the beauty of creation inspires us to recognize the love of the creator.” We must see the wonders of creation and understand that God has made everything in our world in his glorious image for a reason and we must respect it as such. So it is held to such an importance, now more than ever, that we remind ourselves of the dividends that our Catholic faith has taught us and apply it to the wrong we see in the world. For “if you want to cultivate peace, protect creation.”

Third prize

Protecting the Planet

By Ann Farrell

For me, the correlation between peace and protection of the environment is, at once very personal and also global. Allow me to address the personal first.  Not quite eighteen years ago, I was conceived out of wedlock. My birthmother was within 20 minutes of aborting me, when she could not bring herself to do so. Adoption was her choice. The arrangements went smoothly until the day I was born - May 1, 1992 at 12:44 pm. When my putative adoptive parents saw me and discerned that I actually looked African American, they rejected me. So late on a Friday afternoon several agencies began scrambling to find me a home. 

I am God’s creation.  At the moment of my birth, so tiny, so trusting, I actually was causing at least a small segment of the world to spin out of control. But there I was, resting peacefully as God’s creation, unaware of all the chaos I was causing simply by being God’s will.

As I came to understand my story, I came to that place deep inside where God dwells. It is in that place where I first learned that all of God’s creation is meant to live - and live in His peace. That is the original plan from Genesis. “God saw all that He had made, and it was very good. (Gen 1:31). So at an early age, I came to understand the correlation between the order of the universe and peace.

It further reminded me of the story of Adam and Eve. God clearly states that the beauty He has created was all gift to us, with one exception - an exception that was for our own good.  "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, …"(Gen 2:17) .  God tried to protect us from evil but we would not listen; we only found it more enticing. And so the inbalance of the universe was set in motion by our own hand. 

This inbalance, though, pertained not just to us but set environmental discord in motion, too.  As Pope Benedict stated in message from the World Day of Peace (January 1, 2010), “In my Encyclical Caritas in Veritate, I noted that integral human development is closely linked to the obligations which flow from man’s relationship with the natural environment. The environment must be seen as God’s gift to all people, and the use we make of it entails a shared responsibility for all humanity,…” (www.vatican.va).

Thus living in a world that is driven by acquisition of material goods at the cost of destroying nature, I am compelled to make a choice. I can put personal acquisition at the center of my life or I can put God there. For me, there is no choice. There is only God. From that decision, then my orientation to the world is determined. 

I have been profoundly influenced by Francis Cardinal George. I found his recent book, The Difference God Makes, to be integrally related to the question at hand. For the foundational thesis of this work is God as a being of relationship - that means not only with humans but all of His creation.  Thus, in accepting God, I accept all relationship - that very definitely includes responsibility for the appreciation and care of nature.