Villanova University, of the Order of St. Augustine, is the oldest Catholic university in the state of Pennsylvania, USA. This academic year has offered its students and professors a unique beginning full of reflection on nature, wonder, interreligious dialogue, the cosmos and ecumenism
Over the course of five weeks, from September 1 to October 4, the University proposes a journey of visio divina, that is, a quiet, contemplative exercise, as a way to let the voice of God be heard: what God, the Creator, through his work, that tree, that stream that captivates us, whispers to the heart of man.
Under the direction of Father John Abubakar, Director of Sustainability, Mission and Ministry at Villanova University (named after the great 16th century Valencian saint Thomas of Villanova), this Season of Creation 2024 has begun with two emblematic dates: the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation (September 1), and the feast of St. Francis of Assisi (October 4).
The University, through a document made public on the website of this academic center, remarks that these two occasions contain a remarkable value in the dialogue between Christians, since Demetrius I (1914-1991), Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople between 1972 and 1991, chose the first day of September as a “day of prayer for the environment” in 1989. It was in 2015 that Pope Francis took this day to dedicate it in the same way to pray for the care of Creation.
The “prophetic action” to avoid environmental deterioration
As pointed out from the Augustinian university, “certain elements of nature have been chosen with great care to help us in our reflection throughout this period”. It is a time of “calm, rest, listening, breathing”. The “Season of Creation” intends to “invite us to pay attention to the rhythm of the water of a stream, the breeze that rustles through the foliage of the trees, and the fire that warms and comforts us”. In this way, two objectives are proposed: to recover the conscience of being guardians of Creation, and to develop a “prophetic action” to avoid environmental deterioration.
St. Augustine said: “Ask the beauty of the earth, ask the beauty of the sea, ask the beauty of the dilated and diffused air, ask the beauty of the sky, ask the orderly rotation of the stars; ask the sun, which illuminates the day with brilliance; ask the moon, which mitigates with its brightness the darkness of the night that follows the day; ask the animals that move in the water, that populate the earth and fly in the air; ask the hidden souls, the manifest bodies; the visible beings that need someone to govern them, and the invisible ones that govern them. Ask them. They will all answer you: “Look, we are beautiful”. Their beauty is their confession. Who made these things beautiful, though changeable, but the immutably beautiful?” (Sermon 241, translation by Padre Pio de Luis, OSA).
Therefore, the University, repeating with St. Augustine, points out that the whole of Creation is speaking to us of God and leads us to bless him. Father Abubakar points out in the text open to the whole Order that, after these five weeks of “listening to the sound of Creation, marveling at the power of the wind and the beauty of the water that shapes the banks and canyons, and the wonder of our being”, he trusts in a “conversion” and “inner transformation” full of vigor to “hope and act” together with God and the created.
First week: the plant world and Ecclesiastes
During the first days of September, the University focused on the plant world, including a consideration of a Jewish commentary on the book of Ecclesiastes (Qoheleth). Within the exegetical set that composes the Midrash Rabbah (6th to 8th centuries) we read: “when the Only Holy One created the first human beings, God took them through the garden of Eden and said to them: 'Look at my works, observe how beautiful they are, how magnificent! For your benefit I created them all; be careful not to damage or destroy my world, for, if you damage it, there will be no one, apart from you, to compensate for it”.
The University refers to a 1992 text which states: “For Jews, the environmental crisis is a religious challenge; as heirs to a tradition of stewardship that goes back to Genesis, we cannot accept the progressive destruction of our environment and its effects on human health and life support”. As we read in the book of Job, “ask the beasts, and they will instruct you; the birds of the air, and they will teach you; the fish of the sea, and they will tell you.” Therefore, the University advises, “look at any tree you find on campus; look at it and see if you can marvel at its roots, its branches, the thickness of its branches. What is that tree revealing to you about God?
Second week: the cosmos, the Dalai Lama and the Declaration of Assisi
The second week is dedicated to the cosmos, and is an interreligious nod to Buddhism. As the Dalai Lama expressed in the Declaration of Assisi (1986), “as we all know, the neglect of the natural heritage of mankind has brought with it the danger that now threatens world peace, as well as the survival of species at risk of extinction”. The Dalai Lama continued: “Such destruction of the environment and the life that depends on it is the result of ignorance, greed and disregard for the richness of all living beings”. Accordingly, the University proposes: “Contemplate the sky as you walk around campus, observe the stars, the clouds, the colors of dawn and dusk, of the moon, and see if you can be amazed by it. What do we notice in the sky, in the cosmos of which we are part of planet Earth?”. Ana LaSasso, a psychology student at the University, adds, “I have come to believe that the sun and, more specifically, sunrises and sunsets, connect people across time and space. My father and I have a tradition of waking up early one day, wherever we travel, to watch the sunrise. A friend once told me that when she was overcome with homesickness, she would look up at the sky and remember that we are all under the same sun.”
“Contemplate the sky as you walk across campus, look at the stars, the clouds, the colors of dawn and dusk, of the moon, and see if you can be amazed by it.”
Third week: the animal world and Hinduism
For its part, the third week directs the eyes towards animals, and, in this case, it is Hinduism which establishes a link. Continuing with the Declaration of Assisi (1986), the University rescues some verses from a Hindu hymn: “May the Earth, on which the sea, the river and the other waters lie, on which food and grain fields come to exist, on which everything that breathes and moves lives, grant us the best of its fruits”. The hymn also says: “May the Earth, over which the waters, in common for all, moving on all sides, flow untiringly, day and night, may it pour upon us milk in manifold streams”. Biology student Isabella Mirarchi adds, “Recognizing and celebrating our differences should not separate us; the birds remind us that highlighting our individual experiences and talents is vital to creating a thriving environment built on understanding, inclusion and compassion. The University recommends, “Observe the animals you encounter as you walk around campus; contemplate the birds, the squirrels, the insects, any animal whose presence you notice, with an attitude of wonder and curiosity. Reconsider the animals and pay attention to how God may be speaking to you in the midst of your life through reflections on the animals around you.”
"Contemplate the sky as you walk across campus, observe the stars, the clouds, the colors of dawn and dusk, of the moon, and see if you can be amazed by it"
The fourth week of the “Season of Creation” at Villanova University is geared toward the Environment in a more concrete yet generic sense. The Ecosystem is the theme, and so the University sets its sights these days “on the rocks and streams,” with the intention of “asking for the grace to know what lesson God may want us to learn,” and to be aware of “how our daily lives impact the ecosystems of which we are a part and ourselves.” Ethan Khan, an economics major, says, “The nature of creation is entrusted to human interaction with the environment and the rest of its inhabitants. Modern society often identifies nature as a reality to escape, although a beneficial perspective is to assume that nature is the primary reality.” For this week, the University approaches the indigenous religions of North America, and takes up an ancestral story as told today by Chief Robert Redhawk Ruth of the Lenape Nation (Pennsylvania). He says: “Long ago, it was said that a fox would be released upon the earth. It was also said that four ravens would come. The first raven flew the path of harmony with the Creator. The second raven tried to cleanse the world, but fell ill and died. The third raven saw his brother dead and hid. The fourth raven flew again the path of harmony with the Creator.”
This Villanova University initiative concludes with the fifth week, which focuses on human beings, who also have a nature that we must respect; on paying more attention to the people around us and devoting more time to them. For this week, we turn to a text produced in Birmingham by Muslim religious authorities in 2024 (Al-Mizan: Covenant for the Earth. The Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Science). This statement reads: “The ineffably vast and glorious cosmos reflects the fully transcendent glory of God, the Almighty Lord of the worlds of being that extend beyond our reach. At its heart, this Earth with its evanescent community of life, of which we are a part, is exquisite beyond all that can be said, and more precious than mortal human beings can comprehend, for it also reflects the grace and mercy of the Lord of all.” The declaration goes on: “God has deployed all things in mutual equilibrium, needing one another, and each sustaining and benefiting the others. Nothing has been created on a whim or in vain. All has been created in Truth and Justice”. Terri MacKenzie, a religious of the Society of the Holy Child Jesus, comments: “To be, like Jesus, attentive to the beauty that surrounds us and to increase our affection and admiration for Creation is essential to maintain hope and act together with Creation”, and quotes Laudato Si': “The Lord could invite others to be attentive to the beauty that is in the world because he himself was in permanent contact with nature and gave it an attention full of affection and wonder”.
May this initiative of Villanova University serve as a preamble to the adoration of the one God, beauty so ancient and so new, Creator of heaven and earth, of everything visible and invisible, and of Our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom all things were created and in whom all things are maintained (cf. Col 1:16-17). Let us learn from Our Father St. Augustine to transcend the beauty of creatures in order to raise our gaze to the Author of Beauty and of creatures, without allowing ourselves to be held back, far from Him, by those realities which, if they were not in Him, would be nothing (cf. Confessions 10, 27, 38).
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