God blessed them, saying to them,
'Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and subdue
it. Be masters of the fish of the sea, the birds
of heaven and all the living creatures
that move on earth.'
Genesis 1:28
Why is creation
sacred?
‘Through your closeness to the land you
touched the sacredness of man’s relationship
with God, for the land was proof of a power in
life greater than yourselves. You did not spoil
the land, use it up, exhaust it, and then walk
away from it. You realised that your land was
related to the source of life.’
Pope John Paul II
• How do you think the dreaming you found demonstrates
the connection of First Australians to the land?
• In First Australian culture, people do not own the land,
they belong to the land, the land owns them. How is this
different to our view of the land? If we thought about the
land in this way, how might we live differently?
• What can we learn from First Australians about how to live
in harmony with our environment?
• What event caused the favela residents to become
aware of environmental damage? Who was
responsible for that damage?
• The group took a specific action in response to that
event. What was the action? What impact did it
have?
Love thy neighbour as thy iPhone!
It goes almost
everywhere with
me. It knows
everything I do each
day…
It gets me up (with
the alarm app); it’s
my address book; it
entertains me (with
my music and
audiobooks);
it reminds me of
what I should do
(with my iCal and
Reminders); it helps
me to pass time (with
Angry Birds); it keeps
me in touch with
people (with Twitter
and Facebook)…
it helps me write
and create (via the
Internet and
Dropbox); it
expands my
knowledge (with
iBooks); it helps
with my Bible
reading (with my
Glo Bible);
I can take pictures
and video with it;
it keeps my cinema
tickets (in passbook); I
can write a blog on it
(via WordPress); I track
my runs on it (with run
keeper); it holds my
emails; it tells me the
weather (with the
weather Oz app)…
and I can even use it as
a phone – if I need to!
…I look after it, I
make sure nothing
happens to it.
In short I take very
good care of it.
I’m sure most
people do the same.
Most people would
take care of their
$500+ iPhone.
Imagine how much
better the world
would be if we took as
much care of other
people and the
environment as we do
of our technology.
Imagine if other
people and the
world meant as
much to us as our
iPhones (or
Samsungs or
whatever else you
have).
Imagine if other
people and the
world meant as
much to us as our
iPhones (or
Samsungs or
whatever else you
have).
We would live in a very caring world where everyone
would see everyone else as important; and we
wouldn’t be ruining our planet for our own gain, not
thinking of the impact on others around the world
and future generations.
So I say, in a clear
and loud voice,
“Listen to a new
commandment –
Love thy
neighbour as thy
iPhone!”
“People were created to be loved.
Things were created to be used.
The reason the world is in considerable chaos
is because things are being loved
and people are being used.”
Source: Unknown
“In this assembly of “cartoneros” and “recicladores”, think on
how to continue forward in this work of recycling - forgive
me for saying - what is leftover. Because what is leftover is
rich. Today we can’t afford to despise that which is leftover.
We are living in a throwaway culture where we easily
leave over things, but people as well…
…You recycle and with this two things are produced: an
ecological work, which is necessary, and on the other hand, a
production that promotes brotherhood and gives
dignity to one’s work, you are creative in your production,
but also creative in caring for the earth, of the world in
this ecological dimension...
…You know that the food that is thrown away can feed
all the hungry people in the world. Think on this as you
continuously find food that is thrown away. And remain with
this conscience: that recycling is not only ecological - which is
something great - but also productive to everyone else.
And be conscious that food should not be wasted, because
there are children who are hungry.
Thank you for what you do.”
Do you agree that we should
‘aspire not to have more,
but to be more’?
Is this too much to ask?
Is such change manageable?
All pictures credited to Caritas Australia unless otherwise stated.
Picture credits
Slide 1: Raphael Meting
Slides 2, 3, 5, 6: Richard Wainwright
Slide 7: Aratja growing in the bush – Simon Hewson
Slides 14, 16-18: Erin Johnson/room3
Find out more
www.caritas.org.au/CST
Last updated April 2014