Eco Catholic

We are severely damaged by the absence of meaningful mysticism. I believe that only such deep spirituality can give us the wisdom, courage, heart and great souls needed to confront and turn around the government, religions and business institutions that work together now to destroy our world. How else do we engender hope and vitality in the face of these destructive forces?

The human spirit was never meant to live with so much fear and helplessness. So mysticism – the idea that we can directly access the divine in our human experience, in our everyday living – haunts our imagination. I would define meaningful mysticism or spirituality as a capacity for mystery, together with a longing for the infinite.

A good, comprehensive analysis of the outcome of the Mexico U.N. climate conference appeared in the New York Times on Dec. 13 written by Lisa Friedman of ClimateWire.

In apprasing the "Cancun Agreements," she writes, "Ministers and activists alike said the agreements restored much-needed confidence in the multilateral system and laid the groundwork for serious technology developments to help poorer countries deploy low-carbon energy. For the first time in an official U.N. agreement, countries agreed to keep temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and acknowledged that the emission cut pledges America, China and others made in Copenhagen should be just a beginning."

The next worldwide conference on climate change will take place next year in Durban, South Africa. South Africa's Minister for Water and Environmental Affairs, Edna Molewa, told ClimateWire that while much work needs to be done between now and the Durban conference, she said the "building blocks are now on the table" for ever-stronger climate agreements.

With all the bustle of Christmas preparation, I’m not so sure waiting is a big theme of Advent anymore. Kids may find it hard to wait until Christmas, but not most adults. Sadly, half of them are probably waiting for it to be over! But waiting is a reality in all our lives, so this is still a good season to reflect on it.

Trusting in the timing of things. In spite of our culture’s insistence on instant satisfaction, everything has its own beautiful process of coming into being that takes a while. Mathematical cosmologist Brian Swimme says that the timing of the universe is perfect. For instance, the galaxies were formed when conditions were just right, and it couldn’t have happened earlier or later. If this is true on a cosmic scale, it must be true of us. I love the idea that you just can’t rush or force things. There’s a freedom in knowing you don’t have to. “Don’t push the river. It flows by itself,” is a maxim worth recalling often.

Defying expectations, the 16th annual UN Climate Conference (COP16) held in Cancun, Mexico, concluded in the early hours of Dec. 11 to the sound of sustained applause. The Conference ended with the adoption of a balanced package of decisions that set all governments more firmly on the path towards a low-emissions future and support enhanced action on climate change in the developing world.

The package, dubbed the "Cancún Agreements," was welcomed to repeated loud and prolonged applause and acclaim by parties in the final plenary.

"Cancún has done its job. The beacon of hope has been reignited and faith in the multilateral climate change process to deliver results has been restored," said UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres. "Nations have shown they can work together under a common roof, to reach consensus on a common cause. They have shown that consensus in a transparent and inclusive process can create opportunity for all," she said.

Clare's Well, a 40-acre farm and retreat center in Annandale, Minn., operated by the Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls, is another project sponsored, developed and sustained by a U.S. womens' religious community. Clare's Well director Sr. Jan Kilian introduces us to Clare's Well.

"Clare’s Well is one of our Franciscan efforts to demonstrate love and compassion for Earth and all she sustains. We say in our literature, “Let the life-giving energy of Mother Earth restore your balance at Clare’s Well Spirituality Farm in Annandale, Minnesota. The scriptures remind us of what happens at a well.

Founded by Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls, Minn.(FSLF) in 1988, Clare’s Well is a 40-acre farm with a farmhouse, three hermitages, meditation chapel with opportunity for shared morning prayer, a wellness Center with massage and sauna, gardens, Sabbath pond, a sacred path in a woods, a labyrinth in restored prairie, and a large barn with three cats, two goats, two pea hens, lots of chickens and guinea fowl.