Saint John Paul II loved to ski. A great outdoorsman, even as pope, he notoriously would sneak away from the Vatican to hit the slopes every so often, leading to some incredible stories of stupefied passersby who recognized (or thought they recognized) the smiling Polish man. But his love of the outdoors didn’t stop there. As a priest, he would take groups of the college students whom he was teaching or serving as chaplain on hikes and camping trips, all of which served as an inspiration when he founded World Youth Days as pope. There are famous pictures of him on those campouts celebrating Mass using an overturned canoe as an altar, with oars lashed together to form a cross. Salvation from a garden He knew that nature is more than just decoration in God’s creation, but rather a profound part of a healthy human life. We come from a garden (Garden of Eden); our salvation came from a garden (Garden of Gethsemane); and at the end of time, when God is all in all (see 1 Cor 15:28) and the new heavens and the new earth come to be, the tree of life will grow before the throne of God (see Rev 22:1-2). Creation is the foundation of “all God’s saving plans,” the “beginning of the history of salvation” that culminates in Christ (Catechism, 280). Now is that tree of life a symbol of some spiritual reality? Perhaps. But given the resurrection of the dead and the life in the world to come, it sounds like nature in some formwill be with us into eternity. That makes our approach to the environment all the more important, and puts recent concerns of the Holy Father, bishops, and world leaders in perspective. After all, we weren’t set loose in the world without any sort of responsibility for it. At the beginning of human history, we were created in a garden, and mankind was given the task of tending and keeping it. How well we respond to that responsibility has a real impact on our eternal destiny, especially since the created order was given to all of humanity for all time, not just us or our present generation. We have received the world from those who came before us, and we are stewards of it now, not masters, who in time will have to turn it over to the next generation. Just as the Church must carefully maintain and preserve the fullness of the faith, handing on faithfully what she has received, so too must we all be responsible caretakers of another piece of By Chris Sparks 22 Marian Helper • Spring 2022 • marian.org Two saints on caring for God’s creation The Lord God then took the man and settled him in the garden of Eden, to cultivate and care for it (Gen 2:15). Food for Thought
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