HONG KONG (SE): In a talk about ecological conversion to mark the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation on September 1, Francisan Brother William Ng Wei-lit called on people to better engage with nature and seek the reasons behind the outbreak of the Covid-19 coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), after a livestreamed Mass celebrated at the Cathedral of Immaculate Conception, Caine Road.
The Mass was celebrated by Father Grégoire Vignola, assistant parish priest of the cathedral, who remarked that it was a day to thank God for his creation. He reminded people that God entrusted mankind with a big responsibility to care for the earth according to his will instead of our self interest. “But sometimes we cannot fulfill this responsibility. Let’s ask for forgiveness and repent and fulfill his will for us about creation,” Father Vignola said.
There was Eucharistic adoration after the Mass.
Brother Ng then shared his thoughts about the fifth anniversary of Pope Francis’ encyclical, Laudato Si’: On care for our common home, as well as his views on the pandemic in an online talk.
He shared that he was a landscape architect dedicated to promoting environmental ethics. He later realised that he could better promote the spirit of St. Francis, the patron saint of the environment, if he led a consecrated life.
Brother Ng reminded people that St. Francis, in his Canticle of the Sun, urged people to develop a fraternity with all creation as he called the sun, the moon, the wind, water and even death “brothers and sisters.”
He also recalled that in Laudato Si’, Pope Francis lamented the indifference and selfishness that worsened environmental problems and stressed that environmental protection is not about political favours or power struggles between nations.
Having advocated environmental ethics for over 30 years, Brother Ng said he felt quite frustrated as 800 years after St. Francis’ canticle and five years after Pope Francis promulgated his encyclical, people have showed little sign of ecological conversion. “The pandemic this year can even be regarded as an ecological catastrophe,” he said.
Brother Ng said people may feel angry about the Covid-19 outbreak and find it hard to accept its existence. But he invited us to follow St. Francis by regarding the virus as a brother and thinking about the pandemic from another point of view.
He believes the pandemic could have been prevented if people had more respect for creation and not captured wild animals for sale, and dealt with this cruelty when they saw it.
Brother Ng invited people to do three things for ecological conversion. First, to make sacrifices for the environment by tolerating a bit of discomfort or inconvenience, for example, turning off the air-conditioner when it is not really hot, or switching off the lights when leaving a room. “It is a bit late but still it is worthwhile. We need to make up for our mistakes,” he said.
Secondly, he urged people to exercise their prophetic role by speaking out against ecological injustice, which deprives the rights of the marginalised and causes disaster.
Moreover, he said spiritual studies and prayers are important so that we can better express our fraternity with nature. He invited people to spend time communicating with the creation every day and uploading their thoughts, pictures or paintings about nature to their Facebook pages which can motivate them to protect the environment.
September 1 marks the beginning of the Season of Creation, which ends on October 4, the feast of St. Francis of Assisi. In addition, a special anniversary year, running from May 24 this year to May 24 next year is now being observed to commemorate the fifth anniversary of Laudato Si’.
