Following Divine Mercy Sunday and Earth Day, “Practicing Catholic” radio show host Patrick Conley asked guest Jim Ennis, executive director of Catholic Rural Life, for his thoughts on caring for creation as an act of mercy.
A farmer’s vocation is an ancient calling to cultivate the land while caring for it, and to feed people, Ennis said. Mercy is a gift from God, Ennis said.
“Pope Francis introduced this gift of the land, too, as another important gift from God to be thankful for and how God has provided for us in so many ways — our food, our shelter and just everything about the earth to protect us and provide for life,” Ennis said. Pope Francis wrote the encyclical “Laudato Si’, On Care for Our common Home,” Ennis said, “because he is concerned about how we’re caring for it.”
Ennis recently joined Conley for an episode of Practicing Catholic that debuts 9 p.m. April 1 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM.
Catholic Rural Life, founded 98 years ago and based in St. Paul, promotes Catholic life in rural America, Ennis said. “We really do have a vision for flourishing Catholic life in rural America: thriving families, farms and parishes,” he said. “And a part of our vocation, too, is our work in care of creation.”
From a Catholic perspective, Ennis said, creation care is about right relationships with one another and the planet, and right relationships with God.
Anyone who has visited the Lake Superior shoreline or a had mountain top experience of awe and wonder for God’s handiwork is drawn to a love for creation, he said. “The natural world is a really important factor for us Christians, that God created it. There’s an intelligibility there, that we can learn from God’s creation and how to care for it is so important, so we can pass it on to our children, our grandchildren.”
Christians have an important role to play in stewardship of the land for the next generation, he said. As more and more people live in “a concrete jungle,” they can be blind to the beauty of God’s handiwork, Ennis said. But options exist to experience nature, such as visiting state parks and the countryside, starting a garden or even raising chickens.
Not everyone can be a farmer, Ennis said, but people can support them. “We can connect with farmers both at local farmers markets, support local agriculture, when possible,” he said. Or grow tomatoes or place a pot of flowers on an apartment balcony, he said, which can provide an experience with nature where it’s not always accessible, and experience God’s creative beauty.
“It’s really important that we continue to promote Catholic life in rural America,” Ennis said, “and how they support our family farms all over the country.”
To learn more about Catholic Rural Life, a membership-based organization, visit its website: CatholicRuralLife.org.
To hear the full interview, listen to this episode of “Practicing Catholic,” which also repeats at 1 p.m. April 30 and 2 p.m. May 1.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the latest show also includes interviews with Father Rocky, Relevant Radio’s executive director and chief executive officer, who describes his start at Relevant Radio and its mission; and Deacon Martin Meyer and Marty Montgomery-Jennings from Grief to Grace MN, who describe an upcoming retreat and how to walk with those who have experienced abuse or trauma.
Listen to their interviews after they have aired:
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