On 22 February Pope Benedict XVI signed Sacramentum Caritatis,

‘The Sacrament of Charity’. The document is his distillation of

and response to the Synod on the Eucharist held in the Vatican, 3-23 October 2005. Part One is a reflection on ‘The Eucharist, a Mystery to be Believed’, Part Two on ‘The Eucharist, a Mystery to be Celebrated’ while Part Three is on ‘The Eucharist, a Mystery to be Lived’. The document shows how the Eucharist is linked with every aspect of Christian life.

In paragraph 92, in Part Three, the Holy Father writes on ‘The sanctification of the world and the protection of creation’. We can read Father Seán McDonagh’s article in the light of this. We can also use these Scripture texts as a background: Genesis 1:1-2:25 and Psalm 104 (103). The Catechism of the Catholic Church, Nos 2415-2418, is also good to read. Though among scientists there are different interpretations of the causes of global warming and of its consequences, Christians, as individuals or community, cannot take God’s creation for granted.

Here is what Pope Benedict wrote:

Finally, to develop a profound eucharistic spirituality that is also capable of significantly affecting the fabric of society, the Christian people, in giving thanks to God through the Eucharist, should be conscious that they do so in the name of all creation, aspiring to the sanctification of the world and working intensely to that end. The Eucharist itself powerfully illuminates human history and the whole cosmos. In this sacramental perspective we learn, day by day, that every ecclesial event is a kind of sign by which God makes himself known and challenges us. The eucharistic form of life can thus help foster a real change in the way we approach history and the world. The liturgy itself teaches us this, when, during the presentation of the gifts, the priest raises to God a prayer of blessing and petition over the bread and wine, ‘fruit of the earth’, ‘fruit of the vine’ and ‘work of human hands’. With these words, the rite not only includes in our offering to God all human efforts and activity, but also leads us to see the world as God’s creation, which brings forth everything we need for our sustenance. The world is not something indifferent, raw material to be utilized simply as we see fit. Rather, it is part of God’s good plan, in which all of us are called to be sons and daughters in the one Son of God, Jesus Christ (cf. Eph 1:4-12). The justified concern about threats to the environment present in so many parts of the world is reinforced by Christian hope, which commits us to working responsibly for the protection of creation. The relationship between the Eucharist and the cosmos helps us to see the unity of God’s plan and to grasp the profound relationship between creation and the ‘new creation’ inaugurated in the resurrection of Christ, the new Adam. Even now we take part in that new creation by virtue of our Baptism (cf. Col 2:12ff.). Our Christian life, nourished by the Eucharist, gives us a glimpse of that new world – new heavens and a new earth – where the new Jerusalem comes down from heaven, from God, ‘prepared as a bride adorned for her husband’ (Rev 21:2).

The full text of Sacramentum Caritatis is online at www.vatican.ie

www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_ben-xvi_exh_20070222_sacramentum-caritatis_en.html