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“Honoring Earth” reintroduces eco-spirituality Ursuline Sister Elaine Burke walks the grounds at Maple Mount every day, and still finds something new in the creation around her. “I come back with a whole new outlook on all that God has created,” she said. “I Mount Saint Joseph Farm wouldn’t miss it for the world. It gives me great strength and great peace. Nothing can compare with creation being recreated every day. It just uplifts my spirit.” The holy ground at Maple Mount provides the perfect backdrop to consider the connection between God and nature, which is the focus of the June 19 conference and retreat “Honoring Earth: Celebrating the Sacred Outside and Within” at the Mount Saint Joseph Conference and Retreat Center. “I was inspired to offer this conference after attending an eco-spiritual retreat and learning more about how science is enriching and adding to our story of faith in an evolving universe,” said Maryann Joyce, Center director. “I’m fascinated with this new story and I think it will enliven and enrich other’s faith and love for creation too. I think this conference will appeal to nature lovers, gardeners and people of faith who enjoy the beauty of the earth.” The morning keynote address is “Our New Sacred Story: Finding Our Place in an Unfolding Universe” by Kyle Kramer, executive director of the Passionist Earth and Spirit Center in Louisville. The second half of the morning session offers practical Kyle Kramer workshops dealing with solar energy for the home, creating a backyard wildflower garden or health benefits of gardening. Following lunch, Emily DeMoor, a theology professor at Brescia University and an expert in eco-spirituality, will Dr. Emily spend the afternoon leading an interactive DeMoor retreat titled “Sacred Spaces and Moments of Grace.” DeMoor had the opportunity to study with Thomas Berry, the famed Passionist priest who spoke of the “Great Work” of enhancing the spirituality of the earth. “Eastern Christianity has done a better job of preserving God’s presence in the natural world,” 8
DeMoor said. “It’s not revolutionary, it’s grounded in our Christian tradition.” Thomas Berry said that Christians have a creation-centered orientation and a redemptivecentered orientation that arose simultaneously, DeMoor said. “Creation-centered was the prominent way until the Black Death (in the 14th century) in which Europe lost one-third of its population,” she said. “Life became so sad and tragic that people wanted to transcend out of the earthly tradition. They became more redemptive, more focused on the afterlife than the here and now. That went on for hundreds of years. It wasn’t until the 1970s, when we became more earth conscious, that it began to change.” DeMoor is concerned that the current pandemic may make people retract from this focus on creation, so this is a good time to appreciate that sacredness. “Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict both talked about being stewards of the earth,” DeMoor said. “It’s part of Catholic social teaching. I feel like what the Church teaches about the environment is one of our best kept secrets.” DeMoor led a retreat at the Center in October 2019 for a small group of Midwest Retreat Center directors on eco-spirituality. She finds the grounds at Maple Mount perfect for this sort of retreat. “I think Mount Saint Joseph is a very holy place,” she said. “When people have lived together and prayed together for decades, it becomes permeated with God’s spirit. The Ursuline Sisters have such a creationcentered spirituality.” Joyce said she appreciates how the Ursuline community is living out Pope Francis’ call to care for the earth – from operating a farm, to using geothermal heating to their commitment to recycling. “This conference and retreat should appeal to all people of faith who appreciate the beauty of the earth and want to open their heart to a deeper awareness of God’s presence,” Joyce said. “We’re finding God right where we are, in the sacred spaces around us.” As with all planned in-person retreats while the pandemic continues, the conference could be postponed if it is determined unsafe to open the Center. Continued on page 11
