Harmony with Creation: Pope Francis’s 2024 Message and First Nations Wisdom

The theme of Pope Francis’s message for the 2024 World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation has the theme of “Hope and Act with Creation”. What he writes in this message resonates with my experience of living and working with First Nations Peoples. This is not surprising because Pope Francis has often spoken and written about the value of Indigenous Peoples’ knowledge especially in relation to the environment. In his 2015 Encyclical Laudato Si: On the Care of our Common Home, Pope Francis speaks of Indigenous peoples as the ‘principal dialogue partners’ in discussions on the use of Traditional lands.  As recently as March 2024 at the Conference Pope Francis held based on First Nations Peoples’ knowledge, he said “The contribution of Indigenous Peoples is fundamental in the fight against climate change”. Clearly First Nations Peoples provide an opportunity for learning in our interaction with the environment.

In 2015 we met at Luurnpa Catholic School in Balgo to look at the implications of the Laudato Si Encyclical for our school. Our local First Nations staff were impressed by how Pope Francis’s words on importance of land and environment and our responsibilities for the care of land reflected First Nations Cultural knowledge, which has been followed for tens of thousands of years. It was a similar experience for our First Nations staff when in 2022 as a staff we were involved in the Laudato Si Communities of Practice survey of our school with the aim of embedding Care for our Common Home practices in our school.  An internet search using the phrase ‘Laudate Si Communities of Practice’ reveals a wealth of resources helpful for households, schools and organisations. This provides a useful guide for schools to Care for Creation.

Pope Francis, in his message for the 2024 Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation stresses the importance of harmony between people and with the land. He highlights the sacredness of land as a place of encounter with God. In point 2 he writes: “Christian salvation enters into the depths of the world’s suffering, which embraces not only humanity but also the entire universe, nature itself, and the oikos, the home and living environment of humanity. Salvation embraces creation as an “earthly paradise, which is meant to be  a place of joy and happiness for all.”

The First Nations Peoples of Balgo and other communities willingly share their ongoing experience of the sacredness of land. Earlier this year two of our Aboriginal Teacher Assistants, who with me coordinate Religious Education in the school, joined with our Church leaders to lead the school staff on a day of sharing sacred places. This day included a visit to the look-out where, as we gazed across the vastness of the landscape, a Church leader read the creation story from the Book of Genesis. Cultural experience and knowledge is used to contextualise the Christian message. Many geographical features near Balgo tell the cultural story of this experience and are part of the Dreaming Luurnpa story. More recent places are also given a sacred status, including a cave for prayer known as the Jesus cave. Land is sacred because this is the place where created people have been placed in creation. Harmony with the land is an ancient and modern practice for First Nations Peoples.

Pope Francis in his message calls people to harmony with and within the land. In point 4 of his message Pope Francis expands the message of  Fratelli Tutti and he writes “  this harmony among men and women should also be extended to creation,” . First Nations Peoples express this through art. The artists paint the land through their Peoples experience of the land. These art works illustrate people receiving from the land, but the land remains dominant and is not harmed by the receiving. The Art also shows people gathering in harmony with each other, in harmony with God and receiving from God.

The recognition of the sacredness of land and the call by Pope Francis to live in harmony with each other and in harmony with the land has practical implications which he draws attention to in his point 5 of his Message. “the Holy Spirit keeps us, the community of believers, vigilant; he continually guides us and calls us to conversion, to a change of lifestyle in order to resist the degradation of our environment.”

First Nations Peoples have had the continuous experience of living in harmony with the land for tens of thousands of years. This is expressed in family and community life being lived in harmony with nature’s seasons. First Nations seasonal calendars are based on changes in flora and fauna due to seasonal changes. The cycle of seasons is very detailed and are always more than four seasons and not connected to the four European seasons. Travelling, hunting, collecting bush food, preservation of the environment, regional gatherings, cultural ceremonies are all determined by the seasons. In areas such as Balgo where the landscape remains basically as it has been for thousands of years, the strong connection between life, nature and seasons is possible and continues. A prominent example of this is the season connected to the arrival of rain. The arrival of rain results in a rebirth of green plants on the red soil, creeks and water holes filling and the possibilities of bush food expanding. A time for joy and celebration for the community. Preservation of the environment includes targeted burning of areas which promotes regrowth and new growth and also prepares the land for hunting and the collecting of foods that grow beneath the ground.

At these times harmony between people and the land is shown by the sharing of food that is caught and gathered and being careful not to exhaust areas so that future growth of animals and plants for food remains possible and has been done so for thousands of years.

While it is more difficult for people living in urbanised areas, for First Nations Peoples it can also be celebrate by song and dance. First Nations students at Lasallian schools such as Southern Cross Catholic College and Luurnpa Catholic School have performed traditional cultural dances based on the interaction of people and their environment.

First Nations communities like Balgo are fortunate because the land of creation, the land of the Dreaming, that people walk on today is largely unchanged for the land walked on by their ancestors. Although pastoral activities have had a clear impact on the environment through animals, roads and tracks the vast landscape remains essentially the same. In these places it is a lot easier to be in connection with the land, because within a few minutes of leaving the community land you are immersed in the land.

For people leaving in urban areas this is not as easy but not impossible. The challenge is to find green spaces in local or not so local areas such as parks, national parks especially areas which retain or have recreated the original natural environment. Schools can do this by creating yarning circle spaces. Many Lasallian schools have yarning circles. These spaces have a yarning circle, a place of harmony between people. The place of harmony between people and the land is enhanced by including local vegetation in the space, which will attract local insects, birds and other animals. These green spaces and yarning circles provide students with the opportunity be with and within nature and the creation of ourselves, each other and the land. For schools interested in creating a yarning circle the Junior landcare website is a helpful resource. This website can be found by doing an internet search using the term: juniorlandcare yarning circles. The website is aimed at primary schools but also contains a lot of information useful for secondary schools as well.

To establish a stronger connection with the First Nations Peoples on whose Traditional land we live, it is good to become better informed and involved. A great resource for ideas and information is on the website Australians Together which can be found with an internet search of the term Australians Together. This website designed primarily for schools, also provides useful resources for workplaces and for households.

We are called in Pope Francis’s message to live in harmony with the land which continues his call for the Care of Our Common Home. There are many practical ways that this can be achieved where we live and work. A good way to start or continue on this journey is have a look at the ‘Australian Guide to Laudate Si Action Planning’ developed by Catholic Earth Care Caritas Australia. Although it was produced for the Australian context it does have useful information for other countries as well.

Pope Francis’s  Message for 2024 World day of prayer for the Care of Creation ends with “our lives can become a song of love for God, for humanity, with and for creation, and find their fullness in holiness.” This has been sung, danced and lived by First Nations Peoples for thousands of years and an invitation to all of us to live in harmony with each other and the land on which we live, which requires practical action now.

Source: Br Rick Gaffney FSC