By Randy Altstadt
Since beginning my work for the diocese as rural life coordinator in the Office of Social Concerns, I have learned so much about Catholic social teaching. It has been eye‑opening for me. One of the seven principles, Care for God’s Creation, has taken on new depth as I’ve realized just how central it is to our faith.
Bishop Neary has identified “Fostering a Culture of Missionary Discipleship” as one of his pastoral priorities. Part of that call invites all of us to deepen our respect for creation and to renew our commitment to caring for the world God has entrusted to us. Research and reflection certainly help us grow, but one of the most powerful ways to awaken the heart is to see creation not as a storehouse of resources, but as a gift, lovingly placed in our hands by the Creator, who asks us to steward it with wisdom and gratitude.
Much of what we know about the earth comes simply from daily life. Yet it is easy to take this gift for granted. We move through our routines without thinking about what it means to be good stewards of what God has placed in our care. It is much like our physical health: when everything seems fine, we rarely give it a second thought. But when illness strikes, we suddenly wonder what we could have done differently. Creation works in the same way. Today we enjoy abundant clean water in our country, but what if one day we didn’t? What if we could have prevented that loss?
Farmers understand this intuitively. They care for their land because their livelihood depends on it. Stewardship is not optional for them — it is essential. In the same way, caring for God’s creation must become essential for all of us. The earth sustains our lives. The air we breathe, the water we drink, the soil that nourishes our food — none of these are separate from our well‑being. They are our well‑being.
We honor God when we care for the home he has given us. This aspect of our faith is not discussed as often as it should be, perhaps because environmental conversations have sometimes become politicized. But at its heart, caring for creation is not political at all. It is moral, spiritual and deeply human. It is about protecting people, safeguarding the planet and preserving the resources that sustain life. These moral and ethical concerns long predate modern debates; they reach back to the Industrial Revolution and even earlier, to the very first chapters of Genesis.
Our environment is made up of countless gifts that require our attention. Becoming good stewards means shifting our perspective from assuming these gifts will always be available to imagining what life would be like without them.
Missionaries returning from developing countries often speak of how blessed we are in the United States. They say we are spoiled. Seeing the realities of the poorest of the poor profoundly changes their perspective. Serving our brothers and sisters in those places helps us recognize the fragility of the gifts we enjoy and the importance of caring for what God has provided.
There are so many small things each of us can do. Simple acts like turning off lights when leaving a room, not letting water run unnecessarily, choosing biodegradable products over Styrofoam, composting, recycling or picking up litter instead of walking past it can make a real difference. The list is endless once we begin to think intentionally and adopt the mindset that we are responsible for preserving what God has given us for future generations.
So I invite you to reflect:
- What can I do personally to better care for God’s creation?
- What small steps can I take to protect our water, our land and the resources that seem so plentiful today?
Each of us can help the world become more proactive — one choice, one habit, one act of love for our Creator creation at a time.