Lighting the Way: Advent, Laudato Si’, and the Call to Care for All
photo, poem, and text by george cassidy payne
The first Advent candle glows, spilling light across frost-laced streets, silent classrooms, and quiet corners of our homes, asking a question that will not be ignored: Are we awake to the life that surrounds us? Not only the coming of Christ, but the soil beneath our feet, the air we breathe, the rivers and trees, and the communities entrusted to our care. Saint Francis of Assisi reminds us:
“Laudato Si’, mi’ Signore…through our Sister, Mother Earth, who sustains and governs us, and who produces various fruit with coloured flowers and herbs.”
Yet our Sister cries out. Pope Francis warned: “The Earth, our home, is beginning to look more and more like an immense pile of filth.” The wounds we inflict on creation mirror fractures within our hearts. Water, soil, air — God’s gifts — bear the weight of our choices, alongside the most vulnerable of humanity. Nothing in this world is indifferent to us.
For decades, popes have traced a moral arc from awareness to responsibility. Pope Saint John XXIII urged all people of good will to pursue peace and justice. Pope Paul VI warned that unchecked progress could “definitively turn against man.” Pope Saint John Paul II called for ecological conversion rooted in ethical responsibility. Pope Benedict XVI reminded us that environmental degradation begins when we see nothing higher than ourselves. Pope Francis exhorted us to “strengthen the conviction that we are one single human family.”
In a speech delivered to the Second World Meeting of the Popular Movements at the Expo Feria Exhibition Centre in Santa Cruz de la Sierra in Bolivia in 2015, Pope Francis begins saying, “May the cry of the excluded be heard in Latin America and throughout the world.”
He continues, “Do we realize that something is wrong in a world where there are so many farmworkers without land, so many families without a home, so many laborers without rights, so many persons whose dignity is not respected?…Do we realize something is wrong when the soil, water, air and living creatures of our world are under constant threat? So let’s not be afraid to say it: we need change; we want change.”
Laudato Si’ challenges us not only to act responsibly but also to think structurally. Luis-Alejandro Dinnella-Borrego, Ph.D., D.Min., emphasizes the social dimension: “Pope Francis’s embrace of an ‘integral ecology’ centers on the idea that if everything is related, then the health of a society’s institutions has consequences for the environment and the quality of human life…Integral ecology must, by definition, embrace a ‘social ecology’ rooted in institutions that work for the good of all people.” In other words, caring for creation is inseparable from cultivating healthy communities and ethical institutions. When students see leaders and staff modeling care — for the campus, for each other, and for the environment — they absorb habits and values that will shape their personal and social identities for decades.
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Francis saw change as a process, in which each of us needs to take part. He described this change process as a collective gardening project, “where the drive to sow, to water seeds which others will see sprout, replaces the ambition to occupy every available position of power and to see immediate results. Each of us is just one part of a complex and differentiated whole, interacting in time: peoples who struggle to find meaning, a destiny, and to live with dignity, to ‘live well.’”
At Canisius University, these calls take tangible form. Jennifer Lodi-Smith, psychology professor, studies identity across the lifespan and how environments shape who we become. “The earlier we can engage young people and help them see that their actions matter, the more likely they are to carry healthy behaviors into adulthood — for themselves and for the world,” she explains.
Each year, Lodi-Smith leads students to the Everglades — not just environmental studies majors, but students from all disciplines — for transformative immersion. Guided by ecologists, they explore cypress domes, observe alligators, birds, and mushrooms, and reflect through nature journaling. “We call it self-expansion,” she says. “Students are literally immersed in these spaces. They learn about ecological connections between waterways, wildlife, and their own well-being.” Many students camp for the first time, learning basic survival skills, safety, and stewardship while forming bonds with classmates and the natural world alike.
Back in Western New York, students continue to explore local ecosystems, spotting familiar migratory birds, tracing connections across regions, and noticing how the rhythms of nature intertwine with daily life. Lodi-Smith emphasizes modeling care: “Canisius shows how we care for the world. When students see leaders and staff engaging in sustainable practices — reusable water bottles, coffee mugs — they translate those lessons into their own behavior. When people feel they belong, they embrace these priorities.” Simple, visible markers — refillable mugs, bird-friendly campus spaces, and native plants — signal a cultural shift in progress.
Moments of wonder are deliberately cultivated. “For BIPOC students, nature isn’t always immediately accessible or safe. Creating spaces where they discover joy and belonging is transformative,” Lodi-Smith explains. Interpersonal connections — friends, mentors, classmates — amplify the experience, sparking awe that can last a lifetime.
This philosophy extends globally through the Laudato Si’ Movement. Katie Mylenbusch, Senior Director of Development, describes it as “meeting people where they are, connecting their passions to the needs of the world.” Participants become certified Laudato Si’ Animators, learning that ecological action is both hope-centered and grounded in moral responsibility. “Climate work asks people to confront grief — for species lost, for places changed, for uncertain futures. We provide time to hold that grief, but we cannot stay there. There is still time to act.”
Advent, a season of awakening, calls us to prepare not only for Christ’s coming but for the renewal of our relationships — with God, with one another, and with creation. Caring for the Earth, strengthening institutions that serve the common good, and cultivating spaces where every student can experience awe are acts of faith and love. Pope Francis reminds us:
“Hope would have us recognize that there is always a way forward, that we can start anew.”
As we light the Advent candles, let us embrace that hope and the work it demands: a world where communities flourish, ecosystems thrive, and every small action — reusable mug, native plant, bird sighting, or act of care — ripples outward, shaping a legacy of stewardship for generations to come.
The Pope, the Environmental Crisis, and Frontline Leaders | The Letter: Laudato Si Film — YouTube
