Tuesday of the
Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time
(Romans 8:18-25; Luke 13:18-21)
The car window opened, and an object flew out – perhaps a
plastic cup – littering the road. It was
a small act of defiance of both law and public decency indicative of a careless
person. But little things add up. An estimated fifty-one billion articles of
litter are deposited on the roads of the United States alone every year!
Yet litter is hardly the biggest environmental problem. Other worries far outsize trash on roads. The way humans consume fossil fuels causes
pollution that likely contributes to global warming. Their cutting down rain forests results in
the destruction of animal habitats which, in turn, causes land to dry up. St. Paul describes the situation well in today’s
first reading. Creation groans in
anticipation of a redeemed humanity so that the environment may be saved.
