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The lost of the once abundant and rich forest cover, that is happening at an alarming rate, is a big threat to the Philippines: Because the forests, above many other functions, have a pivotal role in producing arable soil and retaining water. Unless deforestation is curtailed soon, food crisis looms.
Forests are the lungs of the planet, and much more: they provide rain, food and shelter, regulate
the climate and protect farmland, are guardians of Earth’s biodiversity and natural medicine stocks,
but are also a source of cultural and spiritual inspiration. Just look at the Bible: the “tree of life” plays a pivotal role in the beginning, at the Garden of Eden, and at the end, in the New Jerusalem. Specially in this International Year of the Forest, proclaimed by the United Nations, it is our duty, as human beings and Christians, to think about how humanity is relentlessly destroying the green gift of God and how to protect it, for our own good and for the sake of future generations.
“The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.” (Psalm 92:12). The Lebanese cedar is mentioned over 70 times in the Bible, usually as a sign of might and majesty. And so are other trees. Without reference to the natural world, common to all cultures and traditions, humans would remain speechless. Because we always think through symbols, analogies and metaphors.
In the three Philippines’ Farms of Hope, more than 80 youth have been helped to overcome their addiction, especially from drugs and alcohol, in the last eight years – through spirituality, manual work and community life. After rehabilitation, a good number of them have been joining the Family of Hope to dedicate their lives to help their peers build a new life in freedom.
The Farms of Hope came about and exist to help young people to overcome their sick compulsions. Through their work and active participation in the running of the farm, the youth more easily forget their dependence, contribute to feed themselves, learn the dignity of work and put up model farms that could inspire a much-needed agricultural revolution.
The Family of Hope is a new ecclesial community with more than 600 members. It runs 81 therapeutic communities (in Brazil and other countries) which host over 2,500 youth willing to recover from any kind of addiction, especially from drugs and alcohol. What was a little seed has become, in 30 years, a great tree with branches spread already in 10 countries. Nelson Giovanelli, its co-founder, says that the mission of giving hope to the youth has been entrusted to them by Pope Benedict XVI.
This is the story of a missionary proclaimed Blessed on June 26. He spent most of his life (65 years) in the jungle of Myanmar and there he is buried. He planted the Church where Christianity had never come before. The Episcopal Conference proclaimed him “The Patriarch of Burma.” An ordinary, exemplary saint who put into practice the Sermon on the Mount in utter simplicity. As a confrère said: “He died at 91 without ever being old.” Blessed Clement kept the enthusiasm of the early days of his mission until the end.
“Among young priests, there is a whole swarming with long cassocks and censers, in their sermons I more often hear them speaking of dogmas and precepts than Gospel and Jesus. How on earth is this enclosing themselves in sacristies happening, so paradoxical in the very moment when a ‘new evangelization’ is supposed to be launched?”
– Marco Santovito, via e-mail
