16 May 1989
Armagh, Northern Ireland

It is exactly sixty years ago this year that there was quite a stir in present-day Iraq when some biblical excavators thought they had come upon on traces of a large flood which they thought might very well have been the historical basis of the narrative in the sixth and seventh chapters of Genesis. Things have moved on since then, and today the news would be less exciting for us because we do not interpret the chapters of Genesis so literally as was done formerly. We accept the sixth chapter of Genesis as a lesson in theology, rather than as one in history or geography. The theological point is clear to us: namely, that when man sins, he displeases God and his sin has disastrous cosmic effects. The infinite mercy of God, however, intervenes to repair the consequences of man's disobedience. "I say," wrote the poet Hopkins, "we are wound with mercy, round and round, as if with air."

Reading and reflecting on this second reading, it struck me that the passage in Genesis has gained a certain new relevance in recent years for two reasons: first, the chapter speaks of a cosmic disaster, the destruction of all life on the earth. That has become a very uncomfortable possibility in our generation. Now it is not God alone who can destroy our planet. Man, as we are all only too painfully aware, has found the means to extinguish all life on this globe. Second, which one of us has not heard in recent years of "the greenhouse effect"? With the heating up of the atmosphere, the polar ice caps will begin to melt, which in turn will cause the ocean levels to rise. Large tracts of low-lying land the world over will be inundated with, presumably, loss of life and property, as in that flood described in today's first reading.

Present-day ecologists think of the future of the planet and of generations to come. The author of Genesis is more far-seeing because he sees and recognizes that the danger to the planet is ultimately rooted in man's sinfulness and selfishness, in his failure to respect the law of God. The older theology books and catechisms used to treat of the seven deadly or capital sins: pride, covetousness, gluttony, lust, anger, envy, and sloth. That terminology may be out of vogue in today's catechetical language, but it is still valid for categorizing the sources of all our sins and of all our danger and fears for the future of life on this planet.

Where do we priests come in on this scenario? As priests we are special ambassadors of Christ to the world. From St. Paul's letter to the Colossians we know that "all things were created through Him and for Him and in Him all things hold together." (Col 1:16-17). In a special way we are, to use St. Paul's phrase, "stewards of the mysteries of God." (1 Cor 4:1). Among the mysteries of God are the works of His hands. As stewards of the mysteries of God we are appreciative of the beauty of this world and of the goodness of all material things. Is not every created thing a mystery of God? The simplest thing in existence might not have been. Because we are in a special way stewards of the mysteries of God, we should not only be appreciative of creation but, as far as possible, concerned that the good things of the world are equitably distributed. To those who see the way we live and hear what we say and observe our actions, there should be manifest in everything that "preferential option for the poor" of which the Church and the Pope have so often spoken in recent times. The bishops here in Ireland through their statements have given us a lead. The Pope has reminded the Church that this preferential option for the poor "is essentially based on the Word of God, not on criteria offered by human sciences or adverse ideologies which often reduce the poor to abstract sociopolitical or economic categories." (Address to Cardinals, Christmas 1984). Recently I read that one-third of the population of Ireland is living below the poverty level. The question naturally suggests itself, how many of that one-third come under my direct pastoral care?

In an era that is clouded and shadowed by the prospect of the extinction of all life on this planet, I would like to encourage you to maintain your confidence in the power of that Mass which you celebrate daily. In the fourth Eucharistic Prayer we are reminded that it is this Sacrifice which "brings salvation to the whole world." It will be only in the light of the Beatific Vision that we will see how many evils and disasters were turned aside by the power of this Sacrifice, which "brings salvation to the whole world." As you stand at the altar each day, gather all the people of the earth into the great Ark which the Son of God has left us in the Mass, so that by its power the world "may have life and have it more abundantly." (Jn 10:10).

To quote the poet Hopkins: