BALANCE OF NATURE
“I see a world on the edge of a blade. Without balance, it will fall.” – Victoria Aveyard
This law came about as an attempt to ensure balance and fairness in their relationships with others and with the land on which they lived and worked. (Pope Francis, LS #71)
“When he opened the third seal, I heard the third creature cry out, „Come!‟ This time it was a black horse, and its rider held a balance in his hand.”
(Revelation 6:5, Christian Community Bible)
REFLECTION: Some of the untoward happenings around us like climate change, poverty, and socio-political injustices can be understood as the consequences of the imbalance of nature. It is also worthy to consider that the imbalance of things around us is just a reflection of the imbalance within us. We are blessed with a beautiful environment, and yet, we seemed not to care at all maybe because we are disoriented with some false notion about nature. We need to realize that you and I will not be able to survive without maintaining the balance of nature. In our lifetime, we are given the opportunity to enjoy life and to celebrate the blessings of God. Yet, we are abusing it and extinguishing every specie. We are obliged to maintain the balance of nature to secure the goodness of the environment. Moreover, its balance should always be maintained in order to give the next generation a chance to experience the beauty of life. We may not be able to keep our world in a total state of order, but in our own little ways, we can help one another to save Mother Earth from a massive destruction.
Key Statement: We are obliged to maintain the balance of nature to secure the goodness of the environment.
Personal Challenge: I have to do something to maintain the balance of nature.
PRAYER
God of all creation, Source of all life, and Giver of all grace, we thank You for the gift of life, for the fresh air that we breathe, for the food that nourish our bodies, and for all that help nurture life. We thank You for the wonders of creation, for the beauty that our eyes can see, for the melody that our ears can hear; for the plants we can touch; for the flowers we can smell; for the fruits we can taste and the breeze we can feel. We thank You for this day as an opportunity to love and to work for the balance of nature. For all these blessings, we give You thanks, our loving God. Amen.
ROMANO M. BULATAO is a Professor at Saint Louis University (SLU), Baguio City. He completed his AB Philosophy in 1990 at the Saint Anthony Mary Claret College (SAMCC), Quezon City; MA Religious Studies in 2003, and MA Philosophy in 2014, both in SLU; Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Theology, Major in Missiology, at the Institute for Consecrated Life in Asia (ICLA) – SAMCC in 2021. Mr. Bulatao served as the Department Head of Religion at SLU (2006-2009); and President of the Kapatirang Claretiano Inc. – Pangasinan Chapter (KCI-PC), since 2011. He is the author of the book entitled Touching Thoughts A-Z published in 2009; translator of the Novena to Saint Anthony Mary Claret (from Pangasinan language to English) published in 2015; and the Novena kay San Antonio Maria Claret (from Pangasinan language to Filipino) published in 2020 by the Claretian Publications. ((romanobulatao@yahoo.com)
