June 5.   World Environment Day. There was a young adult group amongst the altar servers who used to meet on a Sunday evening with the parish deacon.  Even though he was already quite elderly he had worked with this group for many years and they enjoyed  the way he interacted with them.  As he said, “I learnt from my own kids over the years.  It doesn’t help to preach and that’s hard for me of course, but I would love to listen and hear your views too.  This week I invite you to read the stories from the book of Tobit, which is one of those only found in the Catholic bible.  I think they have quite a lot to tell us about family life and I’d also like to focus on ecology or the environment. Nature can be cruel and self-serving but then also how do different parts of nature complement each other, provide for one another in an endless cycle or food chain?  Dare we disrupt this natural progression?   

Reflect, share, act. Scripture:. A good dinner was prepared for me and I sat down to eat. Upon seeing the abundance of food I said to my son, “go and bring whatever poor man of our brethren you may find among the exiles in Nineveh who is mindful of the Lord and he shall eat together with me. Tobit  2:1-8. Pope Francis:  Greater investment needs to be made in research aimed at understanding more fully the functioning of ecosystems.    Because all creatures are connected each must be cherished with love and respect for all of us as living creatures are dependent on one another.   Each area is responsible for the care of this family. LS 42