At Home on Earth | Kyle Kramer

Kyle Kramer

Kyle is the executive director of the Passionist Earth & Spirit Center, which offers interfaith educational programming in meditation, ecology, and social compassion.

He serves as a Catholic climate ambassador for the US Conference of Catholic Bishopssponsored Catholic Climate Covenant and is the author of Making Room: Soul-Deep Satisfaction through Simple Living (Franciscan Media, 2021). He speaks across the country on issues of ecology and spirituality.

He and his family spent 15 years as organic farmers and homesteaders in Spencer County, Indiana.

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Praised Be You, Our Mothers

Mothers have been on my mind and in my heart lately. A few months ago, my beloved wife’s mom passed away. Cyndi grieves this loss at the same time she contemplates her own changing role and identity as a mother of soon-to-be-adult children. My mother is still living, but age and a long struggle with incurable cancer have left their marks. I worry about her in ways I never did when she was younger and more robust.

Because mothers have been so front and center in my consciousness, I’m also thinking a lot about our “sister Mother Earth,” as St. Francis of Assisi described our world in his famous “Canticle of the Sun.” Even though I’ve given most of my adult life to caring for the earth, I’ve mostly tended toward the pronoun “it” rather than “she.” Maybe I was afraid of being heretical or anthropocentric. Or maybe, which I think is more likely, I’ve just been too up in my head.

A SHIFT IN PERSPECTIVE

But that has really begun to shift, especially as I’ve been connecting more with my own aging mother and walking with Cyndi through the grief of losing hers. Following the lead of St. Francis and Pope Francis, I want to connect more deeply with the earth as our mother. I’m trying to learn what that means. Like our human mothers, Mother Earth gives birth to us all. She knits us together in her womb, growing the seeds of our being in her soil, forming us from the dust of ancient stars, gathering atoms and molecules, imbuing them with the divine miracle of life

Generous and itself—this amazing organism strong as Mother that is our body, animated Earth is, she’s also by God’s breath and bearvulnerable, just like our human mothers. ing God’s image. Some mothers are neglectful or even abusive, but most mothers instinctively nurture and protect their children. So does Mother Earth. She provides everything we need to thrive, from the “various fruit with coloured flowers and herbs” praised by St. Francis, to the breathable air, drinkable water, shielding from cosmic radiation, and the vast array of complex conditions that make life on this planet possible. Flourishing isn’t just about resources; it’s about community. Mother Earth connects us to the broader web of life and all of the beautiful, reciprocal relationships that are the threads of that web. From the microorganisms in our own gut biome to the society of fellow

human creatures to the wider community of our local and global ecosystem, she ensures that we have a place of belonging.

Mother Earth may be kind and generous, but, like all good mothers, she can be strict. She sets firm limits, rules, and boundaries for us, written indelibly in the laws of physics and biology. When we take more than she is able or willing to give us, there are consequences. When we fail to abide by the rules of her house, she enforces those rules, sometimes with overwhelming ferocity.

Generous and strong as Mother Earth is, she’s also vulnerable, just like our human mothers. For me, one of the most profound experiences of midlife has been the stillunfolding transition in which my mother, who has given me so much (and still does), increasingly needs my help as her strength diminishes. Mother Earth also needs our care, not because age has weakened her, but because we have abused her generosity. purchase. I’m trying to have the same kind of relationship with Mother Earth, based not on duty, but on love and presence. Learning how to love Mother Earth is a long journey, with many missteps—as there always are in any loving relationship. But I take some comfort that along this journey, we can learn from so many wise mothers: hopefully our own mothers, Mother Earth, and, of course, Mother Mary. And the greatest comfort of all is that we, along with all of our mothers, are together in a beautiful belonging, held in the arms of Creator God, who is loving Mother and Father of us all.

HELPFUL TIPS

BECOMING BETTER CHILDREN

How can we become better children of our Mother Earth? I think it starts, as most good things do, with gratitude. For far too long, busy with my own concerns, I took for granted the many ways my mom has helped me flourish. In her waning years, I’m so glad I have a chance to tell her and show her, as often and in as many ways as I can, how much I love her and how grateful I am for all she’s done for me. We can do the same thing for Mother Earth. Every day can be a chance to thank the good earth for creating, nurturing, protecting, connecting, and sustaining us.

Our gratitude to Mother Earth shouldn’t just be a vague notion. Right now, because we have been neglectful children, Mother Earth is sick and in deep distress. Our gratitude needs to take the shape of practical, individual, and collective actions that will stop causing her harm and will undo the damage we’ve done. We can all express our thankfulness in the choices we make about how to live as responsible members of the earth community, from the food we eat, to the jobs we do, to the policies we support.

Honoring Mother Earth isn’t just about moral choices, though—about doing the “right” thing. What my mom needs and wants most from me at this stage in her life is not just ensuring that she is cared for, but loving her, plain and simple: remembering to call her, making sure to spend time with her, listening to her stories, telling her how much she means to me. Doing these things has brought me so much joy, far more than any professional achievement or consumer

WAYS TO HONOR OUR MOTHERS

1Connecting to Mary can be a powerful way to connect also to the mother energy in human mothers, in Mother Earth, and in God. If you already have a Marian devotion, consider it in this light. If you don’t, consider starting one. The rosary is a great place to start.

2If your mother is still alive, consider how you might reach out to her to strengthen your relationship—especially if that relationship is difficult. What needs to be healed, forgiven, or released for you to have the best relationship you can with her?