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Throw-away culture
IN SOME cemeteries on Nov. 1 and 2, the throw-away culture was very evident. The ecologically-unfriendly practice of throwing discards wherever and whenever it is convenient again spoiled the time-honored tradition of remembering our departed relatives. Many people still littered, rain or shine. They failed to bring home their discards for proper recycling and disposal at home.
Several cemeteries were filled with rubbish strewn all over the place. Sidewalks, street corners, vacant lots and desolated graves became instant dumping grounds for uncaring visitors. In many cases, people were standing or sitting next to piles of garbage – pitiful sight. Among the discards typically left by cemetery visitors were disposable food and beverage containers (both paper and plastic), food leftovers, snack packs, cigarette butts and soiled papers. The food offerings for the deceased only added to the inadequate sanitation.
Local governments must enforce a suitable system for ecological waste management in next year’s commemoration of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day. It is unacceptable to leave trash, big or small, in the final resting place of the dead. It’s okay to leave flowers and candles in cemeteries, but not garbage.
The desecration of hallowed grounds should not discourage us, however. Instead, it should affirm our resolve to restore and protect them – and the environment and general. We need to renew our responsibility to care for the creation like what St. Francis taught us. St. Francis of Assisi was proclaimed patron of ecology in 1979 by then Pope John Paul II for being “an example of genuine and deep respect for the integrity of creation.” We must heed the “cry of the earth” as Pope Francis exhorted in his landmark encyclical Laudato Si and stop treating Mother Nature, her lands, rivers and oceans, as receptacles for the excesses of our throw-away culture.
Like St. Francis, let us show love and respect for all of God’s creation starting by not dumping our discards wherever we please. It’s time to take to heart what is happening to our only nation and planet and to act to reverse the environmental destruction that is threatening the integrity of creation.
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