Day 38: For the Beauty of the Glaciers

BY YVONNE PROWSE | March 27, 2015
Today’s Readings

We showed Chasing Ice in our local cinema this week.

With its time lapse photography of melting and receding glaciers it is a fitting film if one is reflecting on water (as this series is this week). It has extraordinarily beautiful (and hard won) footage, with least as challenging a message about the disappearance of these ancients and about rising sea levels and human induced climate change; also an equally impressive prophet in the photographer, James Balog, who conceived and executed the project.

Balog no more imagined himself a prophet than Jeremiah did, and he is at times denounced, like Jeremiah who found himself denounced even by friends. Jeremiah turned to God in praise. (Perhaps Balog’s photography is also a form of praise?) When in distress, the psalmist also turned to God in love, finding strength and refuge. These are helpful reminders for when we don’t know if or how to act for the environment, if we’re not sure what or who to believe, if we feel overwhelmed or lose hope.

Reflection Questions:

• What in the natural world inspires me to praise God today?
• In what do I need God’s strength and how can it help me better live in relationship with creation?

Yvonne Prowse is a spiritual director who leads the eco-spirituality ministries of Ignatius Jesuit Centre in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. She ministered for many years with people in poverty and served as director of Jesuit Volunteer Corps Southwest. Her earliest recollections of encountering God are in nature, and she can often be found cross country skiing, hiking, or picking dandelions with her niece.