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On Saturday, November 7, St Louis People of every hue, teachers, nuns, Associates, friends, colleagues and Board –members attended a seminal event in Boyne Valley Hotel, Drogheda, organised by members of the St. Louis Ecology Group and the St. Louis Education Group in Ireland. It was a well-organised and pleasant few hours. The atmosphere was charged with energy and wonder as we listened to and exchanged thoughts on the most basic of questions, such as ‘Where do we come from?’ ‘Who do we (humans) think we are?’, ‘How do we relate to other species?’, ‘Are we promoting the life or the death of our planet?’, ‘What can we do to save the planet?’ , ‘How best share what we believe, in the interests of faith and education and out of love for all Creation?’.

The highlight of the day was the talk given by our guest-speaker, Dr. John Feehan of UCD. His talk was faith-based and pointed out to us that every creature, every species has been made with the same loving care that we enjoy. Was there some deep collective instinct at work, we wondered, when we looked on in awe as the tiny, long, brown, hairy creature we called God’s Horse crawled across our kitchen floors when we were small? We didn’t harm that one!

Because it is our business as St. Louis people, to co-operate with the prayer of Jesus, ‘That they may be One”(John 17:20-21) we rejoiced together at our common origin with the rest of Creation.
We are one, but have strayed from the path of Oneness, which we now seek to restore while embracing the extraordinary and beautiful diversity in Nature all around and within us. A few statistics from John may surprise our readers. Did you know that we share 40% of our genes with insects? One third with the butterfly?. We are 1% different from the chimpanzee. So, how do I relate to these, my cousins? We, humans, are one small twig in a forest of branches on the Tree of Life. John talked about ‘the chemical wizardry of plants’. The rest of Nature has been very good to us, nourishing us, feeding us, giving us light and warmth and minerals, But we are taking too much; we are exploiting Nature’s resources; we are upsetting the balance of Nature and this, we fear, will lead to destruction – our own and that of the whole planet. Indeed, we are engaged in the transfer of genes from one species to another, John says, not for the benefit of the poor of our world but for the amassing of fortune after fortune. Dire climatic predictions necessitate the Copenhagen Summit this December. What can you do to help? Well, for a start, you can look up the National Biodiversity Plan for Ireland on the Internet and then proceed to that of your own county. After all, Charity begins at home!

Now, what is all this diversity for? Not for us, primarily at all! St. Thomas Aquinas could tell us in the 12thcentury that Goodness, which is undifferentiated in God, is refracted into a myriad hues of being, each a different expression of God’s goodness. So, we treat other species as we would like to be treated ourselves. Now, the next time you meet a goat, for example, or any other creature, pause a while and know that the moment is sacred. Let us pray and live and work ‘That All May Be One’.