The Christian life is not just about introspection and feeling God’s presence: it sometimes requires us to do things. Tomorrow in Grand Island, Nebraska the United States Department of State will hold a public hearing  on the proposed construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. If approved, this pipeline will transport some of the world’s dirtiest oil across the American Great Plains to refineries near the Gulf of Mexico. There it will be turned into low-grade fuel for export abroad, mostly to countries without clean air regulations.

Contrary to popular misconceptions, this oil will do nothing to move the United States toward energy independence because it will not be consumed domestically. Moreover, most people have neglected to notice that the oil belongs to Canada, not the United States. Clearly large multi-national oil companies are bullying Nebraska landowners and spreading misinformation to the public in order to maximize their profits.

But, even if the oil did belong to the United States and even if it were earmarked for domestic consumption, we should not allow this pipeline to be built. The process used to extract Tar Sands oil has destroyed and will continue to destroy ancient Boreal forests in Canada. If the process stopped today, the land would not recover in a time meaningful to human beings. If the pipeline is built, it will cross the Ogallala Aquifer centered in Nebraska. This aquifer contains the vast reserve of ground water and contributes significantly to the success of agriculture on the Great Plains. A leak similar to the one that took place in Arkansas a few weeks ago could contaminate the aquifer putting millions at risk. Yet there is more. If this oil is actually turned into fuel and burned, it will contribute to the buildup of atmospheric carbon at rates higher than oil extracted from other sources, which are themselves problematic.

The construction of this pipeline and the burning of this oil represents an egregious abuse of human freedom. By doing these things we reckless endanger the future viability of the earth to sustain human beings and other forms of life. For present profit, we are mortgaging the lives of all coming generations. How can this not move us to a holy and righteous anger and impel us to action.

Again, the Christian life is not just about introspection. When Jesus felt rage at the abusive practices of the money changers in the Temple, he did not just lament this privately and do nothing. He overturned the tables and publicly challenged the practice. St. Ignatius did not teach people the spiritual exercises simply to make them more self-aware. He also wanted to help people discern how God was calling them to respond to the needs of the world and to go out and set the world on fire. Sending Jesuits to Asia was an incredibly risky and uncertain thing to do. Francis Xavier’s journey to Japan was an active response to discernment.

As a Nebraskan, I would ask you to consider joining this pipeline fight. At least take the time to learn the truth of the situation. Beyond that, as a Christian I can think of no greater threat to the future of the world than our collective indifference to the degradation of the earth. We will make no meaningful dent in all the other problems impacting the world is we do not engage.  We need to find a way to live non-destructively on the only planet we have.

For more information about Keystone, visit http://boldnebraska.org

Photo: “Boreal forest and tar sands extraction” by Toban B. from Flickr (Used under Creative Commons license)

Mid-lecture the teacher inconspicuously taps on the front corner of my daughter’s desk to call her back to attention. Much like me, my daughter is a dreamer, comfortable letting her mind wonder into other worlds or places she would like to be. Often it seems my prayer time is just that: time to wonder away to another place.

During Sunday mass I wonder how many people in the congregation are actually following the homily at all. I imagine their minds tuning out the words from the pulpit, coming to rest instead upon their to do list or some recent conversation or upcoming tension to be dealt with. As I wonder about them, I realize that I am just as checked out as they are, lost in my head. Read the rest of this entry →

In January 2013 I traveled with several companions to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). We were to be guests of Nicolas Djomo, the Catholic bishop of the diocese of Tshumbe. We were headed to the town of Tshumbe, from which the diocese gets its name. The purpose of our trip was to make a documentary about both his work and that place. Read the rest of this entry →

To use my friend Fran’s marvelously apt word, it’s been a crazymadbusy week here. It was a crazy busy week on the calendar in the first place, and when a last minute writing project dropped into the mix Tuesday evening, it got crazymadbusy in short order. It was the sort of week that you could name, like a winter storm, or hurricane.

Suddenly, I was trying to cram about twelve hours of serious high-stakes writing into a twenty-four hour period that didn’t have very many crevices in the first place. Something had to go. Sleep for one. I stayed up until three in the morning to get a solid first draft in, texting my college aged son, who was likewise suffering from a surfeit of writing. Read the rest of this entry →

As my workday ends, I meander out my office building to one of only a handful of cars remaining in the lot. If I am lucky to leave on time, the setting sun offers a pink horizon to the west and the breeze that I have missed inside my glass castle reawakens me to nature’s presence. Shut the door. Turn the key. Shift into reverse. Back out. Breathe deep. Exhale. My commuting buddy is suddenly there with me. Start talking. Start listening. Read the rest of this entry →