Essay: Eco-Spirituality at the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph, Brentwood
It was an evening filled with commitment, perseverance, gratitude, trust, passion, and love—for both our earth and one another. In other words, the evening celebrated Laudato Si’—care for our common home in Action.
On Thursday evening, April 30th, St. Ignatius Loyola Laudato Si’/Care of Creation Ministry hosted Sr. Karen Burke, CSJ, and ecologists Christine Massi and Nico Carl from the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph, Brentwood, Long Island. They shared with us their remarkable efforts in establishing their 212-acre land as an enclave of sustainability, ecology, and spirituality.
This year, the Brentwood property won the Sustainability and Environmental 14th Annual Long Island Imagine Awards, recognizing their longstanding commitment to ecological stewardship and care for creation. Jeanmarie Santopatre, Pastoral Associate, welcomed the nearly seventy SIL parishioners, including 15 Boy Scouts, who were fully engaged with the presentation and asked some fabulous questions to our distinguished panel of speakers—Christine Massi, Ecologist; Nico Carl, Ecologist; Sr. Karen Burke, CSJ, EdD, Director of Sustainability; and our very own Fr. Mark Hallinan, S.J.
Christine and Nico presented the tireless efforts of this extraordinary initiative, explaining everything from organic regenerative farming, forest extensions, woodlands conservation, storm water management, solar arrays, to Kelp Farming on Shinnecock Bay, in which the Sisters have partnered with the sovereign Shinnecock Indian Nation to protect the bay and surrounding area from encroaching development. It was a wonderful primer of how conservationism and spirituality can coexist beautifully and peacefully in the real world today. For those in the audience with a green thumb, they even provided tips on achieving a more sustainable lawn and how to begin.
Following the, introduction, Sr. Burke and Fr. Hallinan had a wonderfully robust and insightful discussion on the roots of the program, underscoring Sr. Burke’s journey in making this her labor of love. When Fr. Hallinan asked Sr. Burke what she sees as the legacy of this endeavor, she paused for a moment, and then responded brilliantly with the following sentiment (paraphrased): “We have been given a gift from God and we need to hold this land in sacred trust. It is our responsibility, in particular, for our young people. In order for the youth to protect the earth we first need them to love the earth!” May we all take Sr. Burke’s wisdom to heart and start loving the earth, God’s gift to us, with greater passion.
For more information, visit https://brentwoodcsj.org/about/.
— Geraldine Rizzo, Laudato Si’/Care of Creation Ministry