As time has gone on, the Church is putting an increasing amount of emphasis on our responsibilities as stewards of the Earth, tasked with caring for God’s creation. And what better way to prepare for the upcoming celebration of Earth Day on April 22 than picking up a book or two?
The Garden of God: Toward a Human Ecology
Pope Benedict XVI
Foreword by Archbishop Jean-Louis Brugues
This book gathers together the audiences, addresses, letters, and homilies of Benedict on a wide-ranging set of topics that deal with the world about us, such as creation and the natural world; technology’s relationship with the environment; natural resources; and poverty.
The Eucharistic Vision of Laudato Si’: Praise, Conversion, and Integral Ecology
Lucas Briola
Using Bernard Lonergan’s theology of history, Briola offers the first book-length study that recovers the eucharistic nature of Laudato si’, Pope Francis’s ecological encyclical.
Free Markets with Sustainability and Solidarity: Facing the Challenge
Edited by Martin Schlag and Juan A. Mercado
This collection of American and European scholars, equipped with Catholic Social Teaching, seeks to explore how economic systems can be reshaped to create a more equitable and sustainable free market.
A Poetic Approach to Ecology
Peter Milward
Fr. Milward draws from Biblical, literary, and personal reflections, most especially from his time living in Japan, to reawaken us to contemplative wonder and delight at God’s creation.
From the Dust of the Earth: Benedict XVI, the Bible, and the Theory of Evolution
Matthew J. Ramage
Ramage’s work meets the challenge of evolutionary science to Catholic teaching on human origins, guided by Ratzinger’s conviction that faith and evolutionary theory mutually enrich one another.
On Earth as It Is in Heaven: Cultivating a Contemporary Theology of Creation
Edited by David Vincent Meconi, SJ
Drawing from the early church fathers and other authoritative voices in the Christian tradition, the contributors to On Earth as It Is in Heaven show how ancient, creedal Christianity offers significant insights into our current ecological dilemmas and speaks powerfully about what it means for us today to care well for God’s good creation.
Counsels of Imperfection: Thinking through Catholic Social Thought
Edward Hadas
This deep dive into Catholic Social Teaching includes two chapters dedicated to ecology, providing biblical, historical, and philosophical backgrounds to each issue with nuance and honesty.