One August, returning by car to New York after several weeks in the austere landscape of the Southwest, I was taken aback, as we got into Ohio and especially Pennsylvania, by the lush green of the farms and trees we passed along the Interstate. Voluptuous was the word that popped into my mind. Life abounds in the summertime in our Northeast: trees, flowers, birds, insects. Many of our fruits and vegetables come to us fresher, from nearby, rather than from faraway, states. We’re aware of long hours of light, although we sense that bit by bit, the days are shortening. And, like ocean waves at the beach, thunderstorms—those flashy, noisy summer visitors—remind us of the power and potential destructiveness of nature.

All of this took on new meaning one day recently when I heard, as if for the first time, the final instruction of Jesus to his followers in Mark 16:15: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation,” or, in the New American translation: “to every creature.” Suddenly, the image of Saint Francis preaching to the birds became more serious.

What is this “gospel” that we Christians are to preach to every creature? In the most succinct terms, it is the good news that God is Love. God has loved us— the whole of creation—into being, loves us now and at every moment.

How do we preach the gospel to every creature? Here again, Francis helps us. His mandate to his followers reiterated that of Jesus: “Preach the Gospel.” It was followed by, “If necessary, use words.” In effect, he says, preach the Gospel of God’s love with your life. This seems to me to imply that the only way to preach this gospel authentically is to keep the commandment it entails: “Love one another.” But the scope of “one another” becomes as wide and high and deep as the cosmos.

As we grow in understanding and love for the whole of creation and of our oneness with it, we can expect to grow in a sense of responsibility. We gradually become aware not only of our obligations to care for our human sisters and brothers, but also of the needs of the birds and all the animals, the plants, the earth itself, land, sea and air, even the stars and the planets, in short, every creature.

Can we meet every need? No. Can we do something? Yes. Our Mother-Sister Angela, Franciscan tertiary, told us in no uncertain terms: act, do something. When we take one practical, loving step to preach the good news to the whole creation, it will be given to us to understand this good news better and to see the next step along the way. The life that abounds in summertime will continue, ever more abundantly.

In The Quest for the Living God (2008), Elizabeth Johnson maps a number of contemporary frontiers in the theology of God. While preparing these reflections, I found Chapter 9, “Creator Spirit in the Evolving World,” of particular interest.

Marie-Celine Miranda, O.S.U.

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The stark figures of the family fleeing persecution appear in the ancient Scripture text of Matthew, a Christmas image that does not warm our hearts as do the images of Joseph and Mary and the Child at Bethlehem.

In our day, the issue of immigration has been thrust onto the national scene. The political perspective often turns to legal standards to measure the dimension of the question. Economics looks at the cost/benefit impact that immigrants have on communities. The cultural effects reach into local communities and their customs. These, however, are only a few of the ways such a complex issue impacts us. And for the Catholic community, guidance as to the moral and humane dimensions that can inform our consciences regarding immigration is highly desirable. Each of these approaches is enlightened by a variety of factors such as implications and consequences.

For U.S. citizens the tension between the necessity of orderly assimilation of immigrant populations and our tradition of welcoming immigrants—our concern for both justice and humanity—adds to the confusion.

Recognizing that “Our American ideals call us to participate in the public debate, our Catholic faith urges us to do so with charity,” leaders of the Maryland Catholic Conference (consisting of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, the Archdiocese of Washington, and the Diocese of Wilmington), have created a Web site that examines the dimensions of immigration: www.mdcathcon.org/Immigration. In 2007 they issued a formal statement on the subject. Entitled “Where All Find a Home: A Catholic Response to Immigration,” the two-page statement brings moral reflection to the debate. Their statement, offered as guiding norms, can be accessed at that Web site.

For multifaceted presentation on some of the current information and facets of immigration, the Immigration Policy Center is a resource. One of its papers, for example, is entitled “Undocumented Immigrants as Taxpayers.” Drawing on government documents, the paper is enlightening on the contribution of immigrants to the economy. The paper can be accessed at the non-partisan Immigration Policy Center, a division of the American Immigration Council, at immigrationpolicy.org.

The Gospel story offers an incentive to seek a many-sided consideration to the question of immigration. The fate of many people depends on wisdom to inform national policy—and to influence individual attitudes. The question of immigration deserves no less.