Many young people around the world feel that too little is being done to stop a climate crisis from happening. They see huge territory of forests burning every summer: In Southern Europe, in the Western states of the U.S. or in Canada and other parts of the world. At the same time, they notice a huge increase in flooding and destruction. By not doing enough to stop further damage from happening they feel that the older generation is betraying them of their future. That is why 6 teenagers have decided to sue the European Union along with other European countries for the inaction of EU politicians in fighting climate change.

In 2014 Pope Francis spoke to the parliament of the European Union (EU), saying: “Our Earth needs constant concern and attention. Each of us has a personal responsibility to care for creation, this precious gift which God has entrusted to us. This means, on the one hand, that nature is at our disposal, to enjoy and use properly. Yet it also means that we are not its masters. Stewards, but not masters. We need to love and respect nature, but instead we are often guided by the pride of dominating, possessing, manipulating, exploiting; we do not ‘preserve’ the Earth, we do not respect it, we do not consider it as a freely given gift to look after. Respect for the environment, however, means more than not destroying it; it also means using it for good purposes.”

The central point the Pope is making is the same that the Gospel of the 27th Sunday is making, namely the question: How do we care about what has been entrusted to us? The stewards lost everything because they let themselves be carried away by their greed and selfishness. Not only did they want to keep the entire harvest, but also the entire vineyard! They did not understand that the vineyard was not theirs to have, but that it was actually only entrusted to them.

I am convinced that only when we realize that everything we have is a gift that God has given us will true change happen. This applies not only to our planet as a whole, but also to all those other things that God has entrusted to us: Our family, our friends, our job, power and so much more. It even includes the question of how I treat my body: Do I realize that God has created it and entrusted it to me while I briefly live here on earth or do I think it is my property with whom I can do whatever I want?

God has entrusted each one of us with something - people, a task, possessions, power... At the end of our lives, when we confront our Creator, the question will be: How did you deal with it? Did you use what was entrusted to you to enrich yourself - or were you able to give it back to the one from whom you received it?

In Germany, at many wedding celebrations, St. Exupery’s “The Little Prince” is very popular. In the story, talking about a rose, the fox tells the little prince: “Men have forgotten this truth….But you must not forget it. You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed…you are responsible for your rose.” What he means is that you become responsible for what has been given to you, even for as little a thing as a rose. Let us look at our lives and our planet with this attitude and start treating it accordingly!