Dublin 25th December 2021
My Dear Father Gailhac,
I have been meaning to write to you for a long time.
There is so much to talk to you about. There is so much going on in the big wide world,
The Big event that has the world mobilized is COP26. Our world leaders hope to get their act together to stop the on-going destruction of our planet Earth caused by unbridled so-called development.
In one of your letters, you wrote, and I quote:
“It is up to us to work with Jesus-Christ to transform the world”
That statement is as true today as it was yesterday and will still be true for generations to come.
“It is up to us to work…” We can each do our part, cultivate our parcel of the garden Earth.
Literally! I am lucky to have a little garden with a lawn and some flowers and shrubs.
This year, I planted three trees, two are flourishing, and one just didn’t make it.
There are many small ways I contribute to minimize pollution, by walking, using public transport, making compost, and much more
“It is up to us to work with Jesus-Christ”.
That surely is the essence of our calling. Christ has no hands but ours, no feet but ours. I really like that idea: we are the body of Christ. That thought helps me to be just as happy praying for people as I am when I am working with and for them. Every evening while the COP26 is meeting, I join a virtual group from 20h to 21h; we pray together in silence, lifting our leaders up to a higher level where the Holy Spirit can inspire them, encourage and support them.
“It is up to us to work with Jesus-Christ to transform the world”.
It is a big ask. But not impossible. The secret of all transformation starts within oneself, and that is a daily endeavor. For the past year I have been living on my own in a small world with little interaction. Yet I found ways of transforming my perspective. The people I meet on my walks, the animals, the trees, all have become a real part of my life. I don’t feel I’m alone. I sometimes catch a look, provoke a smile, exchange a word or two, give a helping hand. Transformation is happening inside me and outside me.
It is now time for me to end this letter to you, with the promise of a more regular correspondence in the future. I have read many of your letters that inspire and comfort me.
Marie Dominique Treacy RSHM
