A Journey of return, reflection and renewal
After 25 years on overseas mission in Taiwan, Ireland, China and Hong Kong, I returned to Australia in 2019 for a year of studies to train as a Spiritual Director in preparation for my return to China, where I now engage in retreat work and spiritual direction.
Returning home to one’s own culture can be just as challenging, or even more so, than entering a new culture for the first time. What seemed very familiar before is no longer familiar at all because your own culture has changed. To help with settling back in at home you can seek some solace and comfort in anything, or any place, that might still be a bit familiar. Surprisingly for me, I found that space in nature nestled in a small valley only a short walk from my parents’ home in Geelong, Victoria. Whenever I walked along the river that meanders through the valley it was the gum trees, the rugged bush, and flowing water that provided a sense of familiarity for me. During those walks, God’s comforting presence came to me through nature. Fond memories of bygone years also came flooding back - times of swimming in the river and climbing the majestic gum trees. I also felt a sense of sadness for the youth of today who no longer swim in the river as I once did with my siblings, cousins and neighbourhood friends. Nowadays the river is just too polluted.
As I walked along the pathway that follows the contours of the river, I also recalled nature in the other countries where I have worked on mission. When I first went to Taiwan in 1988 what struck me was the scarcity of green in the city where I lived with its population of half a million people. Furthermore, the buildings were grey with no colour at all. At that time Taiwan was just coming out of almost forty years of military dictatorship under the Nationalist government that fled China. Government dictatorships can use various means to control a population. One such way is to deprive people of beauty, such as nature and colour, thus dulling their senses and imagination for how a brighter future might look. Fortunately, when Taiwan began its path towards democracy in the year 2000, the successive democratically elected governments began to beautify the cities across the country by planting trees, creating parks and bringing colour to the buildings.
When I first lived in the city of Wuhan, China (2009 – 2012), with its population of 12 million people, the air and noise pollution was stifling. On my return to Wuhan after the COVID-19 pandemic in June 2023, what struck me was the huge reduction in noise and air pollution due to the usage of so many electric vehicles. Motorbikes and buses, and most taxis and private cars, are now electric. The green spaces are also more numerous, which helps to reduce air pollution. The spring and summer skies are no longer constantly grey but are, more often than not, blue.
Nature, which is God’s creation, is our life source. Everyone and everything in the web of life is intrinsically interconnected. Each year, during the liturgical Season of Creation - commencing September 1, the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation and concluding October 4, the Feast of St Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of ecology - the church in a very special way celebrates our life-giving connection with creation. During this year’s Season of Creation, let us once again give thanks to God for the gift of creation and ask God to help us increase our efforts to take care of Mother Earth, our common home, through an ever-urgent need for action and advocacy.
Pope Francis, on the occasion of this year’s World Day of Migrants and Refugees, September 29, reminds us that all of us, God’s people, are migrants on Earth, on our way to the “true homeland”, the Kingdom of Heaven. The Pope asks all of us to walk together, with the most vulnerable, with Jesus. As we walk together, we take up God’s desire for us to be good stewards of creation. God’s people, are migrants on Earth, on our way to the “true homeland”, the Kingdom of Heaven.
Columban Fr Kevin O'Neill lives and works in China.
Listen to "Finding home in God's creation"
Related links
- Read more from The Far East - September/October 2024
