consider ourselves autonomous, whenwe excludeGod from our lives or replacehimwith our own ego,
and think that our subjective feelings candefinewhat is right andwhat iswrong.
225. On the other hand, no one can cultivate a sober and satisfying life without being at peace with
him or herself. An adequate understanding of spirituality consists in filling out what we mean by
peace, which is muchmore than the absence ofwar. Inner peace is closely related to care for ecology
and for the common good because, lived out authentically, it is reflected in abalanced lifestyle together
with a capacity forwonderwhich takes us to adeeper understandingof life. Nature is filledwithwords
of love, but how can we listen to them amid constant noise, interminable and nerve-wracking
distractions, or the cult of appearances? Many people today sense a profound imbalance which drives
them to frenetic activity andmakes them feel busy, in a constant hurrywhich in turn leads them to ride
rough-shod over everything around them. This too affects how they treat the environment. An integral
ecology includes taking time to recover a serene harmonywith creation, reflecting on our lifestyle and
our ideals, and contemplating the Creatorwho lives among us and surrounds us, whose presence “must
not be contrivedbut found, uncovered”.
155
226. We are speakingof an attitude of the heart, onewhich approaches lifewith serene attentiveness,
which is capable of being fullypresent to someonewithout thinkingofwhat comes next, which accepts
eachmoment as a gift fromGod to be lived to the full. Jesus taught us this attitude when he invited us
to contemplate the lilies of the field and the birds of the air, or when seeing the rich young man and
knowing his restlessness, “he looked at him with love” (
Mk
10:21). He was completely present to
everyone and to everything, and in this way he showed us the way to overcome that unhealthy anxiety
whichmakes us superficial, aggressive and compulsive consumers.
227. One expression of this attitude is when we stop and give thanks to God before and after meals.
I ask all believers to return to this beautiful andmeaningful custom. Thatmoment of blessing, however
brief, reminds us of our dependence onGod for life; it strengthens our feeling of gratitude for the gifts
of creation; it acknowledges those who by their labours provide us with these goods; and it reaffirms
our solidaritywith those in greatest need.
155
ApostolicExhortation
EvangeliiGaudium
(24November 2013), 71:AAS 105 (2013), 1050.
