Sister Paula Gonzalez is a Sister of Charity of Cincinnati and the founder of EarthConnection. She was recently featured in the Cincinnati Enquirer in the article Nun marries science, spirituality: Teaches that all life is sacred and connected by Shauna Steigerwald (July 11, 2010).

A few of my favorite quotes from the article …

On vocation:

… the daughter of two teachers was “a curious little kid” who learned to read at an early age, skipped first grade and was bumped from third grade to fourth, finishing that grade level when she was only 7. She came to the College of Mount St. Joseph on an academic scholarship in 1948, graduating with a bachelor’s in biology in 1952 at age 19. But even at that young age, Gonzalez knew that her life’s calling lay in religious service. She entered the Sisters of Charity two years later, in 1954.

“It just hit me like a ton of bricks, and that was it,” she said. “All of a sudden, I knew.”

On care for God’s creation:

Much of Gonzalez’s reverence for the natural world was instilled by her father, who was raised on a farm and taught his own family to grow food. From his Spanish heritage, he taught her the concept of “La tierra es bendita,” “the land is holy.”

“My father was truly a person of the soil, which got through to me,” said Gonzalez, who calls her own garden her “spiritual director” and cites her spirituality as another contributor to her concern for the planet.

What do you think of the article? What are ways that you recognize “all life is sacred and connected”?

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Happy Earth Day! First is a beatiful photo Sister Maxine took of her nephew with a calf. Also we have some link joy for you! Let us know of other cool links to share.

 
A Catholic Earth Day:

• If You Want Peace, Protect Creation by Pope Benedict XVI (January 1, 2010)
• Going Green: For the Sake of God’s Creation by Mary Jo Dangel in Saint Anthony Messenger Magazine (October, 2007)
• Why Catholics Care for Creation by Sister Joan Brown, OSF, in Catholic Update (October 2008)
• Earth Day 2010 Prayer by Sister Jean Coughlin, IHM

Cool Earth Day Stuff:

• Earth Day E-Cards by CatholicGreetings.org
• Ecokids Canada’s environmental destination for kids
• Earth Day 2010 Song created and performed by 13-year-old Leia Schwartz of Florida
• 3 Cool Ways to Celebrate Earth Day with your Family
• Earth Day Recipes
• Green Your Gardening

The Origin of Earth Day:

• History of Earth Day by Earth Day Network
• Earth Day at 40: How it began, where it is going by John Roach for National Geographic News (April 22, 2010)

The Core Issues of Earth Day:

• Advocacy
• Climate Change
• Conservation and Biodiversity
• Education
• Energy
• Food and Agriculture
• Green EconomyGreen SchoolsRecycling and Waste Reduction
• Sustainable Development
• Water

What are you doing to celebrate Earth Day?

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Join Sister Maxine and Sister Julie for LIVE prayer podcast today at 6 p.m. Central Time (check your time zone). You can share your prayer requests with us and the A Nun’s Life community. http://aNunsLife.org/LIVE