Yesterday, my ordinary, Archbishop Blase Cupich, held a press conference with an administrator of the EPA where he announced that the Archdiocese of Chicago will be benchmarking all 2,700 buildings to be more eco-friendly. The Archdiocese will be checking the energy and water usage of all our parishes, schools, offices, etc. and we’re the first diocese in the United States to do so. Chicago has always been a trendsetting diocese in the history of the American Catholic Church so this announcement is par for the course. I’m proud that Archbishop Cupich is making this a priority following Pope Francis’s newest encyclical, Laudato Si’.

I read Laudato Si’ when it became public and I loved how the Holy Father went about making his arguments and appeals. His spiritual and moral motivations came through and proved that this document is not a scientific study but a call to action for all of us to care for our common home, a central theme throughout the document. I have been reflecting on my own life and how I can change my ways to care more for our common home. Below I am offering the resolution I am personally making in hopes to motivate others to do the same.

1) No more throw-away water bottles!

I have a tendency to grab disposable water bottles from our rectory refrigerator all the time. What is most embarrassing is that I own THREE reusable water bottles.

2) Stop running the shower before use

Over the years I have grown into the wasteful habit of running the shower for a few minutes before I get in to let the water warm up. I don’t even want to know how many gallons of water I waste by doing this. Certainly a cold shower won’t kill me, in fact, it may help to wake me up in the morning.

3) Turn my window AC off for parts of the day

My window AC unit has been on 24/7 since I started living in my current rectory. The uncomfortable part is that I only have one window in my room so by having the AC unit I have no option to open a window for fresh air; however, that is no reason to run the AC unit 24/7. I will be more conscious of when the unit needs to be on and when it doesn’t, especially on days when I know I will be out of my room for long periods of time.

4) Take advantage of natural light vs. turning on lights

The rectory I live in has many windows which is awesome because it allows for the use of natural light. There really is never a need to turn on lights unless we are working later in the day or at night; however, just out of habit alone, lights get turned on throughout the day. Even if a room is too dark there are other rooms that I can move to and take advantage of the natural light there.

5) Walking instead of driving

I’m lucky to have a neighborhood parish that sits in the heart of the neighborhood. When I’m invited to a families home for a meal or to talk I don’t have to drive there because, more often than not, I can walk. This is something I have been doing anyway since arriving but I wanted to post it because I’m more conscious of when I’m able to walk vs. I need to drive.

These are just five very simple and common sense ways of living Laudato Si’. I’m open and eager to hear other suggestions that people have been doing to care for our common home.