07/09/2026
๐๐ ๐๐๐ผ๐๐
๐โ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ฟ ๐๐๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ผ๐
In the second reading, St Paul repeats the words of Jesus: All the commandments are โsummed up in this word: You shall love your neighbour as yourself.โ He then adds, โ๐ณ๐๐๐ ๐
๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐.โ Our neighbour is not only the person we meet. Our neighbour is also the person who may be affected by the choices we make. To be a neighbour in a globalised, digital, and ecologically fragile world is both demanding and complex.
Last week, when I read news reports about the floods in Nepal and Tibet, I contacted my friends in Nepal to ask if they were safe. One of them, Poonam, replied:
โI am safe, as are my family and friends. It is still a dangerous time. A glacier-dammed lake on the Chinese side remains a threat. It is sad that Nepal is not responsible for global warming and climate change, yet we suffer some of the worst consequences of it. That said, we too could treat nature far better than we do.โ
Nepal, China, and India are geographical neighbours. But climate change reminds us that we are neighbours in a much deeper sense. China and India are among the world's largest emitters of carbon dioxide. As per reports, In 2024, China produced about 31.5% of global COโ emissions and India about 8.3%, while Nepal's contribution was tiny by comparison. Yet the consequences of climate change do not stop at national borders. The atmosphere does not recognise national boundaries. Neither do rivers, glaciers or rising temperatures. And suddenly Paul's words become much more demanding: โLove does no wrong to a neighbour.โ Could my way of living be causing harm to someone I will never meet?
The theme of this year's Season of Creation is living water. The Season of Creation 2026 invites us to reflect on the theme of Living Water. This theme of living water draws from Ezekiel 47. In the vision of the prophet Ezekiel, water flows from God's sanctuary, bringing life wherever it goes, healing the land and restoring what was broken.
Last Thursday, Fr Lijo and I went for a walk to ๐ฎ๐๐๐ ๐ด๐๐๐'๐ ๐ป๐๐๐. As we climbed the hillside, the sound and beauty of the waterfall filled our hearts and minds. Standing near the loch on the hillside, we experienced a profound sense of peace and wonder. There is something deeply spiritual about water. It is part of the landscape, part of creation, and part of us. Yet, perhaps most importantly, water is something we depend upon but did not create. We receive it as a gift. As ๐๐ฌ๐๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐๐๐ reminds us: โHe makes springs pour water into the ravines; they flow between the hills.โ
However, not everyone is blessed to enjoy the water the way we are. Drought is affecting the lives and livelihoods of around ๐.๐ ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ฉ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ฅ๐๐ฐ๐ข๐๐. One of the countries affected by drought is Chile in South America. Since 2010, Chile has experienced historically low levels of rainfall. Yet in 2015 Google opened its first Latin American data centre there. Google's data centre was authorised to extract 50 litres of water per second from underground wells, amounting to more than one billion litres annually. A data centre is a vast complex filled with powerful computers that store and process the information we use online, such as photos, videos, emails, and messages.
Facebook's parent company, Meta, operates a major data centre near Dublin. In 2024, the facility used 556 million litres of water. Ireland now has more than 80 data centres. Together, they consumed about 7.7 terawatt-hours of electricity in 2025, approximately 23% of the country's metered electricity consumption.
What does it mean to love our neighbour in a global, digital and ecologically fragile world?โ Perhaps my neighbour is the person living near a mine where minerals for our phones, computers, and electric vehicles are extracted. Perhaps my neighbour is the community in Chile fighting for water with data centre companies. Perhaps my neighbour is the person living in a country experiencing drought or flooding.
The responsorial psalm at Mass last Thursday was ๐๐ฌ๐๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐๐:: โThe earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world and all who live in it.โ
The earth belongs to God. Everything we have is gift. Everything we have is received. The earth is our โ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐จ๐ง ๐ก๐จ๐ฆ๐.โ
Today's Gospel concluded with the words: โWhere two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.โ This morning, along with the bread and w**e, we will also offer a jug of water from the Water of Leith, in gratitude to God and as a reminder of how precious water truly is.
