Lent’s ‘Crosses of Resistance’ — Climate Justice

Lent Means Resisting the Crucifixion of Creation

Drake Palmer Starling
March 4, 2026

 

The beginning of Lent always reminds us, “Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”  

Dust. Not shareholders. Not consumers. Not extraction machines.  

Dust, animated by the breath of God.  

In that fragile truth, the Book of Genesis names our dependence on Earth, our Common Home, and on one another. This is called creation. But even during this 40-day journey of repentance and renewal, powerful interests in Washington are advancing a different vision – one that treats the Earth not as a sacred gift, but as a disposable commodity.   

This year, we are witnessing coordinated efforts to gut clean air and water safeguards, fast-track destructive extraction under the banner of “permitting reform,” weaken environmental review, and roll back hard-won climate investments that protect the most at-risk communities. Proposals like the SPEED Act and other permitting legislation promise efficiency when it comes to new infrastructure, but risk sacrificing community voice, tribal sovereignty, and ecological protection for the sake of this expediency.  

We must be clear: not all reforms are bad. We need clean energy built quickly. We need transmission lines. We need affordable power. But reforms that silence our communities, short-circuit environmental justice reviews, or lock in fossil fuel expansion are not about progress. They are about profit without accountability.    

Catholic Social Teaching is clear: the Earth is our common home. In Laudato Si’, Pope Francis warns against the “throwaway culture” that discards both people and planet. Environmental destruction and human suffering are not separate crises. They are one.  

When wetlands are stripped of protection, it is low-income communities who flood first.  

When methane standards are weakened, children with asthma gasp first.  

When mining laws are written for corporations instead of communities, Indigenous land is scarred and pillaged first.  

The prophets spoke of those who “sell the righteous for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals.” Today we might add those who sell clean water for quarterly earnings and sacrifice public lands for short-term political gain. Lent calls this what it is: sin, structural sin.  

The crucifixion was the result of political convenience colliding with imperial power. The crucifixion of creation today follows a similar pattern: regulatory rollbacks buried in must-pass bills, community concerns dismissed as “red tape,” and environmental justice framed as obstruction. However, the Gospel does not end there.  

Resurrection is not denial of suffering; it is God’s refusal to let death have the final word. Climate action, environmental justice, and clean energy investment are signs of resurrection breaking into public life. When we defend clean air, clean water, and clean affordable energy, when we organize faith communities against harmful environmental rollbacks, we are proclaiming that another way is possible.  

Lent asks us:  

Will we accept an economy that crucifies creation and calls it growth? Or will we shoulder the cross of resistance and insist that public policy reflect the common good?  To fast this Lent may mean fasting from indifference. To pray may mean calling out lawmakers by name. To give alms may mean investing our time and voices in protecting a livable climate.  

We are dust, yes. But we are dust loved into covenant.  

And the same God who formed Adam from the soil entrusted us with its care.

Take action, and help us carry Crosses of Resistance into your community. Our new Stations of the Cross (with facilitator script and participant handout) is now available.

Call (202) 953-6731 and let your elected official know, they must work for the common good to:

• Oppose any legislation that weakens the Toxic Substances Control Act, and protect the EPA’s authority to regulate toxic chemicals.
• Protect clean air and safe water in every community
• Oppose environmental rollbacks that harm our planet, such as the SPEED Act (Senate Bill S. 3224) and the PERMIT Act (H.R. 3898)
• Invest in clean energy jobs that prioritize people over corporate polluters

This Lent, let us mark not only our foreheads — but our commitments.

Because the cross we carry for creation is not a burden of despair.

It is a sign that resurrection is already underway.

 

Drake Palmer Starling is NETWORK’s Senior Government Relations Advocate.