To the children.

To the children, to all the children, to the children who swim beneath the waves of the sea, to those who live in the soils of the earth, to the children of the flowers in the meadows and the tree in the forest, to all those children who roam above the land and the winged the sames who fly with the winds, to the human children too, that all the children may proceed together into the future in the replete diversity of their regional communities." --Thomas Berry, The Great Work

lately I had occasion to visit gain with 90-year-old Thomas Berry, the cultural historian and geologist who has had a penetrating influence in my professional and personal life.

As we talked about his latest reflections onward the significance of the 20th hundred for the life of this planet, I was reminded of the many. populace whom I have met who find his ideas significant for their lives--story, the dream of the earth, the great work, the universe story. These are not just the titles of Berry's books; they are ideas that have transformed lives and are consequently transforming the earth.

single particular place that has been affected by means of Thomas Berry is the Maryknoll middle for Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation in Baguio City, Philippines, where I worn out a week last February. Ann Braudis, the director of the Maryknoll midmost point arrived in the Philippines in the early 1990 to begin work forward ecological issues for her religious community. The opportunity arose for her to make progress to Baguio after an earthquake had sap the foundations ofed the local community's convent. When she saw the land there, Ann was inspired to begin this midst I didn't know until I arrived that Ann had exhausted time at Holy Cross midmost point for Ecology and Spirituality, formerly located in Port Burwell, Ont

As at consecrated Cross, part of the Maryknoll middle point is an ecological sanctuary that includes a locate of 14 cosmic stations that celebrate significant consequences in the story of the universe--the cosmic journey. It is extraordinary.

The midmost point is also focused on education that is based upon the universe story. A class of deaf observers put on a play about the earth. The pre-school children did the same; after the play, we went down to station number three which celebrates the oceans. We participated in a ritual that included a blessing with water and the planting of indigenous tree It was through the whole extent of whelming.

It was also overwhelming to talk with the staff of the middle They are all indigenous bodys who told stories of having been healed and restored from one side their contact and work with the midst In a country so glutted of human and ecological injustice, where you might anticipate that the primary concern would be daily survival, the staff is committed to the work because of the children. Living, working and educating from the perspective of the universe story makes understanding to them because it be of importance tos the legacy that we pass onward to all the children of this planet.

Filipino children and adults draw near to the centre almost daily to take the Cosmic Journey, visit the art gallery, participate in a workshop. The staff speaks of the impact the midmost point is having on people's intellect of self-worth and the worth of their indigenous culture; it is a healing and restorative experience that gives them faith in the face of daily be in agonys their long history of colonial oppression and extensive ecological devastation. The community of life here is definitely contributing to the healing of this planet.

Thomas Berry provides us with a legacy of insight into the universe and who we are as human beings. He trustful longings and believes that the story of the earth can become the same of mutually enhancing relationships between humans and all other beings and hypothesiss He expands our limited human horizons and teaches us to view beyond ourselves, our species, to the whole community of life. He inspires us to stick to the dream of the earth and contribute to its healthy unfolding. He challenges us to live and work with the that will be of all the earth's children always in our view.

Cristina Vanin teaches in the Department of Religious Studies at St Jerome's University, Waterloo, Ont

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