Earth Day is a day to think about our planet and what we can do to keep it healthy. We have taken a few major steps since April 2015. The Christian world is still digesting Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato Si. The document's challenges were not confined to the Christian churches, but included all women and men on the planet. It is our role as Christian leaders to keep the document and it's challenges on the front burner of social discourse.

To that end, my sense is that parishes, spirituality centres and educational institutions are doing an amazing job. Parish bulletins and university bulletin boards are almost always promoting a talk or conference. Another major step forward was the COP21, The United Nations Conference on Climate Change held in Paris from 30 November to 12 December 2015.

I cannot speak for nations or cities or religious communities and what they make of all this. I can only speak with confidence of my own experience when it comes to the kind of conversion needed before we can live with integrity and sustainability in a way that promotes the health of the planet. Thus, to quote Pope Francis, who am I to judge? I would be a hypocrite to criticize our culture and our lifestyle.

Put quite simply, I am addicted to my lifestyle, a lifestyle that is detrimental to the health of the planet. I know all about the elements in my iPhone and iPad and how they are produced. That knowledge does not force me to get rid of my devices. I know all about the benefits of eating locally-sourced foods. I still like my fresh pineapple and raspberries in January. I know that a lot of my clothing is produced in unjust situations. I know all about those, even in Canada, lacking clean water and yet I take a shower each day, two if I've gone to the gym. I can at least pride myself on my commitment to recycling and to public transport (and the latter has more to do with my inability to drive after my brain tumour in 2003 than with a conscious decision to give up automobiles).

And I dare say that many others share the addiction I have. I spend a lot of my time around Bay and Bloor in Toronto. I sometimes laugh to myself and daydream about surveying pedestrians or the people in my Starbucks and asking, "What do you think about the revolution Pope Francis is calling for in Laudato Si?" Exactly! They'd laugh.

If I, a committed Christian, can't have a conversion, how do I expect others to? I've spent years praying to be open to God's call to me. I've spent years instructing others on discerning God's will for their lives. I can't imagine these issues are anywhere on the agenda of those who deposit their fancy cars at the valet desks of Holt Renfrew and Harry Rosen. Am I really that different!

We are addicted! Whenever recovering addicts or those who help them speak about conquering their addictions, they stress that willpower is never enough. I can have a deep desire to give up a habit, but my desire and motivation has to be helped by grace. Call it what you will – God, a Higher Power, the shared experience of Alcoholics Anonymous or any other communal support group.

I'm really not sure what the way forward is, not for myself, and certainly not for anyone else. The only way I can foresee being freed of my cellphone is by having it forced from my hand, there’s been a major tragedy or because I've been buried. I admit that I like my comforts, and with the same breath, can desire what the saints describe as the agere contra, acting against oneself and one’s earthly desires.

So, it is Earth Day. Can I do even one thing today that will contribute to the life and health of the planet? As I do that, may I be humble enough to look at the log in my eye before I speak of the splinter in someone else's eye.