The Holy Land Garden and the Headwaters Sanctuary, San Antonio: A Guest Blog from Sister Martha Ann Kirk

One does not save what one does not love. To save God’s creation, we need to help the younger generation fall in love with its beauty. The ecological problems of over consumption and destruction of the environment cannot be solved by science alone. They demand spiritualties of recognizing the common humanity of the other and putting the common good before one’s selfish interests. At the University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) in San Antonio, the Holy Land Garden, a place of common ground, is used to invite students and all to deeper spirituality.

UIW may be the only place in the world that has plants from the Holy Scriptures of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam together with citations. These scriptures invite people to plant and enjoy the fruits of the earth together rather than build instruments of destruction. “They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore. Everyone will sit under their own vine and under their own fig tree, and no one will make them afraid” (Micah 4:3-4).  

Also at UIW, the Headwaters Sanctuary is one of the last undeveloped forests in San Antonio and it includes 53 acres adjoining the campus. Within this urban wild space is the San Antonio Spring and Olmos Creek which are the headwaters of the San Antonio River. The Headwaters Coalition is a non-profit sponsored ministry of the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, dedicated to preserving the Headwaters Sanctuary and spreading an ecological ethic. The Headwaters Sanctuary offers holistic education that teaches visitors the importance of caring for the earth and gives them tools to do so.

Submitted by Sister Martha Ann Kirk, Th.D. Professor of Religious Studies, University of the Incarnate Word