In Laudato Si’ Pope Francis says about St Francis of Assisi: ‘Just as happens when we fall in love with someone, whenever he would gaze at the sun, the moon or the smallest of animals, he burst into song, drawing all other creatures into his praise.’ It is clear from the context that the pope is inviting us to follow the example of St Francis by allowing ourselves to fall in love with nature, with all the creatures around us. In doing so he is calling us to a major enrichment of our spirituality – in fact what for many people would amount to a quite radical transformation. This is a move from a spirituality that in the past, and to some extent even today, sees spirituality as an escape from the world, to one that is nourished by the world around us, that embraces it, loves it, and is committed to protecting it.