In the wake of President Trump’s announced withdrawal from the Paris climate accord, and in light of Pentecost, I propose, as many Catholic writers are doing as well, that we receive “Laudato Si’,” Pope Francis’ encyclical on the environment, as a treasured gift and, and in the spirit of Pentecost, we share with others this wonderful gift. We need to make “Laudato Si’” a household name. It was, after all, the gift that Pope Francis gave our president when they met last month. If that did not satisfy his doubts about the need to work together to respond to climate change, then we should receive it so that we respond as a nation to the challenges of the environment, especially for those most at risk to these challenges: the poor. Cardinal Reinhard Marx, president of the German bishops conference, among other Catholic leaders, lamented the president’s failure to embrace the spirit of “Laudato Si’”: “The encyclical “Laudato Si’” … stresses that the weakness of international politics lies in the fact that too many particular interests take precedence over the common good. It is regrettable that this analysis is again confirmed and that global responsibility stops at the borders of a country. The international community should not be discouraged.” What do we need to know about this gift? First, while long, “Laudato Si’” is very accessible. And it’s exciting. As we read it, we can actually hear the voice of Pope Francis, summoning us urgently, in the spirit of St. Francis, to consider the condition of our planet. The text is refreshingly candid. My favorite passage comes right after the opening, in which Pope Francis lets us have it: “This sister now cries out to us because of the harm we have inflicted on her by our irresponsible use and abuse of the goods with which God has endowed her. We have come to see ourselves as her lords and masters, entitled to plunder her at will. The violence present in our hearts, wounded by sin, is also reflected in the symptoms of sickness evident in the soil, in the water, in the air and in all forms of life. This is why the earth herself, burdened and laid waste, is among the most abandoned and maltreated of our poor; she ‘groans in travail’ (Rom 8:22). We have forgotten that we ourselves are dust of the earth (cf. Gen 2:7); our very bodies are made up of her elements, we breathe her air and we receive life and refreshment from her waters.” Later Francis adds: “The earth, our home, is beginning to look more and more like an immense pile of filth.” He tells it not only as he sees it, but as it actually is. Second, he names the central issue. We have not obeyed the will of God, who called us to be stewards of creation. Specifically, our habits of “consumption” (a word the pope uses 30 times in the encyclical) are the source of the problem, and need to be corrected. We consume irresponsibly, with too little thought about how our actions affect the earth and all its inhabitants. As the planet is ravaged by increasingly powerful storms and terrible droughts, unprecedented harm comes to those most directly dependent on the land, sea and air. Pope Francis repeatedly reminds us that while wealthy nations can still protect themselves from climate change to some extent, poor people are much more vulnerable to the environmental changes we are witnessing. Francis repeats the word “poor” 61 times, urging us to see the inseparable connection between the upheaval of the environment and the situation of the poor. Third, underlying everything in the encyclical is the enduring insight that the issues of our consumption, the earth’s degradation and the deadly impact it has on the poor are connected. He reminds us 18 times of this “connection.” Get connected: This is Pope Francis’ clarion call. Withdrawal and isolation are not ethical options. The climate is not for individual or national consumption. “The climate is a common good,” Pope Francis teaches, “belonging to all and meant for all.” America has already been first, with its extraordinary per-capita consumption of the earth’s resources. Rather than being a time of going it alone, now is the time for coming together, for solidarity with the nations of the world and with the poor. That is the Spirit of Pentecost descending upon us, teaching us to spread the word about the gifts we have been given. For Americans, this is a time for us to receive the gift given by Pope Francis to all peoples. And it is time for us to make that gift our own.