I’ve always loved science. Quantum physics, astrophysics, the wild mysteries of particles and galaxies… those things don’t shake my faith, they strengthen it. When I read about particles flickering in and out of existence or galaxies whose light is just now reaching us after billions of years, I don’t think, “Where’s God in all this?” I think, “How incredible that God is this vast, this creative, this endlessly mysterious.” Science doesn’t pull me away from God… it makes me fall more in love.
But this isn’t just personal for me. It matters right now, because science is under attack. Medical research is being eroded and defunded in favor of snake oil. Environmental science is brushed aside by those who profit from polluting the earth. And in too many schools, science education is being replaced with a kind of weaponized religion… where scripture is taught as if it were a biology or chemistry textbook, stripped of its poetry and allegory. Greed has found that if it can pit faith against science, it can turn believers into foot soldiers in its war against truth.
As Catholics, we reject that. The Church, sometimes imperfectly, but still courageously, has long stood on the side of science. From the Vatican Observatory, still doing cutting-edge research in astrophysics, to the steady drumbeat of encyclicals reminding us to read Scripture with both devotion and discernment, the Catholic tradition has never asked us to choose between faith and knowledge. We’re asked to love the Lord with all our heart, all our soul, and all our mind.
And right now, Pope Leo XIV is showing the world what that looks like. This fall, he’s inaugurating the Borgo Laudato Si’, the Vatican’s Institute for Integral Ecology. Built on the old papal grounds at Castel Gandolfo, it will be part farm, part classroom, part laboratory, and part sanctuary. It’s rooted in Pope Francis’ vision from Laudato Si’, that caring for creation and caring for the poor are inseparable. There will be organic agriculture, renewable energy, and even training for vulnerable communities in sustainable work. Just last week, Pope Leo celebrated the very first Mass for the Care of Creation in those gardens. That’s the Church showing, in practice, that science and faith are meant to walk hand in hand.
For me, that’s the heart of it. Science asks how. Faith asks why. Together, they give us the most beautiful picture of the universe I can imagine. Rejecting science isn’t just unwise, it’s unfaithful when it harms our neighbor and our planet. But when we hold science and faith together, we see the stars more clearly, we hear creation more deeply, and we find ourselves drawn closer to the God who made it all.
A Prayer for Wonder and Stewardship
Creator of galaxies and God of our hearts,
we thank You for the gift of knowledge and the gift of faith.
You have written Your glory into the stars above us,
into the smallest particle beneath us,
and into every breath of life that sustains us.
Give us hearts that marvel, not fear.
Give us minds that seek truth, not control.
Protect the work of scientists, doctors, and teachers
who labor for the good of creation and the healing of Your people.
Forgive us when we turn away from wisdom,
when greed blinds us to the cry of the earth
and the cry of the poor.
Draw us back to You, the Source of all that is true.
May our faith never be an enemy of knowledge,
but a companion to it
so that together they may lead us
into deeper awe, deeper love, and deeper stewardship
of the world You have entrusted to us.
Amen.
If this reflection spoke to you, share it with someone who’s ever been told they have to choose between science and faith—maybe it will help them see the beauty of holding both together.