When my wife and I moved into our Dyer home some 44 years ago, we planted bushes along our driveaway. They were modest in size when planted, but they grew to be very large bushes over these many years.

This year, however, the bushes must have reached their intended lifespan, as holes within the evergreens appeared. One hole consumed almost half the bush. The plants, which at one time were magnificent in appearance, began to look like they were dying. Ultimately, we decided to have them removed.

We have a friend who is a landscaper, so we asked if he could do this for us at a modest price, as the task seemed to be too large for us to accomplish at our age. In my naivety, I originally thought I could do the removal myself, but I settled on getting help after realizing that the plants were deeply embedded within the soil.

A crew of four men came, and it took them two hours to remove the bushes. One of the bushes had an unknown beehive deep within it that extended from underneath the surface of the soil into the middle of the plant. Much to the landscaper’s surprise, the angry bees attacked the man trying to remove that plant. He ended up being stung by a bee.

I felt bad for him, and I sprayed the remnants of the plant with Raid, killing many bees while doing so. Over the next few days, more bees kept surfacing from the ground. Due to the proximity of the bees to where we park our cars and walk, I also sprayed those bees until almost all of them were gone. I then felt guilty about ending the lives of so many of God’s creatures.

I looked up the topic of killing bees on the internet in relationship to the Catholic Church, and I found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 2415-2418) that it declares all animals to be part of God’s creation and so they should be treated with kindness. They exist for the good of humanity and part of God’s plan. It is contrary to human dignity to cause animals to suffer or die needlessly. There was no specific reference to bees though.

Pope Francis teaches us in encyclical Letter, Laudato Si’ On Care for Our Common Home, that each creature has its own purpose. None is superfluous. Once again, even though bees are not specifically mentioned, we know bees are especially important in their role in pollination and the balance of nature.

I then found an article that said, notwithstanding such teachings, it may be necessary to kill such creatures if they pose a real danger in threatening a home or people.

Still, I felt guilty about ending their lives. I found myself thanking God for the guilty feeling, as this feeling reminded me that we need to think about God’s plan for life.

By: Deacon Tom Gryzbek