Praised be Jesus and Mary, now and forever. 
It's the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker today, and it's good to call to mind that commandment of God in Genesis, that command that he gave to mankind, increase, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. God speaks to man, man made in his image and likeness. Man made in the image and likeness of a God who is a creator. Therefore, God gives to man that duty as well of being a kind of creator, a participator in the work of creation. He gives us an earth, a world, and he commands us to subdue it, to make it serve our purposes, to shape it according to its laws and for its purpose. 
It's a big responsibility because the earth that we get from God has to be shaped into an environment that's becoming of our dignity as rational beings, the highest of all beings in the order of visible creation. We are at the top. We alone, made in the image and likeness of God, we alone with that command to subdue the earth. So we have to make this earth an environment becoming of our dignity, but also an environment that facilitates the purpose for which we are created, the salvation and sanctification of our souls. We must make the earth a place in which we live, worldly as humans, and in which we can easily, as easily as possible, save our souls, become saints, and glorify God to the greatest degree possible. And this is always something to keep in mind whenever we hear about ecology or even a Christian ecology.
There's a logical place even for that, but we must always remember that, yes, the world that God gave us has its laws, but also its purpose. If we figure out the laws of nature and respect them, then we'll be able to subdue nature to our purposes, and it can save, it can serve our purposes. So that's important. 
If we don't, then it won't serve our purposes. We can break that which has been given to us, and it won't be helpful. But again, that purpose must be kept in mind. The purpose of this whole earth and everything in it is to glorify God and to help us save our souls. Otherwise, we could apply that word of our Lord in the Gospel. What does it profit us to gain the whole world or to save the whole world, but to lose your soul? What does it profit us to save the rainforests, but to lose our souls? What does it profit us to save an endangered species, but to lose our souls? Nothing.
So again, proper laws and proper purpose. Without following the laws of this world that God gave us, we can't subdue it. It won't serve us. It'll be a difficult environment in which to live and in which to glorify God and in which to save our souls. But without its proper purpose in mind, it'll only harm us and others, even to the point of being an obstacle to the salvation of our souls. It might just become an occasion of sin and offense against God, our Creator, if we don't use it properly. So we show our dignity and we fulfill God's commandment by subduing the earth according to its laws, but also and most importantly according to its purpose, the salvation of our souls. 
And for this, we prayed and pray again. We prayed for this in the opening prayer and we repeat it now. O God, Creator of all things, who laid down for the human race the law of work, graciously granted by the example of Saint Joseph and under his patronage, we may complete the works you set us to do and attain the rewards you promise. Saint Joseph, pray for us.