Prayer in Response to the Climate Emergency

Loving Creator,

You make all things in balance:

sun and moon

earth and sea

fire and ice

so that all Creation might exist in harmony.

We lament that our greed has disrupted this balance.

The climate emergency threatens all existence.

Droughts and flooding

extreme heat and ice storms

coastal erosion and rising sea levels

are increasingly the norm.

To change our climate for the better, we ourselves must change.

We ourselves must be transformed into a new humanity.

Loving Creator, we ask you to make us anew

Open our eyes – to see the beauty of Creation

Open our ears – to hear the prophets speaking Truth among us

Open our arms – to embrace our neighbours, human and other-than-human

Open our hands – to do the work that must be done

Open our hearts – to be instruments of Love in the world

Embolden us and our political leaders to take action now.

For act we must.

Prayer prior to the UN Summit on Climate Action, and Federal elections in Canada

UISG Canadian constellations —September 1, 2019.

Keeping Our Attention

Pope Francis, from his premier appearance on the Vatican balcony, has shown his ability to touch hearts, turn heads and get folks talking. This relatively new religious leader has caught the world’s attention.

Thomas Reese, in an article published in the National Catholic Reporter, explains the hype surrounding the much anticipated arrival and publicized release of Pope Francis’ encyclical, Laudato Si’,  within  both religious circles and throughout the worldwide secular media.  Reese contends that Laudato Si’ was on the right topic, at the right time, by the right person.

Global citizens have taken note and notice.  As a religious leader, Pope Francis desires that his second encyclical, Laudato Si’,  On Care for our Common Home will spark reflection, create dialogue, transform consciousness,  change attitudes and alter behavior patterns. The text of the encyclical is available at https://laudatosi.com . It is both relevant and readable.  Reese adds, “The reader is drawn to the journalistic rather than academic writing style of Pope Francis.” 

One might suspect that Francis shrewdly instituted the new day of prayer and celebration for the Church on September 1^st, entitled the “World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation” to highlight annually his message and our role as stewards of our common home.

Nancy Wales CSJ