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When
one muses about vacation many scenes may come to mind: white sandy
beaches, clean salt air, a fresh countryside, a pine forest and
beautiful clear lakes.
In the encyclical Laudato Si’, Pope Francis reflects on just such experiences as these:
“Standing
awestruck before a mountain, he or she cannot separate this experience
from God, and perceives that the interior awe being lived has to be
entrusted to the Lord…”
The Pope says, “The universe unfolds in
God, who fills it completely. Hence, there is a mystical meaning to be
found in a leaf, in a mountain trail, in a dewdrop, in a poor person’s
face.”
In the pages of Laudato Si’, Pope Francis expounds the
principles that would allow such beauty to continue to exist today, both
for us, for our children and future generations.
Today, both Orthodox and Catholic Churches unite for the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Our Common Home,
to remind each one of us to be “credible and effective” witnesses by
being committed, “to honor what God has created and to take
responsibility for its care.”
The new encyclical states the need
for responsibility regarding, among many things, climate change, water,
pollution, our throw away culture, bio diversity, global inequality, the
decline in the quality of human life and a way of life that can lead to
serious dilemmas.
The Pope is appealing to each one of us.
“Humanity still has the ability to work together in building our common
home,” he says. This encyclical welcomes dialogue with everyone so that
together we can seek paths of liberation. It is recommended for people
of all faiths and for everyone who is seeking a solution to the
betterment of our global environment.
Pope Francis continues, “I
would like from the outset to show how faith convictions can offer
Christians, and some other believers as well, ample motivation to care
for nature and for the most vulnerable of their brothers and sisters. If
the simple fact of being human moves people to care for the environment
of which they are a part, Christians in their turn realize that their
responsibility within creation, and their duty toward nature and the
Creator, are an essential part of their faith. It is good for humanity
and the world at large when we believers better recognize the ecological
commitments which stem from our convictions.”
Let us unite our prayers with those of the Holy Father and the entire Church for this intention.
Sr. Barbara Gerace, FSP
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Here
is a prayer written by Pope Francis that we can say today for the
World Day of Prayer for the Care of Our Common Home (excerpted from
Laudato Si’):
Father, we praise you with all your creatures.
They came forth from your all-powerful hand;
they are yours, filled with your presence and your tender love.
Praise be to you!
Son of God, Jesus,
through you all things were made.
You were formed in the womb of Mary our Mother,
you became part of this earth,
and you gazed upon this world with human eyes.
Today you are alive in every creature
in your risen glory.
Praise be to you!
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