News Archives » Laudato Si
2023 Season of Creation – “Let’s Irrigate Life!” September 15th, 2023
By Maurice Lange, current Justice & Peace Director at Presentation Sisters & former Executive Director of the Oblates Lebh Shomea House of Prayer
“Love, overflowing with small gestures of mutual care, is also civic and political, and it makes itself felt in every action that seeks to build a better world.” (Laudato Si #231)
READ: 3rd part of Pope Francis’ letter for the 2023 Season of Creation (below) (READ FULL REFLECTION)
REFLECTION: Pope Francis does not mince words in calling us to put an end to war upon Creation. Our calling is to stand with victims of this war, both human and other-than-human. Justice and peace cannot flow when so many bodies of water are drying up. Yes, our human societies are that linked to the natural world! Greed and selfishness, on the part of individuals and industry, are wreaking havoc on Earth’s water cycle. Creation’s heartbeat works in cycles…we Westerners think and act linearly. Can we align our hearts with the way that Earth functions…and live cyclically?
ACTION: This week go outside — near a stream, brook or small river — and just be. Ponder the flow of that water…and where it merges with other streams or rivers. How does this increase provide for creatures and habitats downstream? What are some novel ways you can irrigate (and not deplete) “the life of our marvelous planet and our human family”?
Reflections in this series:
New Resource! Practical Ways We Can Help Pollinators August 14th, 2023
Actions to Support Local Pollinator Biodiversity
BACKGROUND
At the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP 15) in 2022, countries agreed to return 30% of land and 30% of the oceans to nature. Seizing this momentum, in June 2023, Irish Bishops called for conservation of nearly a third of church property to become havens for pollinators and biodiversity.
The bishops’ initiative responds to:
- Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical “Laudato Si, on Care for Our Common Home,”
- the impending loss of biodiversity
- and agreements made at COP15 in December 2022.
Integrity of Creation as an integral part of evangelization was re-affirmed at the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate’s 37th General Chapter in September 2022.
The OMI Justice, Peace & Integrity of Creation has adapted some ideas from the Irish Bishops’ resource Faith Communities Actions to Help Pollinators and complied them as possible actions for people to take.
DOWNLOAD THE REPORT
Laudato Si’ Week is May 21 to 28 May 19th, 2023
Act to Make a Difference
Beginning on Sunday, May 21, Laudato Si’ Week is an annual observance to celebrate the anniversary of Pope Francis’ papal encyclical letter, “Laudato Si’: On Care For Our Common Home.” This year’s theme is “Hope for the Earth. Hope for humanity.” Communities are encouraged to respond to the call of Pope Francis through reflection, prayer and action.
To learn more visit this website: laudatosiweek.org
Learn more about Oblate ecological initiatives at La Vista Ecological Learning Center – https://www.lavistaelc.org/ – which offers programs and resources for living consciously.
The Oblates have joined Catholics worldwide in making a congregational commitment to Laudato Si. Click here to view our commitments.
Organized by their GreenTeam, Sacred Heart Parish in Oakland, CA Joined the local Pax Christi & neighboring parishes for an Earth Day clean up. Read the story here.
View part II of OMI JPIC’s Laudato Si Action Platform and watch the video: we revisit the commitments we have taken on and ponder what other action steps we might add.
Celebrate Earth Day 2023 April 21st, 2023
World Water Day and World Earth Day are Linked and Flow Together – 2023
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BISHOP MICHAEL PFEIFER, O.M.I.
Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of San Angelo
DOWNLOAD the full Pastoral Article
World Earth Day 2023: Invest in Your Planet (Get Inspired. Take Action. Be a part of the green revolution). The website www.earthday.org describes the history of this special day. The 1960s saw a dramatic increase in environmental concerns in the US. With several environmental catastrophes, many Americans felt the need to take a more proactive approach in the stewardship of our planet. To avoid future environmental disasters, Senator Gaylord Nelson, from Wisconsin established the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970, to bring light to the issues of environmental responsibilities and transforming the public attitude. That day left a permanent impact on the politics of America. Earth Day was the push the nation needed and not long after that, Congress passed several major initiatives that would become the foundation of our nation’s environmental laws.
Beginning in 1990, Earth Day went global. A day that mobilized more than 200 million people in 141 countries to begin the fight for the environment to the global stage. Earth Day continues to grow, and more than 1 billion people took action for the 40th anniversary of Earth Day in 2010. In 2020, Earth Day marked 50 years of environmental activism and showed no signs of slowing down. Presently, there is a world-wide concern on the danger of Climate Change which affects the present and future of our entire planet. In our Planet, the United Nations has called its latest climate report a “Code Red for Humanity”.
The report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration states that the earth is arguably in worse shape than ever. Scientific evidence is clear that irrefutable-human activity is causing our planet to warm at an alarming rate. We need to act boldly, innovate broadly, and implement equitably. Pope Francis focuses on “ecological conversion” for decisions that can no longer be postponed. This conversion calls for new lifestyles World Water Day and World Earth Day are Linked and Flow Together 2023 3 based on development, sustainability and cooperation between human beings and the environment. Society must explore all options to identify the best opportunities to make our planet more hospitable for generations to come. It’s going to take all of us, international, national, and local governments, businesses, churches, schools, and all citizens on earth to form a partnership to protect and preserve our planet.
DOWNLOAD the full Pastoral Article
Fr. Séamus Finn, OMI Speaks at Harvard Islamic Finance Conference October 21st, 2022
Cambridge, Massachusetts
– October 21 & 22, 2022 –
