Laudato ‘Si

On the Care for our Common Home is the Pope’s Encyclical Letter on the environment and human ecology.

Pope Francis challenges us to consider the kind of world we want to leave to those who come after us. It’s not just an ‘environment encyclical’, it leads us to ask ourselves about the meaning of existence and the values at the heart of social life: “What is the purpose of our life in this world? What is the goal of our work and all our efforts? What need does the earth have of us?”

Pope Francis, quoting Pope Saint John Paul II, reminds us that, as Christians, we are called to be responsible custodians of creation:

“Christians in their turn ‘realise that their responsibility within creation, and their duty towards nature and the Creator, are an essential part of their faith’”.

2022 is a very significant year, not just because we are gradually emerging in UK from the pandemic, but because of some very important international meetings which could determine the future of our planet and its inhabitants.  There is the G7 summit in June and COP26 on the climate crisis in November, both of which are held in the UK; also, China will be hosting international negotiations on protecting biodiversity.  Now is our opportunity to join with voices from Catholics (and others of faith) around the planet asking the leaders of these global gatherings to urgently align national and global commitments with limiting warming to 1.5ºC at most. Alongside this we are asking that the wonderful diversity of creatures living in our common home be protected.

Please sign the Healthy Planet, Healthy People petition and ask family and friends to join with you.

A CATHOLIC RESPONSE TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS

“What is more, Saint Francis, faithful to Scripture, invites us to see nature as a magnificent book in which God speaks to us and grants us a glimpse of his infinite beauty and goodness.

‘Through the greatness and the beauty of creatures one comes to know by analogy their maker’ (Wis 13:5); indeed, ‘his eternal power and divinity have been made known through his works since the creation of the world’ (Rom 1:20).

For this reason, Francis asked that part of the Friary garden always be left untouched, so that wild flowers and herbs could grow there, and those who saw them could raise their minds to God, the Creator of such beauty.  Rather than a problem to be solved, the world is a joyful mystery to be contemplated with gladness and praise.”    Laudato Si paragraph 12

Wilding on Church Premises

‘The time is Now’ to set aside an area of your parish grounds for wildlife.

One way to do this is to find a small grass area somewhere on church premises to leave to see what grows naturally.  It’s important to look at the ‘grass’ and there will probably be parallel veined leaved plants, feathery leaved plants all waiting to be given the chance to grow. Grass is often not much grass at all! ‘Caring for God’s Acre’ advises us not to introduce wildflower seeds to a grass area.  Wait and see what grows naturally.  Introduced seed might be so invasive that it swamps the indigenous. However, if there is no grassed area could a small area be dug and a packet of wild flower seeds planted?

A small area of a churchyard in Hertfordshire was left unmown from March to August to see what would grow.  We saw Germander Speedwell, Car’s Ear, Primrose, Bird’s Foot Trefoil, flowers full of nectar for pollinating insects and butterflies.  When the Lady’s Bedstraw came into bloom, there was a carpet of yellow and a sweet honey-like fragrance wafting in front of people as they left church.

 Lady’s Bedstraw (Galium Verum) is so named because in medieval times the dried plant was used to stuff mattresses, as the scent of the plant acted as a flea repellent!  The flowers were responsible for the yellow colour of Double Gloucester cheese.

So from this, a hidden miracle…..this. God’s glory revealed! A bees’ paradise.

Bees are in rapid decline and yet sadly the UK government has reversed its ban on bee-killing pesticides. These pesticides are linked to the decline in population of a third of our pollinating bees.

It is estimated that one third of the food that we consume each day relies on pollination mainly by bees, so you are invited to sign the Greenpeace petition calling for a ban on neonicotinoids.

LAUDATO SI ANIMATORS UK

Dedicated to spreading the teachings of the Pope’s Encyclical ‘Laudato Si’

Martin Davis, Cheltenham Laudato Si’ Circle.

LAUDATO SI: OPENING THE DOOR TO THE SPIRIT

The COVID 19 pandemic has had devastating effects in Brazil among the poor, marginalised and indigenous people. Last official figures (which are not at all accurate) stated that 3 million had been infected and 100000 had died as a result of COVID-19. Illegal mining, land grabbing, deforestation and killings continue throughout the lands of the indigenous amidst global denial of climate change. Unafraid, the bishops of Brazil stand with the people of God, namely the church. The Pope’s Encyclical Laudato Si, and the Amazon Synod bear prophetic witness to the need for us all to re-examine our values and especially our relationship with Our Creator, Nature and each other. Fr Leo Dolan, a priest of the Clifton Diocese, still working in Brazil, South America has sent the prayer below. He and his community have circulated some 2000 copies of this prayer to the isolated members of his community and to the local prisons making all inclusive. Notice how it captures the spirit of Laudato Si – to allow the Holy Spirit to enter into our communities and show his presence. To be fully human and fully alive does not require money and possessions but does require living the beatitudes.

‘Spirit of light, come, illuminate, clarify and raise our awareness; help us delve into the essence of what matters. Without your presence everything is meaningless and history is without direction. 

Stay, Holy Spirit, Spirit of Transformation, awaken, strengthen, and increase the energy of your people.  Without Your strength, everything stops functioning.

Stay, Spirit of Creation, renew, and build our future.  Without your courage, we grow old and incapable of new behaviour and action that sets us free. 

Stay Spirit of Consolation, comfort and console the hearts of the afflicted.  Without Your help everything becomes sad and lifeless. 

Stay Spirit of Peace, inspire our young people to wrestle with the difficulties they face. Without your presence, peace is superficial and full of contradiction. 

Stay Spirit of immediate help, you are much needed.  Christ is at the door and knocking.  Come and lead the way to the Kingdom. 

Stay Hidden Spirit, Promised Spirit, Spirit of the prophets, Jesus, Mary, the youthful Church, the martyrs of Brazil, Latin America and the World. 

Pour your love on us, and accompany us on the journey with your people who gather and struggle alongside each other to build the life of a Kingdom of Justice, of Peace, and of Love. 

Amen!’

GET TO GRIPS WITH LAUDATO SI

How do we translate  into positive action the call to care for our common home in  Pope Francis encyclical ‘Laudato Si ‘?  The Global Catholic Climate Movement has just released the first of a series of monthly reflections to  help us do just that.  Each month you’ll find prayer intentions, scriptural reflections, challenging questions to ponder or discuss, stories from people around the world and a call to action.  This month reminds us about the Season of Creation, September 1st to October 4th, an opportunity to celebrate God’s gift of creation with the global Catholic family.

How will a post-COVID world look?

Today, mid-pandemic, let us begin to imagine a post-COVID world!

“What kind of world”, Pope Francis asked us all, 5 years ago, “do we want to leave to those who come after us, to children who are now growing up?” (Laudato Si’, 160). This is how Pope Francis described the world—“everything is closely interrelated and today’s problems call for a vision capable of taking into account every aspect of the global crisis” (Laudato Si’, 137).

Laudato Si’s message is just as prophetic today as when Pope Francis signed it in May 2015. Clifton Diocese’s friend Fr Augusto—at the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development—has just announced a Special Laudato Si’ Anniversary Year, from May 2020 to May 2021. We hope—as do Fr Augusto, the Dicastery, and Pope Francis—that this Laudato Si’ anniversary year, and the ensuing decade, will be a time of grace, a “Jubilee time for the Earth, and for humanity, and for all God’s creatures.”

Everyone is invited to join in – how will you respond to this exciting opportunity? A good place to start is with Laudato Si itself. Read it in the light of the current pandemic. Also you might like to ask your parish council to look at the list of initiatives for the celebration of the Special Laudato Si’ Anniversary Year in the Anniversary Year Plan

The final podcast is by Jane Critten. As a mother of five young children., she explains her hopes for the future and how the message from Pope Francis will help her in her family life and how this could make a better place to live for her children in the future.