Laudato Si Reflections Week 1 Gratitude
In 2015, Pope Francis shared his encyclical Laudato Si with the world. We invite you to think about your personal relationship with creation and how you as an individual, respond to Pope Francis’ call to care for our common home. To do this, we will use an Ignatian eco-examen reflection tool called, Reconciling God, Creation and Humanity. (https://www.ecologicalexamen.org)
Please take just a few minutes of each day during the week to focus on the first aspect, Gratitude. You are invited to recognise that all that we are, the person we are now and the person we are becoming, the possessions we have and the earth we inhabit, is all a gift from a loving Creator.
Do I give thanks to God for creation and for being wonderfully made? Where did I feel God’s presence in creation today?
Prayer: I give thanks to my God who created all the Earth, all the creatures upon the Earth, the fishes of the sea, the birds that soar through the skies, the water that gives us life and all humanity. I give thanks to God who moulded me in my mother’s womb and who crafts me into the person who I am today. I thank God for my life and for all that God has provided me to sustain this very life. I recognise all I am and all Creation that surrounds me is a gift from God.
Laudato Si Reflections Week 2 Awareness
Last week we focused on Gratitude, and we gave thanks to God for creation. This week please take a few minutes each day to focus on Awareness.
Do I see the beauty of creation and hear the cries of the earth, the poor and the vulnerable who suffer most from climate change?
Prayer: I pray that I will always see the close relationship between all creatures and our common home and how we are dependent on one another for our mutual well-being. I rejoice in how the earth and the creatures and people who inhabit it are all wonderfully made.
I pray that I will always hear “the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.” I ask for the grace to see creation as God does- in all its splendour and suffering.
Laudato Si Reflections Week 3 Understanding
This week please take a few minutes of each day to focus on Understanding.
Prayer: I ask for the grace to look closely at my own life and the decisions I have made. I ask myself how do I care for the gift of creation and the resources of the Earth, which are meant for the benefit of all, including our brothers and sisters around the world and future generations? How do my choices impact the environment and people in my community, nation and around the world, particularly the poor and vulnerable?
Choose one or two of these questions to reflect upon each time you say this prayer:
- How can I turn away from a throwaway culture and instead stand in solidarity with creation and the poor?
- How do I use water throughout my daily life and am I a responsible steward of this gift? Who has access to clean water, a basic human right, and who does not?
- Am I conscious of where my food is grown and under what conditions? Am I aware of the energy and water that went into the production of my food, and the impact on the environment?
Laudato Si Reflections Week 4 Conversion
This week please take a few minutes of each day to focus on Conversion.
Ask for grace of conversion towards ecological justice and reconciliation with this prayer:
In my desire for reconciliation with creation, I ask God for forgiveness and the grace of ecological conversion.
I acknowledge the ways in which I personally have chosen convenience, selfishness, and greed over ecological and social justice.
I also acknowledge the ways structures, patterns, and cultures of sin impact my life, the lives of people on the margins and the earth. Through my recognition of where I have fallen short in caring for creation and my brothers and sisters, and through God’s mercy, I pray for a conversion of heart to amend my ways. I seek through my prayer and actions to reconcile myself with God, creation, and humanity.
I ask for the grace to become someone who chooses to see the world through the eyes of the marginalized and acts to contribute to a more socially and ecologically just society.
Laudato Si Reflections Week 5: Reconciliation.
For the past 4 weeks, we have reflected and prayed for Gratitude, Awareness, Understanding, Conversion and now in our final week, Reconciliation.
We “are called to help heal a broken world,” to embrace a culture of solidarity and encounter. This means embracing a new sustainable path forward and a “new way of producing and consuming [that] puts God’s creation at the centre.” 12 By working for environmental justice and reconciliation with creation, we reverence the God of love and co-labour with God towards Christ’s own mission of reconciliation and love.
How can I repair my relationship with creation and make choices consistent with my desire for reconciliation with creation?
You could identify and take up one or more of these Ignation suggestions to live more sustainably:
- In what ways can I pray at home and with others for reconciliation with creation and for a conversion of heart to embrace ecological justice?
- In what ways will I seek to live more simply (in my home and community) and to make choices consistent with my desire for reconciliation with creation? 13
- In what ways through my actions can I stand in solidarity with the most vulnerable who are disproportionately affected by the environmental crisis?
- In what ways will I advocate for environmental policies that care for creation and the most vulnerable?
Prayer: I ask for the grace to reconcile my relationship with God, creation, and humanity and to stand in solidarity through my actions.