After giving a talk about Environmental Racism, people were eager to talk and learn more about Laudato Si' and the theology of Pope Francis that feeds his call to care for our common home and our neighbors. We decided that we would form a group of friends and read my book - Caring for Our Common Home: A Practical Guide to Laudato Si'. Both paperback and ebook version available at Paulist Press, Amazon, Kobo, and other sites.
It is what I love and I am thrilled to have others joining in -- want to join? Here is the sign up link:
It will be a Zoom conversation (feel free to join in wherever you are in the world) and will be as interactive as we would like it to be!
We are starting with the Water section. We will learn about the turbulent times we are in as well as look at Laudato Si' for theological insights. But most importantly, we will be talking about the people of great hope living Laudato Si' and caring for our many neighbors of the deep. They will be the lanterns on our path to living Laudato Si' in our daily lives.
But the best adventures start with a bit of preparation -- mind, body and spirit! So over the next few days, carve out some time to cultivate your holy noticing of water...
Begin your preparation by looking at my June 18th blog on Holy Noticing... drink deeply from the words of poet John O'Donohue...
Allow the Beauty to awaken in you then the beauty will gradually awaken all around you...I think it makes a huge difference in one's life when you leave your house whether you believe you are walking into a location which is simply dead space that you are crossing to get to where you need to go. Or whether you believe that you are walking into the living universe. If you believe the second, then your walk becomes a different thing. When you bring your body out into the landscape you are bringing your body home ...
How do you see your home - our home?
How does your faith sustain and guide our acts of care towards our neighbors
Then spend time thinking about the water that traverses your home: nurturing, shaping, sustaining. Feel free to check out my blogs on July 16th and Sept 3rd.
Your next step is to bring your body out into this part of our common home -- a creek, path, pond, water feature even! Spend some time experiencing the neighbors who cross your path in this space. Think about where this water has already been and how ancient it is -- cycling through our planet for centuries. Drink in this gift and perspective.
That same evening, offer prayers for the neighbors you encountered and meditate on paragraph 202 of Laudato Si'
Many things have to change course, but it is we human beings above all who need to change. We lack an awareness of our common origin, of our mutual belonging, and of a future to be shared with everyone. This basic awareness would enable the development of new convictions, attitudes and forms of life. A great cultural, spiritual and educational challenge stands before us, and it will demand that we set out on the long path of renewal. Laudato Si', 202
For another moment of renewal and rejuvenation, take a quiet moment from your day and enjoy a glass of clean, cold water or a hot cup of tea made from water from your tap. Cultivate a deep sense of gratefulness for this water and praise God for this gift that nourishes and sustains you in this moment. Savor this connection between Creator and creation.
Then take time to learn why the Federation of the Sisters of St. Joseph became a Blue Community. This Blue faith community protect water as a shared commons, sacred gift, and human right. This is part of how they worship and praise God, Creator and live their gratitude. LINK
Water as a sacred gift that nourishes our spirit and all life on earth. Our prayers, gratitude, and commitments uphold this belief and connect us to creation.
Water reconciliation through better relationships with people and place. Our path forward must have respectful and just relations with our watersheds and with the Indigenous nations we agreed to share these waters with.
As evening approaches, bring into your mind and prayers your dependence on water. Notice the ways in which water touches your life and is involved in your faith life. Meditate on how can you love our Blue Marble with an attitude of the heart that "accepts each moment as a gift from God to be lived to the full" (LS, 226)
I look forward to our time together Oct 21 at 7:30pm
Laudato Si'
Praise Be