In honor of Earth Day we used special readings for the Liturgy of the Word: The first was from Proverbs 8.1-6; the second was St. Francis Canticle of the Sun: The Canticle of the Sun
An adaptation from St. Francis of Assisi
Most high, all powerful, all good Mother! All praise is yours, all glory, all honor, and all blessing. To you, alone, Most High, do they belong.
Be praised, Creative Mother, through all your creatures, especially through Brother Son, who brings the day; and you give light through him. And he is beautiful and radiant in all splendor! Of you, Most High, he bears the likeness.
Be praised through Sister Moon and the stars; in the heavens you have made them, precious and beautiful.
Be praised through Brothers Wind and Air, and clouds and storms, and all the weather, through which you give your creatures sustenance.
Be praised through Sister Water; she is very useful, and humble, and precious, and pure.
Be praised, Flaming Brightness, through Brother Fire, through whom you brighten the night. He is beautiful and cheerful, and powerful and strong.
Be praised, Holy Maker, through our sister Mother Earth, who feeds us and rules us, and produces various fruits with colored flowers and herbs. Be praised, Compassionate Lover, through those who forgive for love of you; through those who endure sickness and trial. Happy those who endure in peace, for by you, Most High, they will be crowned.
Be praised, you, who gather all to yourself, through our Sister Bodily Death, from whose embrace no living person can escape.
Praise and bless our Mother God, and give thanks, and serve her with great humility.
The gospel was the story of Jesus’ appearance to the disciples who were on the way to Emmaus, on the day of Jesus’ Resurrection, found in Mark 13:24-31. We all told the story in the form of group story-telling where one person starts telling the story. Then others pick up the narrative a phrase or sentence at a time. We then reflected on the relevance that it has for us, including hospitality to strangers, recognizing that the “other disciple’ was probably was the wife of Cleopas. Others brought up their own experiences of finding Jesus in people they have come into contact with and what a difference that made in how they viewed that person. We also watched a video from interfaithpowerandlight.org
Instead of reciting the usual Creed we recited:
CLIMATE BLESSING – We Hold the Earth
We hold brothers and sisters who suffer from storms and droughts intensified by climate change.
We hold all species that suffer.
We hold world leaders delegated to make decisions for life.
We pray that the web of life may be mended through courageous actions to limit carbon emissions.
We pray for right actions for adaptation and migration to help our already suffering earth community.
We pray that love and wisdom might inspire my actions and our actions as communities…
So that we may, with integrity, look in the eyes of brothers and sisters and all beings and truthfully say, we are doing our part to care for them and the future of the children.
May love transform us and our world with new steps toward life.
Amen.
An adaptation from St. Francis of Assisi
Most high, all powerful, all good Mother! All praise is yours, all glory, all honor, and all blessing. To you, alone, Most High, do they belong.
Be praised, Creative Mother, through all your creatures, especially through Brother Son, who brings the day; and you give light through him. And he is beautiful and radiant in all splendor! Of you, Most High, he bears the likeness.
Be praised through Sister Moon and the stars; in the heavens you have made them, precious and beautiful.
Be praised through Brothers Wind and Air, and clouds and storms, and all the weather, through which you give your creatures sustenance.
Be praised through Sister Water; she is very useful, and humble, and precious, and pure.
Be praised, Flaming Brightness, through Brother Fire, through whom you brighten the night. He is beautiful and cheerful, and powerful and strong.
Be praised, Holy Maker, through our sister Mother Earth, who feeds us and rules us, and produces various fruits with colored flowers and herbs. Be praised, Compassionate Lover, through those who forgive for love of you; through those who endure sickness and trial. Happy those who endure in peace, for by you, Most High, they will be crowned.
Be praised, you, who gather all to yourself, through our Sister Bodily Death, from whose embrace no living person can escape.
Praise and bless our Mother God, and give thanks, and serve her with great humility.
The gospel was the story of Jesus’ appearance to the disciples who were on the way to Emmaus, on the day of Jesus’ Resurrection, found in Mark 13:24-31. We all told the story in the form of group story-telling where one person starts telling the story. Then others pick up the narrative a phrase or sentence at a time. We then reflected on the relevance that it has for us, including hospitality to strangers, recognizing that the “other disciple’ was probably was the wife of Cleopas. Others brought up their own experiences of finding Jesus in people they have come into contact with and what a difference that made in how they viewed that person. We also watched a video from interfaithpowerandlight.org
Instead of reciting the usual Creed we recited:
CLIMATE BLESSING – We Hold the Earth
We hold brothers and sisters who suffer from storms and droughts intensified by climate change.
We hold all species that suffer.
We hold world leaders delegated to make decisions for life.
We pray that the web of life may be mended through courageous actions to limit carbon emissions.
We pray for right actions for adaptation and migration to help our already suffering earth community.
We pray that love and wisdom might inspire my actions and our actions as communities…
So that we may, with integrity, look in the eyes of brothers and sisters and all beings and truthfully say, we are doing our part to care for them and the future of the children.
May love transform us and our world with new steps toward life.
Amen.
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