Tag Archives: Laudato Si

PILGRIMS OF HOPE FOR CREATION IN CENTRAL PARK NYC

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Last night Saint Paul the Apostle Parish NYC Laudato Si (Environmental Care) Team sponsored “A Pilgrimage of Hope” for Creation – part of the International Laudato Si’s efforts in this SEASON OF CREATION (Sept.1 through Oct. 4), an Ecumenical Movement to draw attention to the threat to natural resources and extinction of species. The turnout was low but our Spirits and Hopes were high! Here is a copy of our Prayer Service offered under a magnificent Maple Tree in Central Park’s Sheep Meadow

INTRODUCTION: What is the “Pilgrimages of Hope for Creation” Initiative?

Pilgrimages of Hope for Creation is a faith-filled movement launched by a broad coalition of U.S. Catholic organizations. It is meant to encourage U.S. Catholics to embark on local pilgrimages during the 2025 Jubilee Year to pray for the grace to encounter Christ in creation and restore our relationships with God, creation, and one another.

The initiative is rooted in Pope Francis’ Laudato Si’, which underscores the importance of caring for the earth as a moral responsibility, the principles of Catholic Social Teaching, and the teachings of St. Francis of Assisi.

Why Are Pilgrimages of Hope for Creation Planned for 2025?

The year 2025 marks both the 800th anniversary of St. Francis of Assisi’s Canticle of the Creatures and the 10th anniversary of Pope Francis’ groundbreaking encyclical Laudato Si’. To mark this pivotal year, pilgrimages will take place across the U.S. during the Season of Creation (September 1 – October 4, 2025).

 What Are the Pilgrimages of Hope for Creation About?

● Healing and restoring our relationship with God, with each other, and with the earth, and cultivating a renewed commitment to caring for creation.

● Rediscovering the beauty of God’s creation through prayer, reflection, and action.

● Opportunities for personal transformation and community-building — from short walks around parish grounds to longer treks through mountains or forests, to visits to places of natural beauty or ecological significance.

● Connecting with impacted communities in your local area.

LET US PRAY:

God, Creator, Source of All Life, All Love, All Hope

We gather here this day as a truly Catholic People – Universally bonded

With ALL OF Christ’s followers from all cultures, each with different attributes, priorities, and different languages, strengths, and weakness,

To offer Thanksgiving for the wonder of this world.

We thank you for the air we breathe, the water we drink – so essential to all the living,

The sun by day, the stars by night,

The wind, the rain, the trees, the blossoms

The grass beneath our feet, and the all the people,

and woodland animals and pets that surround us.

We are united in this and our common humanity

To humbly ask for your guidance to nurture Nature,

Collaborate for the good of earth and all her elements

So that we and future generations may thrive

and find new ways to sing your praises.

Increase in us such faith, hope, and love

That all will cherish your abundant gifts and care for them for all future generations to come!   Glory to God in the highest and may Peace reign on the earth.

AWARENESS

Before we go:

  1. What aspects of Laudato Si are most important to you?
  2. Who among us utilizes the city parks and how often?

Pilgrimage Prayer: A Prayer for Laudato Si’ Pilgrims of Hope in the Jubilee Year of 2025

God in Heaven,

As we begin our journey today, we pray that You will accept

the efforts we make on this pilgrimage.

We offer it in praise of You

and with love for all that You have created.

Be our companion along the way,

our guide at the crossroads,

our strength in weariness,

our defense in danger, our shelter in heat and cold,

our light in darkness, our comfort in discouragement.

Open our hearts to everything that we encounter,

to see You in our human brothers and sisters

and in every being which You have made –for all things speak of You.

Help us to remember that this pilgrimage is just one step on our journey to you.

 We pray in a special way for our new Pope Leo and for his intentions.

Give him the strength and wisdom he needs to guide your pilgrim Church on earth.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

On the Walk:

  1. What appeals most to your senses at this moment in the park? What feelings are evoked?
  2. We offer Spontaneous Prayers on everything that catches our attention beginning with:

For nurturing the Beauty of the Earth, in gratitude for this park,

In hope of fresh air, clean water for all peoples, and all creatures, we say:

Holy Mary, Mother of God………………….Pray for us

Saint Joseph…………………………………Pray for us

Saints Peter and Paul …………………… Pray for us

Saint James the Apostle……………………Pray for us

Saint Christopher, patron of travelers……………………………….Pray for us

Saint Francis of Assisi………………………….Pray for us

Saint Kateri Tekakwitha…………………………Pray for us

Saint Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael the Archangels…….Pray for us

Saint Carlo Acutis, patron of Young Adults………………………Pray for us

Saint Pier Giorgio Frassati, mountain climber and outdoor enthusiast …Pray for us

+Pope Francis, who gave us Laudato Si……………………… Pray for us

Saints Thomas Aquinas, Frances deSales, Don Bosco, patrons of students and

education for all future generations ……………………… Pray for us

ADD YOUR PATRON SAINT HERE:

Saint ____________________________Pray for us

All you holy saints and angels………………Pray for us

We petition these Saints for the ways they imitated and reflected Christ our Lord in their time and place: CHRIST – who is the Way, the Truth, and the  Life.  In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

CONCLUSION: Canticle of Saint Francis of Assisi

Praised be you, my Lord, with all your creatures,

especially Sir Brother Sun,

who is the day and through whom you give us light.

And he is beautiful and radiant with great splendour;

and bears a likeness of you, Most High.

Praised be you, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars,

in heaven you formed them clear and precious and beautiful.

Praised be you, my Lord, through Brother Wind,

and through the air, cloudy and serene, and every kind of weather

through whom you give sustenance to your creatures.

Praised be you, my Lord, through Sister Water,

who is very useful and humble and precious and chaste.

Praised be you, my Lord, through Brother Fire,

through whom you light the night,

and he is beautiful and playful and robust and strong”.

Way Leads On To Way – Reappropriating American Folk Songs

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By Fr. James DiLuzio CSP 

Recently I went to see the Bob Dylan biopic A COMPLETE UNKOWN  directed by James Mangold and featuring Timothée Chalamet as Dylan, Edward Norton as Pete Seeger, and  Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez. The film, its director and its three leading cast members, and its screenplay by Mangold and Jay Cocks are all nominated for Oscars. The movie is a fine, strong film biography of Dylan and the folk scene in the 1960’s. I recommend it to you. You can access a trailer of the film here: A COMPLETE UNKNOWN | Official Trailer | Searchlight Pictures.

A COMPLETE UNKOWN rekindled my interest in the social protest and justice songs that remain a significant part of American history. As a result, I have been listening to many of these artists’ recordings on various streaming services and I came across one of Bob Dylan’s inspirations, the singer Woody Guthrie.

https://www.wikiwand.com/en/articles/Woody_Guthrie

Guthrie wrote a song about the devastating DUST BOWL (1930-1936) that hit the southwest in the midst of the GREAT DEPRESSION. The song is titled “So Long, It’s Been Good to Know Yuh.” I recall that song as part of the folk songs the Felician Sisters taught us at the heart of our music lessons throughout my eight years of Catholic School.  Give a listen to Woody Guthrie – So long it’s been good to know you  or try Pete Seeger and The Weaver’s rendition:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAG-yYELTQg

Way leads on to way, indeed, so I decided to research “the Dust Bowl,” once again, an endeavor filled with my grammar school music class recollections and thoughts of my teenage years reading John Steinbeck’s THE GRAPES OF WRATH. 

In the hope of deepening my belief in the lessons HISTORY can teach us, and with Pope Francis’ exhortations in LAUDATO SI ringing in my ears, I found this passage in the Encyclopedia Britannica online:

“Following years of overcultivation and generally poor land management in the 1920s, the region—which receives an average rainfall of less than 20 inches (500 mm) in a typical year—suffered a severe drought in the early 1930s that lasted several years. The region’s exposed topsoil, robbed of the anchoring water-retaining roots of its native grasses, was carried off by heavy spring winds. “Black blizzards”  . . . Thousands of families were forced to leave the Dust Bowl at the height of the Great Depression in the early and mid-1930s.”      Source: Dust Bowl | Definition, Duration, Map, & Facts | Britannica

Could it be clearer that human misuse of land and negation of our interrelationship with NATURE causes catastrophe? The term “Black Blizzard” may as easily be applied to the tragic dynamics of the contemporary fires in California and other devastations today. 

I trust you will find this Sunday’s readings at Mass eerily prophetic (SIXTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME, 16 FEBRUARY 2025). The first is from the prophet JEREMIAH 17 beginning with verse 5.

“Thus says the LORD: Cursed is the one who trusts in human beings,
         who seeks his strength in flesh,
         whose heart turns away from the LORD.
  He is like a barren bush in the desert
            that enjoys no change of season,
            but stands in a lava waste,
                        a salt and empty earth.“

The Gospel come from Luke’s citing of the Beatitudes set in Jesus’ Sermon on the Plain: ”

“Blessed are you who are poor,
                        for the kingdom of God is yours.
            Blessed are you who are now hungry,
                        for you will be satisfied.
            Blessed are you who are now weeping,
                        for you will laugh.
            Blessed are you when people hate you,
                        and when they exclude and insult you,     
                        and denounce your name as evil
                        on account of the Son of Man.
Rejoice and leap for joy on that day!
Behold, your reward will be great in heaven.
For their ancestors treated the prophets in the same way.”

You can find all of Sunday’s Readings here: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/021625.cfm

May we continue to ponder the value of poverty to emphasize our dependence upon our patient and loving God. Indeed, we all may benefit from a more solid simplicity in the way we live. With Lent just two-and-a-half weeks away. (Ash Wednesday is March 5), contemplate, again, the many ways we interact with NATURE, on both personal, social, political, and international levels. As St. Paul wrote “NOW is the time!” to keep alert and do our part for God and Creation. There is Good News in precedent, and we still have a lot to sing about. Holy Spirit is ever-present, for God does not abandon the people. Whether intentionally or not, Bob Dylan indeed evoked the Holy Spirit in one of his most poignant and beloved songs “The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind. The answer is blowing in the wind.”  Give it another listen:

Blowin’ in the Wind (2004 Remaster)      Peter, Paul & Mary performance 

Blowing In The Wind (Live On TV, March 1963)   Bob Dylan’s performance     

A Laudato Si Movement for Me and You

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Here’s the SHORT TAKE of a local community meeting I attended.

Date: 13 June 2023  Place: Saint Francis Xavier Catholic Church, 55 West 15th Street, New York NY 10011

Saint Francis Xavier is a Laudato Si Parish inviting representatives from other parishes and congregations to join in the Laudato Si movement, and/or share initiatives in which they are engaged that address global warming.  See:   Who we are – Laudato Si’ Movement (laudatosimovement.org)

Presenters:

Dr. Lorna Gold, a member of the Laudato Si Board of Directors, and Board Members of FaithInvest – an international, not-for-profit network of religious groups and faith-based institutional investors, with particular attention to organizations in a healthy relationship to the environment.    Network of values-driven, faith-consistent investors | www.faithinvest.org

Dr. Martin G. Palmer, co-founder and C.E.O, of FaithInvest, an outgrowth of Great Britain’s now-defunct Alliance of Religions and Conservation. Palmer is a theologian, Sinologist, author, and international specialist on all major faiths and religious traditions and cultures.

The Short Take:

  • 85 % of the World’s Population is faith-based. Faith organizations are primed for Environmental Action.
  • 2023: 1,000 Catholic organizations have adopted Laudato Si initiatives in their education work
  • Religious Organizations are the 5th Largest Group in the World – investing in Eco-Friendly businesses will make a tremendous impact.
  • Invest in local communities, and partner with local congregations for advocacy.
  • Read Faith in Conservation (2003) by Martin Palmer and his wife Victoria Finley
    • Available as a Free PDF via World Bank publications:
  • Watch and Invite Your Congregations to view the extraordinary film THE LETTER – (1 ½ hours)

The Pope, the Environmental Crisis, and Frontline Leaders | The Letter: Laudato Si Film – YouTube

ADDITIONAL REFERENCES

  1. Laudato Si has inspired numerous international Environmental Action initiatives.
    1. Jesuits’ International 7 Year Plan: http://www.sjweb.info/documents/sjs/docs/Jesuit_7yearplan.pdfc