Meeting ID: 815 0755 1772
In 1980, Carl Sagan suggested to the Voyager 1 team that as the spacecraft passed by Earth on its journey to the outer solar system and beyond, that it take a picture of our planet from that distance. Government being what it is, it took ten years for that suggestion to be acted on. But on Valentine's Day of 1990, when Voyager was 3.7 billion miles away from its home planet, the Pale Blue Dot photo was born. The following is Sagan's meditation on that photo.
Holy One, we thank you for mother Earth.
Our feet tread an almost imperceptible path
Across Earth’s valleys, mountains, pastures, deserts and woodlands.
Earth sustains our life with the abundance of her harvests.
She shapes us and forms us from the very elements of herself.
We thank you.
Earth knows her great power,
From deep within her molten core,
Reshaping, reforming and renewing herself.
We thank you.
Earth cradles us on our journey
And enfolds us when the journey is complete.
Holy One, we thank you for mother Earth.
By Beatrice Hernandez, OSF Wheaton Franciscans—2010
Blessing of Earth
Spirit of the Abundant Earth,
may we live in the knowledge that
we are of the earth,
from the earth,
and returning to the earth.
Tree of life
rise up in us,
rooting us deeply in the ground
and inviting us to extend our branches
far into the sky.
Spirit that rises like bread,
Knead us into the shape
you desire for our lives
that we may be nourishment for others.
Blessings of the earth be upon us
make its taste, smell, and touch
remind us of the abundance of God. Amen.
(adapted from Water, Wind, Earth & Fire by Christine Valters Paintner)
Closing Song: God's Eyes, Ma Muse https://youtu.be/WGRO0vnHeAk
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