phone-in for (audio only) Phone Number: (646) 558-8656
Meeting ID: 825 1215 9155
Season of Creation Theme: Let Justice and Peace Flow
Welcome: (Mary Theresa) The Prophet Amos cries out: “But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!” (Amos 5:24) and so we are called to join the river of justice and peace, to take up climate and ecological justice, and to speak out with and for communities most impacted by climate injustice and the loss of biodiversity. As the people of God, may we work together on behalf of all Creation, as part of that mighty river of peace and justice. And so we pray….
Opening Prayer: (Phillis)
Holy One, generous and welcoming to all,
Continue to create and recreate us. Remind us that the beauty in nature’s diversity is an invitation to witness the wonder of creation around us and a call to pursue the path of justice that we may all experience wonder, awe, and beauty. May we welcome all creation, your artistic vision, into our life, and where barriers of injustice keep some at bay, infuse us with courage, and inspire our words, voice, breath, thoughts and our hands to be generous resisters so that the beauty of your justice is known by all. Help us be with all creation, in all its forms, and to become like the deep Love that brought Earth, and us, into existence. May the prayers of our hearts manifest in the work of our hands knowing all ground is sacred and all creation is part of your design. May our hearts embrace all. Amen.
Opening Song: Of the Earth by the Many
Liturgy of the Word
First Reading: A reading from the letter of Paul to the Romans
Brothers and sisters:
Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another;
for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.
The commandments, "You shall not commit adultery;
you shall not kill; you shall not steal; you shall not covet, "
and whatever other commandment there may be,
are summed up in this saying, namely,
"You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
Love does no evil to the neighbor;
hence, love is the fulfillment of the law.
These are the inspired words of the Apostle, Paul, and we affirm them by saying, Amen.
Response to Reading: More Light by Christopher Gundy
Second Reading: A reading from the Encyclical Letter Laudato Si’ Of The Holy Father Francis On Care For Our Common Home
V. GLOBAL INEQUALITY
48. The human environment and the natural environment deteriorate together; we cannot adequately combat environmental degradation unless we attend to causes related to human and social degradation. In fact, the deterioration of the environment and of society affects the most vulnerable people on the planet: “Both everyday experience and scientific research show that the gravest effects of all attacks on the environment are suffered by the poorest”.[26] For example, the depletion of fishing reserves especially hurts small fishing communities without the means to replace those resources; water pollution particularly affects the poor who cannot buy bottled water; and rises in the sea level mainly affect impoverished coastal populations who have nowhere else to go. The impact of present imbalances is also seen in the premature death of many of the poor, in conflicts sparked by the shortage of resources, and in any number of other problems which are insufficiently represented on global agendas.
49. It needs to be said that, generally speaking, there is little in the way of clear awareness of problems which especially affect the excluded. Yet they are the majority of the planet’s population, billions of people. These days, they are mentioned in international political and economic discussions, but one often has the impression that their problems are brought up as an afterthought, a question which gets added almost out of duty or in a tangential way, if not treated merely as collateral damage. Indeed, when all is said and done, they frequently remain at the bottom of the pile. This is due partly to the fact that many professionals, opinion makers, communications media and centres of power, being located in affluent urban areas, are far removed from the poor, with little direct contact with their problems. They live and reason from the comfortable position of a high level of development and a quality of life well beyond the reach of the majority of the world’s population. This lack of physical contact and encounter, encouraged at times by the disintegration of our cities, can lead to a numbing of conscience and to tendentious analyses which neglect parts of reality. At times this attitude exists side by side with a “green” rhetoric. Today, however, we have to realize that a true ecological approach always becomes a social approach; it must integrate questions of justice in debates on the environment, so as to hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.
These are the inspired words of Pope Francis and we affirm them by saying, Amen.
Gospel Acclamation: Celtic Alleluia
Gospel: A reading from the Gospel of Matthew
Matthew 18: 19-20
Jesus said to his disciples: “Take this most seriously: A yes on earth is yes in heaven; a no on earth is no in heaven. What you say to one another is eternal. I mean this. When two of you get together on anything at all on earth and make a prayer of it, my Abba in heaven goes into action. And when two or three of you are together because of me, you can be sure that I’ll be there.”
These are the inspired words of the Gospel writer known as Matthew and we affirm them by saying, Amen.
Homily Starter: (Phillis)
The first and second readings tie together in unexpected ways. In the first, Paul tells us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. He draws our attention to the pervasive power of love. He is not, of course speaking of the consumer driven picture of love so often presented as desirable, achievable, reasonable, and even preferred. The consumer driven love is usually, once unveiled, about me, myself, and I.
I wonder how a consumer driven picture of love showed up in Paul’s day—surely something more powerful than an observation that some adhered rigidly to the Laws, made him write that the commands can be summed up in “Love your neighbor as yourself.” It is rare, I think, that we hear stories of someone, or a group, loving their neighbor! How are we to love our neighbor as we love ourselves? Some of us struggle to know the goodness at our own core and find it impossible to imagine it in our neighbors, especially those who do not look, speak, or think like us. The text is a hard lesson—whether we see or feel the good or lovable in ourselves or our neighbor, love anyway. In all honesty, I would rather have a more discriminating teaching—one where I evaluate who should or must receive my love. And I would rather enjoy my neighbor creation, but only as it pleases me. The teaching reminds us that creation and human beings are our neighbors—love with abandon.
The danger in my preferred form of love is made glaringly clear in our second reading. Pope Frances reminds us that we are all inextricably tied together—humans, nature, and our social order. The human and natural environments together make up our community. If we destroy one, the destruction of the other follows. Destroy the environment, though selfish acts, environmental mistakes, or capitalistic expansions, and we set in motion human destruction. The injustice that is in every system governing our lives means that those who have the least of everything, experience the destruction first and with the most immediate devasting impact. Destroy the water supply up stream, and the fish downstream, we harm the community of nature and humans not just in our backyards but across the globe. Those with the most access and privilege, hear rumors and rumblings of trouble while the trees, ants, deer, birds, and those living closest to nature have already begun the suffering. We know this, now, finally.
It is only when we take the “social approach” seriously enough that we love our neighbor the earth, our human neighbors in the “other” neighborhood and across the globe and move beyond inconveniences (recycling, donations, occasional distress) to a radical reconfiguration of how we live, will we “do no evil to the neighbor” and love all of creation generously.
What did you hear in the readings?
Statement of Faith:
MT/Phillis: Please join in proclaiming our Statement of Faith.
We believe in the Holy One, a divine mystery
beyond all definition and rational understanding,
the heart of all that has ever existed,
that exists now, or that ever will exist.
We believe in Jesus, messenger of the Divine Word,
bringer of healing, heart of Divine compassion,
bright star in the firmament of the Holy One's
prophets, mystics, and saints.
We believe that We are called to follow Jesus
as a vehicle of divine love,
a source of wisdom and truth,
and an instrument of peace in the world.
We believe in the Spirit of the Holy One,
the life that is our innermost life,
the breath moving in our being,
the depth living in each of us.
We believe that the Divine kin-dom is here and now,
stretched out all around us for those
with eyes to see it, hearts to receive it,
and hands to make it happen.
Prayers for the Community
Mary Theresa: As we prepare for this sacred meal we bring to this table our blessings, our gratitude, our cares and concerns beginning with the words:
I bring to the table…
Mary Theresa: We pray for these and all unspoken prayers. Amen.
Liturgy of the Eucharist
MT/Phillis: Please join in praying the Eucharist prayer together:
All: Christ of the Cosmos, we celebrate our oneness with all creatures great and small in Your precious family.
As one with You, we gather as a community to celebrate Your gift of life pulsating within and around us and in the glories of nature everywhere.
You stirred the waters of creation; You dwell on earth, and in every living being. We lift up our hearts to you and with thanks and praise we sing:
Holy, Holy, Holy: Here in this Place by Christopher Grundy
All: Christ of the Cosmos, we thank you that there are 18 galaxies for every person, that our bodies are made of stardust. Every place we turn, you are present, loving us. You call us, “beloved” and invite us to join the dance of creation in a mystical celebration of our oneness with all living things in Your divine love.
MT/Phillis Please extend your hands in blessing.
As we bless this bread and wine, we are ever aware of Your Spirit in us and among us at this Eucharistic table.
We thank you for our brother, Jesus, who showed us so simply, so tenderly, how the world is in our hands. He had nothing in this world but your love, companions on the journey, and his very self. Together, that was more than enough, and that remains our clarity in the midst of confusion: the miracle of healing, new hope, nurturance, nourishment, liberation and life.
Lift plate as the community prays the following:
On the night before he died, while at supper with his friends, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke the bread and gave it to them saying,
Take and eat; this is my very self.
Lift the cup as community prays the following:
He then raised high the cup of the covenant, spoke the grace, and offered it to them saying: Take and drink.
Whenever you remember me like this, I am among you.
What we have heard with our ears, we will live with our lives, as we share communion, we become communion, both Love’s nourishment and Love’s challenge.
Please receive communion with the words: I am / You are a steward of creation.
Communion Song: Let Justice Roll Like a River by Marty Haugen
https://youtu.be/Hdw6P7H6QEo?si=TRMHrFwG7Hh5QbMz
move and shake us
Come now and make us anew that we might
love justice like you."
Christ of the Cosmos, we remember our sisters and brothers who have gone before us, the great cloud of witnesses, who have cared for earth’s creatures and have blessed our world with their loving service to all of creation.
We praise you in union with them.
We awaken to your Spirit within,
Moving us to worship you truly,
At this time and all time and in all ways.
Amen.
MT/Phillis: Let us pray as Jesus taught us:
Adapted by Miriam Therese Winter
Holy One who is within, around and among us,
We celebrate your many names.
Your wisdom come; your will be done,
unfolding from the depths within us.
Each day you give us all that we need.
You remind us of our limits and we let go.
You support us in our power, and we act with courage.
For you are the dwelling place within us,
the empowerment around us,
and the celebration among us,
now and forever. Blessed be!"
Concluding Rite
MT/Phillis: Please raise your hands in blessing and pray together.
May our ears be open to the creative Word that calls to us through the book of Scripture and the book of creation.
May life-giving waters flow in our hearts and overflow into all of creation.
May we walk together with all people of good so that the many streams of the living waters of justice and peace become a mighty river all over the Earth.
Amen.
Closing Song: Creation Calls by Brian Doerksen
Additional Resources
Six Environmental Justice Policy Fights to Watch in 2023
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/19012023/environmental-justice-policy-2023
Organizations To Sustain, Heal and Create a Healthy Planet
Defenders of Wildlife-75 years old
On Twitter, FB, YouTube.
Wolves, polar bears, wild creatures.
Earthjustice “Because the Earth Needs a Good Lawyer”
Arose from the Sierra Club
“Using the Power of the Law to Safeguard --Our Health, Our Environment—and Our Future”
On Twitter, FB
EDF-Environmental Defense Fund-present focus: Climate Change and Sustainability
On FB, Twitter, Blog www.edf.org/blog
Greenpeace-Known for “Uses peaceful direct action and creative communication to exposé global environmental problems and promote solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future”
https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/
On FB, Twitter, YouTube, https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/blog/
League of Conservation Voters
Support legislators who support a healthy and sustainable environment and issues for a healthy sustainable environment
https://www.lcv.org/ On FB and Twitter
National Parks Conservation Association
Supporting all the National Parks of the USA
On FB, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram
The Nature Conservancy
It buys land or is given land which TNC manages or works with local/state/federal/international agencies to conserve for the next generations and sustainability of all life on earth
On FB, Twitter, Linked In, YouTube
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy
“At Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, we are building a nation connected by trails. We reimagine public spaces to create safe ways for everyone to walk, bike and be active outdoors.”
Using once-used railroad track land across the country, community by community transforming these into “Linear parks” since 1986.
https://www.railstotrails.org/
On FB, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram
Sierra Club Founded in 1966
The Sierra Club Foundation promotes climate solutions, conservation, and movement building through a powerful combination of strategic philanthropy and grassroots advocacy. The Foundation is the independent fiscal sponsor of Sierra Club’s charitable environmental programs.
https://www.sierraclubfoundation.org/
Goals:
· Solve the climate crisis primarily through a successful transition to a resource-efficient, clean energy economy that better serves people and nature;
· Secure protections for public lands and waters, promote healthy ecosystems and communities, and fight for clean air and water;
· Expand opportunities for more people to explore, enjoy, and protect the planet by supporting programs and policies that reach across economic, cultural, and community lines to get people outdoors; and
· Build a diverse, inclusive environmental movement that reflects and represents today’s American public, and prioritizes important connections between environmental health and social justice.
On FB, Twitter, Instagram
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