A Traversing Emmaus miniseries for the Season of Creation (1st Sept ‐ 4th Oct).

This is an ecumenical season that annually unites all Christians around the world to pray and act for our common home.

Episode 2 looks at the opening paragraphs of the document — the two subsections being 'Nothing in this world is indifferent to us' (par. 3-6), and 'United by a common concern' (par. 7-9).

You can view the entire Laudato Si document at the Vatican website, available here: https://bit.ly/3q0IBda
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A prayer for our earth

All-powerful God, you are present in the whole universe
and in the smallest of your creatures.
You embrace with your tenderness all that exists.
Pour out upon us the power of your love,
that we may protect life and beauty.
Fill us with peace, that we may live
as brothers and sisters, harming no one.
O God of the poor,
help us to rescue the abandoned and forgotten of this earth,
so precious in your eyes.
Bring healing to our lives,
that we may protect the world and not prey on it,
that we may sow beauty, not pollution and destruction.
Touch the hearts
of those who look only for gain
at the expense of the poor and the earth.
Teach us to discover the worth of each thing,
to be filled with awe and contemplation,
to recognize that we are profoundly united
with every creature
as we journey towards your infinite light.
We thank you for being with us each day.
Encourage us, we pray, in our struggle
for justice, love and peace.
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Cry of the earth, cry of the poor prayer

Lord, when we listen with your ears we hear:
the bush grown more silent,
the birdsong less vibrant,
the stream’s sluggish ripple.
Have mercy and open our ears.

Lord, when we look with your eyes we see:
the soil depleted,
the sky smudged,
the oceans rubbished and the great currents slowed.
Have mercy and help us to see.

Lord, when we look with your eyes we see:
the workers who struggle to get by,
the women subjected to violence,
the people who are excluded.
Have mercy and help us to see.

Lord, when we listen with your ears we hear:
the sound of hungry children,
the distress of the mentally ill,
the silent pain of homeless women and men.
Have mercy and open our ears.

Send your Spirit upon us Lord to renew our sight,
to restore our hearing,
and to reclaim your reign of justice for all people
and peace for creation.

Amen.
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You can see the ACBC's JEP Office publications, such as the Social Justice Statement 'Cry of the Earth, Cry of the Poor', prayers and other resources here: https://bit.ly/3Ro2XZb

You can follow the international Laudato Si Movement here: https://bit.ly/3eeE7wR

May all of this lead to a deep and lasting ecological conversion for us all, wherever we are, with whomever we live and work.

Saint Francis of Assisi, pray for us!

Artwork "Das Paradies" by Jan Brueghel the Elder, (c.1620).