Song (if desired):    All You Works of God –  Marty Haugen or other appropriate music

 

                    Psalm 148
                – adapted from a Psalm interpretation of Stephen Mitchel

Praise God in the highest heavens,
praise God beyond the stars!
Praise God in the depths of matter;
praise God in atomic space.

Praise God, you whirling electrons,
you unimaginable quarks.
Praise God, creatures of all planets, for God, too, is your source, your home.

Praise God upon the Earth, whales and all that live in the seas,
fire, hail, snow, and frost, hurricanes, mountains and barren hills,
fruit trees and cedar forests, wild animals and tame, reptiles, insects, birds,
creatures visible to the eye and tiniest one-celled beings,
rich and poor, powerful and oppressed, dark-skinned and light-skinned,
women and men alike, old and young together.

Let us praise the Holy One, whose goodness is the breath of life,
who made us in the divine image, the light that fills heaven and earth.

Readings

Our insistence that each human being is an image of God should not make us overlook the fact that each creature has its own purpose.  None is superfluous. The entire material universe speaks of God’s love, [God’s] boundless affection for us.  Soil, water, mountains: everything is, as it were, a caress of God.
                                                                                                               – Pope Francis, Laudato Si’, 84

 

As believers, we do not look at the world from the outside, but from the inside, aware of the bonds with which God has linked us to all beings.
                                                                                                               – Pope Francis, Laudato Si’, 220

The environment, after all, is where we all meet, where we all have a mutual interest.  It is one thing that all of us share.  It is not only a mirror of ourselves, but a focusing lens on what we can become.                                                                 – Jane Goodall

 

We are truly children of the universe, made of the same stuff as are the mountains and rain, the sand, and the stars.  We are governed by the laws of life and growth and death as are the birds and the fish and the grass of the field. We thrive in the warmth of and through the power of the sun, as does every living thing.  We come from the earth as from a mother, and we are nourished from this same source of life.  We are part of this mysterious and delicate balance.  It takes place around us.  It takes place within us.                                                                                                    – Dianne Bergant, CSA

 

First you need only look:
Notice and honor the radiance of everything around you…
Play in this universe.  Tend
All these things around you:
The smallest plant, the creatures and
objects in your care.
Be gentle and nurture. Listen…
As we experience and accept
All that we really are…
we grow in care.
                                                                                – Anne Hillman

Suggested Reflection Questions

What from the readings touch you at this time?  Do you have a favorite passage from Scripture that reflects your relationship with Creation?  What concerns do you have about our Earth in the face of climate change?

Closing Prayer:   based on the 2019 General Chapter Vision Statement
Loving and gracious God, as women of passion and compassion, aware of our interconnectedness with all creation,   we want to listen attentively to the heartbeat of Jesus in all creation.  We want to be voices that reveal your tenderness by responding to the cries of the Earth and of those on the margins.  In this journey of faith, empower us to be women of prophetic hope and action who proclaim that all have a place in our “common home,” this beautiful, fragile, living Earth that you have given to us.  Amen.