Dear Friends,
We began September with Creation & we are back there today as ‘The Season of Creation’ – an ecumenical initiative – comes to an end. I hope the autumn is being a rich time for you – there is so much to look at and to reflect on. Most of what we have included in the attachments has come from the Columban Fathers who have made many resources available.
Our blessing is Marty Haugen’s ‘Dona Nobis Pacem’ (The Song & The Silence). Let’s pray it for each other & for all our families & friends.
A reminder about tomorrow:
On October 8th, a Sunday this year, we celebrate our 381st Foundation Day! That evening we are having a special Evening Prayer on zoom & hope many of our friends will join us.
Sunday 8 October at 5.30pm – Evening Prayer by Zoom
Zoom link is below (for those of you who regularly attend Sunday eve prayer it is the usual link). No need to book a place – just come!
Join Zoom Meeting – Oct 8, 2023 05:30 PM
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88333391691?pwd=SjhrYnFBUEZndVVIMTRRTEJqRVduQT09
Meeting ID: 883 3339 1691
Passcode: 301123
With our love & prayer
Some words from Pope Francis for this Season of Creation.
“Let Justice and Peace Flow” is the theme of this year’s ecumenical Season of Creation, inspired by the words of the prophet Amos: “Let justice flow on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream” (5:24).
The evocative image used by Amos speaks to us of what God desires. God wants justice to reign; it is as essential to our life as God’s children, made in his likeness, as water is essential for our physical survival. This justice must flow forth wherever it is needed, neither remaining hidden deep beneath the ground nor vanishing like water that evaporates before it can bring sustenance. God wants everyone to strive to be just in every situation, to live according to his laws and thus to enable life to flourish. When we “seek first the kingdom of God” (Mt 6:33), maintaining a right relationship with God, humanity and nature, then justice and peace can flow like a never-failing stream of pure water, nourishing humanity and all creatures.
So too, like a river basin with its many tiny and larger tributaries, the Church is a communion of countless local Churches, religious communities and associations that draw from the same shared waters. Each source adds its unique and irreplaceable contribution, until all flow together into the vast ocean of God’s loving mercy.
Let us add to the flow of this mighty river by transforming our lifestyles. Starting from grateful wonder at the Creator and his creation, let us repent of our “ecological sins”. These sins harm the world of nature and our fellow men and women. With the help of God’s grace, let us adopt lifestyles marked by less waste and unnecessary consumption, especially where the processes of production are toxic and unsustainable. Let us be as mindful as we can about our habits and economic decisions so that all can thrive – our fellow men and women wherever they may be, and future generations as well. Let us cooperate in God’s ongoing creation through positive choices: using resources with moderation and a joyful sobriety, disposing and recycling waste, and making greater use of available products and services that are environmentally and socially responsible.
During this Season of Creation, let us dwell on those heartbeats: our own and those of our mothers and grandmothers, the heartbeat of creation and the heartbeat of God. Today they do not beat in harmony; they are not harmonized in justice and peace. Too many of our brothers and sisters are prevented from drinking from that mighty river. Let us heed our call to stand with the victims of environmental and climate injustice, and to put an end to the senseless war against creation.
Creator of All,
You placed us into right relationship with each creature, but we
failed to listen to the cries of the Earth and the cries of the
most vulnerable.
We lament the loss of our fellow species and their habitats,
we grieve the loss of human cultures, along with the lives
and livelihoods that have been displaced or perished,
and we ache at the sight of an economy of death, war and violence.
Bless us with your life-giving waters; let justice and peace
flow in our hearts and overflow into all creation.
Bless us to walk together with all people of good will so
that the many streams of the living waters of God’s justice
and peace may become a mighty river all over the Earth.
Amen.
Creator of All,
From your communion of love life sprung forth like a mighty river and the whole cosmos came into being. On this Earth of overflowing love, the Word was made flesh and went forth with the lifegiving waters proclaiming peace and justice for all creation. You called human beings to till and keep your garden. You placed us into right relationship with each creature, but we failed to listen to the cries of the Earth and the cries of the most vulnerable. We broke with the flowing communion of love and sinned against you by not safeguarding the conditions for life. We lament the loss of our fellow species and their habitats, we grieve the loss of human cultures, along with the lives and livelihoods that have been displaced or perished, and we ache at the sight of an economy of death, war and violence that we have inflicted on ourselves and on the Earth. Open our ears to your creative, reconciling and sustaining Word that calls to us through the book of Scripture and the book of creation. Bless us once again with your life-giving waters so that the Creator Spirit may let justice and peace flow in our hearts and overflow into all creation. Open our hearts to receive the living waters of God’s justice and peace, and to share it with our suffering brothers and sisters, all creatures around us, and all creation. Bless us to walk together with all people of good will so that the many streams of the living waters of God’s justice and peace may become a mighty river all over the Earth.
In the name of the One who came to proclaim good news to all creation, Jesus Christ. Amen.
We are all members of a vast
and profoundly interdependent Web of Life.
The precious gift of God.
Imagine, feel the countless connections….
There is great need for a Jubilee Time for Earth
A time of rest, restoration, and restitution from the destructive damage from climate change and extensive ecological degradation.
Grieve with the suffering Earth….
Earth is Home for All who share it, not just humans.
And all have the right to live, to thrive, and to glorify God on it and in it.
Let that Spirit flow through you…. “Listen to the Voice of Creation,” the essential prophetic wisdom all around us,
Stretching us, urging deeper, more contemplative presence