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BEAUTY OF CREATION

A LENTEN JOURNEY | WEEK 1 | February 21, 2021

Welcome to the Laudato Si’ Circle Lenten Journey! Each week we will share a new theme that will encourage us to grow deeper in our love, knowledge, and concern for creation. Follow our mediation and reflection prompt, research and reading resources, and suggested action steps.

Meditation: Spend at least fifteen to twenty minutes thinking about the weekly theme. Even if this may feel like a long time, it’s important to slow down and take account of where we are in the world, opening ourselves to see and hear what we may miss. We’ll pose some initial questions, but you should feel free to follow your thoughts wherever they take you. If you want to just think, that’ll work, but it may help if you start to keep a journal where you record your thoughts each week. If you’re so inspired, feel free to start a conversation about your meditation with a family member or friend.

Research/Reading: Spend some time this week learning about environmental issues in our local community. We’ll provide a topic and some initial resources, but if you want, you should feel free to go beyond and look into these topics more on your own.

Action: Follow our steps that you can take individually or as a family to begin getting involved in environmental issues. 

Now that you know the different components of our weekly journey, we hope you will join us each day or throughout the week to use this information as a guide.

 

Meditation:

While looking out the window or walking outside, observe the world around you, breathe in the beauty you see and offer thanks to God. Consider the following quotations: 

The Lord is my shepherd, I will not be in need. He lets me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul...” - Psalm 23

“The world is God’s gift to us. The biblical story of creation has a constant refrain: ‘And God saw that it was good’ (Genesis 1:12). Good means bountiful, lifegiving and beautiful. If someone who loves you gives you a beautiful and valuable gift, how do you handle it? To treat it with contempt is to treat the giver with contempt. If you value it, you admire it, you look after it, you do not disdain it; you respect it and are grateful. The damage to our planet stems from the loss of this awareness of gratitude. We have grown used to owning, but too little to thanking.”  - Pope Francis, Let Us Dream

WATCH THIS >  St Francis’ Canticle of the Sun – bit.ly/franciscanticle

Take a moment to reflect on your past experiences in a forest, meadow or stream. What was that like? How did you feel when you were surrounded by nature? Now bundle up and walk outside, pondering these questions: What do I see that is beautiful? What are the sounds that come to my attention? How do I feel? Where do I find God when I observe the natural world?

Consider Onondaga Lake. Onondaga Lake is a local natural resource. It was abused,  polluted and eventually named a Superfund site because the disposal of toxic waste had detrimental effects on the natural environment, including fish and wildlife. Today, thanks to the cleanup and restoration efforts of Onondaga County, Honeywell, the Onondaga Lake Conservation Corps and the Syracuse community, Onondaga Lake has been restored. It is an important bird area because it provides critical habitat for migratory and overwintering species. A variety of bird species can once again depend on Onondaga Lake for year-round nesting, breeding and stopover habitat.

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Research/Reading:

Action:

 
 
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