“I renew my urgent call to respond to the ecological crisis, the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor cannot continue. Let's take care of creation, a gift of our good Creator God.” ~Pope Francis
Laudato Si offers a vision for creating a more just and sustainable world, a vision made even more timely now, as the world suffers together the effects of COVID-19. Next week is Laudato Si’ Week! From May 16-24, the global Catholic community will celebrate the fifth anniversary of Pope Francis’ landmark encyclical letter, Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home, through prayer, education, and online activities. The nine day celebration, with the theme “Everything is Connected” is sponsored by the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development and led by a cohort of Catholic partners. The Society of the Sacred Heart is one of those partners.
This month the Society of the Sacred Heart USC became a Covenant Partner with the Catholic Climate Covenant, whose aim is to uplift the voices of the Catholic people and institutions in the United States to speak and act on climate change. As part of the Catholic Climate Covenant, we are collaborators in the events celebrating Laudato Si.
You can find a comprehensive list of events and activities for prayer and education here.
In particular, we encourage you to participate in a global moment of prayer at noon local time on May 24. Click here for more information, along with the downloadable prayer.
I also want to highlight:
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The Novena from Carmelite NGO is specifically designed to be used over the 9 days of Laudato Si' Week. Download the nine-day prayer program.
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The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) offers a new prayer card, an updated Laudato Si’ study guide, a one-page bulletin insert, and daily reflections for the week.
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As part of Laudato Si' week, the Canadian branch of the Global Catholic Climate Movement will host a one-hour teaching webinar at 1:30 p.m. EST May 20. Sister Priscilla Solomon, CSJ and Sister Linda Gregg, CSJ, both of the Federation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada will lead the webinar. More details and a link to the registration page here.
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Register for Laudato Si’ 5th anniversary workshop sessions hosted by the Vatican. The virtual workshops will talk about the climate crisis, climate injustice and action we can take inspired by the encyclical, Laudato Si’. The sessions are:
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Introductory Session: Mon., May 18 at 2:00 PM GMT
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Eco Spirituality: Tues., May 19 at 2:00 PM GMT
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Sustainability: Wed., May 20 at 2:00 PM GMT
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Advocacy: Wed., May 20 at 4:00 PM GMT
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Social Action: Fr., May 22 at 2:00 PM GMT
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