Reading Laudato Si

A new Laudato Si’ resource guide is now available for SSNDs, Associates, staff and all people of good will looking to take action to address the climate emergency and ecological crisis. This guide contains a brief overview of Laudato Si’, as well as suggested changes to make in your life to promote stewardship of creation and resources for further learning. Best of all, this guide can be easily shared with others. View the guide here.

Learn more about Laudato Si’ and ways to build a better future together at ssnd.org/shalom/laudato-si.

Reflection - the Season of Creation

  … let us add to the flow of this mighty river by transforming our lifestyles. ... 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 ... ~ Pope Francis’

Laudato Si’ - the Season of Creation

... let us join the mighty river by transforming our hearts.  ... it is that “ecological conversion” … the renewal of our relationship with creation so that we no longer see it as an object to be exploited but cherish it instead as a sacred gift ... ~ Pope Francis’ Message for World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation

Reflection - the Season of Creation

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.

Laudato Si Self-Reflection - #85

God has written a precious book, “whose letters are the multitude of created things present in the universe”.[54] The Canadian bishops rightly pointed out that no creature is excluded from this manifestation of God: “From panoramic vistas to the tiniest living form, nature is a constant source of wonder and awe. It is also a continuing revelation of the divine”..

Reading Laudato Si’ - #140

140. ... We need only recall how ecosystems interact in dispersing carbon dioxide, purifying water, controlling illnesses and epidemics, forming soil, breaking down waste, and in many other ways which we overlook or simply do not know about.... So, when we speak of “sustainable use”, consideration must always be given to each ecosystem’s regenerative ability in its different areas and aspects.

Laudato Si - #217 Self Reflection

217. ... Living our vocation to be protectors of God’s handiwork is essential to a life of virtue; it is not an optional or a secondary aspect of our Christian experience.

Reading Laudato Si’ - #139

We are faced not with two separate crises, one environmental and the other social, but rather with one complex crisis which is both social and environmental. Strategies for a solution demand an integrated approach to combating poverty, restoring dignity to the excluded, and at the same time protecting nature.

Laudato Si’ – #209 Self-Reflection

209. An awareness of the gravity of today’s cultural and ecological crisis must be translated into new habits. ... In those countries which should be making the greatest changes in consumer habits, young people have a new ecological sensitivity and a generous spirit, and some of them are making admirable efforts to protect the environment.

Reading Laudato Si’ - #138

138. ... Just as the different aspects of the planet – physical, chemical and biological – are interrelated, so too living species are part of a network which we will never fully explore and understand. … A good part of our genetic code is shared by many living beings.... fragmentation of knowledge … can actually become a form of ignorance, unless they are integrated into a broader vision of reality.

Laudato Si’ Self Reflection - 136

136. ..it is troubling that, when some ecological movements defend the integrity of the environment, rightly demanding that certain limits be imposed on scientific research, they sometimes fail to apply those same principles to human life. ... We forget that the inalienable worth of a human being transcends his or her degree of development…

Laudato Si’ - #135

A broad, responsible scientific and social debate needs to take place ... It sometimes happens that complete information is not put on the table; a selection is made on the basis of particular interests, be they politico-economic or ideological. ….

Laudato Si’ Self Reflection - #14

I urgently appeal for a new dialogue about how we are shaping the future of our planet. We need a conversation which includes everyone, since the environmental challenge we are undergoing, and its human roots, concern and affect us all...