Reflections on Caring for Our Common Home

A new 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.

Laudate Deum - December 1st 2023

60. May those taking part in the Conference be strategists capable of considering the common good and the future of their children, more than the short-term interests of certain countries or businesses. In this way, may they demonstrate the nobility of politics and not its shame. 

Laudate Deum - November 2023

69 – 70. I cannot deny ... the most effective solutions will not come from individual efforts alone, but above all from major political decisions on the national and international level...Nonetheless, every little bit helps, ... there are no lasting changes without cultural changes, ... and there are no cultural changes without personal changes.

Laudate Deum - November 17th 2023

[44-52: Review of the Climate Conferences] 44. For several decades now, representatives of more than 190 countries have met periodically to address the issue of climate change. ... (52) “international negotiations cannot make significant progress due to positions taken by countries which place their national interests above the global common good.”

Laudate Deum - November 10th 2023

38, 43. “unless citizens control political power – national, regional and municipal – it will not be possible to control damage to the environment”... there would necessarily be required spaces for conversation, consultation ... conflict resolution ... and, in the end, a sort of increased “democratization” in the global context, so that the various situations can be expressed and included.   

Laudate Deum - November 3rd 2023

We look at Pope Francis’ new apostolic exhortation up until the start of the United Nations’ Climate Change Conference (COP28) on November 30 in Dubai. 

Laudate Deum - October 27th 2023

27. Human groupings have often “created” an environment, [20] reshaping it in some way without destroying it or endangering it. The great present-day problem is that the technocratic paradigm has destroyed that healthy and harmonious relationship. ... We need to rethink among other things the question of human power, its meaning and its limits.

Laudate Deum - Apostolic Exhortation

We look at Pope Francis’ new apostolic exhortation up until the start of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) on November 30 in Dubai.

The Season of Creation - Synodal Journey

This year, the closing of the Season of Creation on 4 October, the feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, will coincide with the opening of the Synod on Synodality. These two movements in the Church: the synodal journey and the Laudato Si’ movement, are deeply entwined. They enhance and nourish each other. They call us to be respectful, collaborative participants. They call us to conversion.

The Season of Creation - Transforming Ourselves

  … 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’

Season of Creation - World Day of Prayer

... 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...

Reading Laudato Si’ - #134

In many places, following the introduction of these [GM] crops, productive land is concentrated in the hands of a few owners … The expansion of these crops has the effect of destroying the complex network of ecosystems, diminishing the diversity of production and affecting regional economies, now and in the future…

Reading Laudato Si - #211

The existence of laws and regulations is insufficient in the long run to curb bad conduct, even when effective means of enforcement are present. … Only by cultivating sound virtues will people be able to make a selfless ecological commitment.

Reading Laudato Si’ - #133

It is difficult to make a general judgement about genetic modification (GM), whether vegetable or animal, medical or agricultural, since these vary greatly ... The risks involved are not always due to the techniques used, but rather to their improper or excessive application. Learn more about this complex issue.

Reading Laudato Si’ - #215

If we want to bring about deep change, we need to realize that certain mindsets really do influence our behaviour. Our efforts at education will be inadequate and ineffectual unless we strive to promote a new way of thinking about human beings, life, society and our relationship with nature.
Continued