"We are losing our attitude of wonder, of contemplation, of listening to creation and thus we no longer manage to interpret within it what Benedict XVI calls 'the rhythm of the love-story between God and man.'"
+ Pope Francis
A global movement is sustained through prayer
“That people may learn to respect creation and care for it as a gift of God.” Pope Francis April 2015 Universal Prayer Intention
Taking their cue from Pope Francis’s universal prayer intention for April, the Global Catholic Climate Movement, or GCCM, has set aside the month to do more than just act for a better world. They’d like us to pray for one, too.
The Care4Creation campaign, as it’s called, includes resources for individuals, parishes, dioceses, and really anyone wanting to travel a spiritual path for growth in personal and planetary virtue. These include a set of meditations for the Glorious, Joyful, Sorrowful, and Luminous mysteries of the Rosary as well as a Litany to the Holy Trinity, the Creator. There’s also the Franciscan Action Network’s Saint John Paul II’s Stations of the Cross for ecological conversion, and a good many other meditations, posters, liturgical aids, and other help.
While Holy Week will be keeping parishes busy, the GCCM is hoping that the ready-made resources will help Catholic individuals and parishes add some hefty spiritual firepower this month for the protection of creation.
One preferred option is for parishes to hold Holy Hours—perhaps even a day-long period of Adoration—with participants saying the special Rosary or Litany (or both) provided.
No matter how individuals or faith communities join Pope Francis in this prayer intention for creation, the GCCM simply wants to underscore that the importance of prayer cannot be forgotten. After all, it is God, not us, that saves us from our sins.
And so as we enter more deeply into the mysteries of Holy Week—and then as we enter the joyful season of Easter—let us join our Holy Father and pray for the grace to follow God’s laws so that all His children—now and in the future—may better know, love, and protect His great gift to us: the life-sustaining bounty and beauty of creation.