Season of Creation

 

An Earth Examen

An examen is a way of beholding an object or being present in prayerful wonder. A way of Listening to the Voice of Creation.  Through a series of questions, you are invited to reflect on God’s presence and the goodness of that which you behold. During this week of the 2022 Season of Creation, consider contemplating a part of your local ecology. This is an exercise that you can choose to do alone, or with a group.

 

Pick a natural or agricultural place to contemplate. A forest, river, or city street with a natural area. The Moon and Stars. An urban park or a farmer’s field.  A hilltop or a meadow. A simple flower arrangement.

 

Find a comfortable place to pause and gaze in or near this place.  Enter into prayer in whatever way is natural to you.  Invite Holy Wisdom to open the eyes of your heart.

1. Become aware of God’s presence in a natural or agricultural place that you are contemplating.

How is God present in this place? How does all the life you see exist in God’s spirit? How do you feel knowing that the Holy Spirit has filled this place for geological ages, with every plant, animal, organism and mineral that has called this place home in the deep past, makes its home here with you now, and will live here with creatures in this place in the future? How do you feel knowing that you, earthling, belong to this place, are made of the same carbon, breathe the same air, are nurtured by the same cycles and life processes, and are enlivened by the same Spirit of the Creator?

2. Reflect on the ecological cycles of this place with gratitude for all that it provides.

What nutrient cycles are supported by this place? Is this a watershed that filters water? Is this a rainforest (tropical or deciduous) that fixes nutrients? Is this a meadow or field that fixes nitrogen? Is this a green space that absorbs CO2 and cleans the air? What plants, animals, microbes and minerals are sheltered here? How do they serve the whole earth in their being? For all that this place provides to nurture you and all that belong to this place, let a feeling of gratitude fill you.

3. Listen for the voices that speak in this place, and pay attention to what you feel as you contemplate the health of this site.

Fill your lungs with breath. Be attentive to what you feel (the air, grass, sand, soil, sun, rain) on your skin. Open your eyes (or close them and open the eyes of your heart). Open your ears to listen to the voices of creation in this place. Who are they? What do you hear them saying? Who is missing or lost from this place? What does their absence tell you?

Is this ecosystem healthy? How is this ecosystem at risk of illness?  What are the keys to sustaining the equilibrium and balance of this place? What niches and diversity must be protected to maintain the health of this habitat? What are the sources of stress that threaten the balance of this particular ecosystem? Do those stresses drive your co-creatures from their home in this place? How do you feel when you consider the fragility of life that depends on the health of this place? What is your effect on this balance?

 

4. Choose one feature of the site and pray for it, its rest and its renewal.

When you consider the ways that this place is under stress, what does it need for rest, restoration and renewal? What needs to be conserved for this site to heal itself? What features need to be reclaimed? What creatures need to be restored to their rightful home here so that their voice can be heard? Pray for this site, and the wisdom to care for it.

5. Look toward your response. What can you do to ease demands or promote the rest of this ecological site?

Based on your examination, how do you identify with this place?  What have you discerned is required to care for this place?  Whose voice from among this place will you seek to amplify? What will be your act of compassion to promote rest for this common home?

 

Here is a Creation Meditation
you may want to use during the week

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Y0nS-RrolI

National Migration Week ~ September 19 -25

 

Building the Future
With Migrants and Refugees

The Church has been celebrating the World Day of Migrants and Refugees (WDMR) since 1914. It is always an occasion to express concern for different vulnerable people on the move; to pray for them as they face many challenges; and to increase awareness about the opportunities that migration offers.

Every year the WDMR is the last Sunday of September; this year it will be celebrated on September 25^th. As the title for his annual message, the Holy Father has chosen Building the Future with Migrants and Refugees.  Read Pope Francis’ Message here:

 

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS

FOR THE 108th WORLD DAY OF MIGRANTS AND REFUGEES 2022

https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/messages/migration/documents/20220509-world-migrants-day-2022.html

 

No one must be excluded. God’s plan is essentially inclusive and gives priority to those living on the existential peripheries. Among them are many migrants and refugees, displaced persons, and victims of trafficking. The Kingdom of God is to be built with them, for without them it would not be the Kingdom that God wants. The inclusion of those most vulnerable is the necessary condition for full citizenship in God’s Kingdom. Indeed, the Lord says, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, sick and you took care of me, in prison and you visited me” (Mt 25:34-36).

 Pope Francis ‘Message for World Day of Prayer for Migrants and Refugees 2022’

Prayer for Migrants and Refugees

Lord Jesus, when you multiplied the loaves and fishes, you provided more than food for the body, you offered us the gift of yourself, the gift which satisfies every hunger and quenches every thirst! Your disciples were filled with fear and doubt, but you poured out your love and compassion on the migrant crowd, welcoming them as brothers and sisters.

Lord Jesus, today you call us to welcome the members of God's family who come to our land to escape oppression, poverty, persecution, violence, and war. Like your disciples, we too are filled with fear and doubt and even suspicion. We build barriers in our hearts and in our minds.

Lord Jesus, help us by your grace,

To banish fear from our hearts, that we may embrace each of your children as our own other and sister;

To welcome migrants and refugees with joy and generosity, while responding to their many needs;

To realize that you call all people to your holy mountain to learn the ways of peace and justice;

To share of our abundance as you spread a banquet before us;

To give witness to your love for all people, as we celebrate the many gifts they bring.

We praise you and give you thanks for the family you have called together from so many people. We see in this human family a reflection of the divine unity of the one Most Holy Trinity in whom we make our prayer: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

 For information on Refugees in America go here:

REFUGEES IN AMERICA

https://www.rescue.org/topic/refugees-america

 

'Give me your tired, your poor,

your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.'

Emma Lazarus