Laudato Si' Webinars

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In January 2021, Calgary Diocesan CWL Council hosted a series of webinars facilitated by Jeannette Nixon to explore the issues presented in Pope Francis’ Laudato Si’ Encyclical on our global ecological crisis. 

Participants learned how to:

  • Respond to the challenges of caring for our world’s resources
  • Integrate the teachings of Laudato Si’ into our everyday life

See the articles below for tips on how to integrate the teachings of Laudato Si' into Church Actions and Home Actions.

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Live Laudato Si' - Church Actions

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Laudato Si’ Hymn: Learn new hymns about God's creation and use them frequently so that parishioners can learn them.

Special Celebrations: Use special occasions (Earth Day) to highlight environmental themes.

Bulletin Announcements: Include environmental messages – quotes, scripture passages, "things to do" – in the bulletin.

Season of Creation: Plan an event during the ‘Season of Creation” – Sept 1 to Oct 4 each year. The season of creation is a time to renew our relationship with our Creator through celebration, and conversion.  

Church Meetings: Tell all attendees to bring their own reusable coffee or water cup, cutlery, and dishes. There are not many who like the idea of all the cleanup, this way you can clean your own dishes and no one person or persons is left to clean -up!  

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Live Laudato Si' - Home Actions

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Turn it Off: Energy conservation is one of the most important things you can do to reduce your carbon footprint. Leaving electrical appliance on standby needlessly uses up energy – hit the off switch!

Do not Waste Food: Wasted food is a waste of food and money, it also adds to the amount of CO2 created in landfills.

Recycle Everything: Chances are that if you are thinking about taking on an eco-friendlier lifestyle then you will already be recycling. But could you improve your recycling. Before you throw it away, take a minute to find out if you could recycle it instead.

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Tips to Conserve Water

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  1. TURN OFF THE TAPS – Don’t let water consumption run out of control. Save six litres of water a minute by turning off your tap while you brush your teeth.
  2. BOIL WHAT YOU NEED – Save water, money and energy by only boiling as many cups of water as you need.
  1. SHOWER WITH LESS – Every minute you spend in the shower uses up to 17 litres of water. Set a timer on your phone to keep your showers short. Switching to an efficient shower head will allow you to lather up in less water, which means you’ll save water and cut your bills.
  1. SAVE UP YOUR DIRTY CLOTHES – Washing a full machine load of clothes uses less water and energy than two half-loads. This also means lower bills.
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LAUDATO SI’

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“LAUDATO SI’, mi’ Signore” – “Praise be to you, my Lord”. In the words of this beautiful canticle, Saint Francis of Assisi reminds us that our common home is like a sister with whom we share our life and a beautiful mother who opens her arms to embrace us. “Praise be to you, my Lord, through our Sister, Mother Earth, who sustains and governs us, and who produces various fruit with coloured flowers and herbs”.

Saint Francis is the example par excellence of care for the vulnerable and of an integral ecology lived out joyfully and authentically. He is the patron saint of all who study and work in the area of ecology, and he is also much loved by non-Christians. He was particularly concerned for God’s creation and for the poor and outcast. He loved, and was deeply loved for his joy, his generous self-giving, his openheartedness. He was a mystic and a pilgrim who lived in simplicity and in wonderful harmony with God, with others, with nature and with himself. He shows us just how inseparable the bond is between concern for nature, justice for the poor, commitment to society, and interior peace.

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Living Out Laudato Si'

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On the occasion of the third World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, the Episcopal Commission for Justice and Peace of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) published a new resource entitled Living Out Laudato Si': A Commentary and Practical Resource for Canadian Catholics. The preface of the document, written by the Honourable Graydon Nicholas, CM ONB, former Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick, from the Tobique First Nation, states that this new resource not only presents Catholic Social Teaching but "also raises many of the environmental difficulties facing Canadians today and challenges us to discuss them frankly."

The Canadian Catholic Bishops hope this resource would "help Catholics, whether individually or in groups, to engage more deeply with the challenge of Laudato Si'." The resource is organized into six chapters, each based on one of the six chapters of the encyclical. Each chapter concludes with a series of reflection questions and resources for action, organized under the headings See, Learn, Pray, Act.

The Bishops also express their desire that "this resource may allow both individuals and groups to take up Pope Francis' invitation to engage in an open and honest conversation about our current crises concerning the environment, our economies and our societies." They continue in expressing the wish that the use of this simple resource will be "a small part of your journey to a deeper faith and a life of greater solidarity with those who share our common home."

The 30-page document, which is available only online, can be accessed on the CCCB website at http://www.cccb.ca/site/images/stories/pdf/Living_Out_Laudato_Si_En.pdf.

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Laudato Si' Prayers

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A PRAYER FOR OUR EARTH

All-powerful God, you are present in the whole universe
and in the smallest of your creatures.
You embrace with your tenderness all that exists.
Pour out upon us the power of your love,
that we may protect life and beauty.
Fill us with peace, that we may live
as brothers and sisters, harming no one.

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