Reflection
We are too comfortable with what we have to admit to what we are losing. We see the disruptions that are occurring within our own country: violent storms, droughts, wild fires, extinction of species, polluted waters and we still continue to abuse Earth. Some of us deny that our lack of respect for the natural world is causing climate change. It is time to awaken; it is time for those who understand to make their voices too loud to be ignored. “Every existence is a mode of divine presence.” Earth is our home. It is the supporter of all life. It is not meant to be exploited.
Prayer
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of God’s hands.
Psalm 19
Action
Be familiar with all the indications and effects of climate change. In this beautiful season of Spring, take time to experience the beauty of all that is birthing and flowering. Realize your connection with it all.
Suggested Reading
Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.
Matthew 6:26
But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of God has done this? In God’s hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all humankind .
Job 12:7-10
If we approach nature and the environment without…openness to awe and wonder, if we no longer speak the language of fraternity and beauty in our relationship with the world, our attitude will be that of masters, consumers, ruthless exploiters, unable to set limits on their immediate needs. By contrast, if we feel intimately united with all that exists, then sobriety and care will well up spontaneously.
Pope Francis, Laudato Si
Because of us, thousands of species will no longer give glory to God by their very existence, nor convey their message to us. We have no such right.
Pope Francis, Laudato Si
Our insistence that each human being is an image of God should not make us overlook the fact that each creature has its own purpose. None is superfluous. The entire material universe speaks of God’s love, his boundless affection for us. Soil, water, mountains: everything is, as it were, a caress of God.
Pope Francis, Laudato Si
The universe unfolds in God, who fills it completely. Hence, there is a mystical meaning to be found in a leaf, in a mountain trail, in a dewdrop, in a poor person’s face.
Pope Francis, Laudato Si
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
Albert Einstein
The good person is the friend of all living things.
Mahatma Gandhi
The impact of climate change is a tremendous risk to the security and well-being of our countries.
Nancy Pelosi
We have to face the reality of climate change. It is arguably the biggest threat we are facing today.
William Hague
With so much evidence of depleting natural resources, toxic waste, climate change, irreparable harm to our food chain and rapidly increasing instances of natural disasters, why do we keep perpetuating the problem? Why do we continue marching at the same alarming beat?
Yehuda Berg
The biggest barrier to dealing with climate change is us: our own attachment to habits that are hard to shift, and our great ability to park or ignore uncomfortable choices.
Geoff Mulgan
The biggest threats to human survival today are not wars or conflict, it is modern business.
Steven Magee