"Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love.
Come Indwelling Grace, take root in our hearts, grow daily within us, and blossoming forth in us that we may renew the face of the earth.
Come Ruah, Spirit of Wind, blow through creation to refresh and restore what has become stagnant and stale.
Come Holy Fire, purge us of our sinful ways and old habits and ignite within us hearts ablaze with the desire to bring justice, peace and reconciliation to a weary and wounded creation.
With God to help us, may we demonstrate our faith not only in declarations but also in our works."
Excerpt from the Homily of Bishop Robert G. Casey Vicar General, Archdiocese of Chicago at the Installation of the Chicagoland Christians United for the Care of Creation Declaration at Holy Name Cathedral, Saturday, May 18, 2024. Read Bishop Casey's inspiring Homily in entirety Here.
News Release: Cardinal Cupich Announces the Archdiocese of Chicago's Shift to 100% Renewable Energy.
Cardinal Cupich's receiving Cardinal Cherny's Thank you Letter
Vatican News Announcement October 4, 2023
"Pope Francis has published an Apostolic Exhortation Laudate Deum building on his 2015 Encyclical Laudato Si'. We’re not reacting enough, he says, we’re close to breaking point. He criticises climate change deniers, saying that the human origin of global warming is now beyond doubt. And he describes how care for our common home flows from the Christian faith."
Read Pope Francis' Apostolic Exhortation Laudate Deum. (Link)
His Eminence Cardinal Blase J. Cupich's response to Laudate Deum 11.3.2023: Our planet is 'nearing a breaking point'. Read article here.
Fr. John Pawlikowski’s Homily: Responding to Laudato Si’. A Call to Action. Assumption Catholic Church, Chicago, IL September 10, 2023 (Video)
Parish Invitation… Join the Journey Towards Integral Ecology
Form a Parish Creation Care Committee
Join the Laudato Si’ Action Platform (LSAP)
Hear young adult perspectives from the Integral Ecology Retreat
"Hope on the Horizon" by Greg Olsen. Used with Permission. gregolsen.com
Jesus’ Kingdom is not of the world of greed, consumption, waste, indifference, violence and dishonesty. Rather it is the kingdom of enduring love, self-giving, care for others and witness to the truth. As servant disciples of Christ, each of us is called to:
- Honor and thank our Creator
- Care for our brothers and sisters
- Protect all living things
- Embrace a consistent ethic of life
- Care for our common home
The ecological and societal crisis in our world implores us to renew our relationship with God, with Jesus and with all elements of creation, through prayer, daily sacrifice and a commitment to transformative actions as an imperative of our faith.
“Today… we have to realize that a true ecological approach always becomes a social approach; it must integrate questions of justice in debates on the environment, so as to hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.”
—H. H. Pope Francis, Encyclical Letter Laudato Si’1
“We show our respect for the Creator by our stewardship of creation. Care for the earth is not just an Earth Day slogan, it is a requirement of our faith. We are called to protect people and the planet, living our faith in relationship with all of God’s creation. This environmental challenge has fundamental moral and ethical dimensions that cannot be ignored.”
—United States Conference of Catholic Bishops2
“Let us be reminded of our mission to care for each other and for the Earth. Let us seek an interconnected response based on faith and science. And let us not be discouraged by the work ahead. Instead, let us trust and rejoice in God’s promise to make all things new (Rev. 21:5), and take to heart the encouragement the Holy Father offers when he tells us that in spite of the practical relativism and consumer culture we live in, all is not lost.” “Human beings,” he (Pope Francis) notes, “while capable of the worst, are also capable of rising above themselves and their mental and social conditioning, choosing again what is good, and making a new start. No system can completely suppress our openness to what is good, true and beautiful, or our God-given ability to respond to his grace at work deep in our hearts. I appeal to my sisters and brothers throughout the world not to forget this dignity which is ours” (205).”
—Cardinal Cupich, From ‘Not Enough’ to Bold Embrace: U.S. Catholic Responses to Laudato Si3
2See usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/what-we-believe/catholic-social-teaching/care-for-creation
3See ncronline.org/news/earthbeat/cardinal-cupich-laudato-si-calls-us-economic-and-spiritual-conversion
