Showing posts with label Pope Francis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pope Francis. Show all posts

Saturday, April 4, 2015

Lenten Eco-Fast - Stuff

"The great danger in today's world, pervaded as it is by consumerism, is the desolation and anguish born of a complacent yet covetous heart, the feverish pursuit of frivolous pleasures, and a blunted conscience."

-Pope Francis, Joy of the Gospel, November 2013

View the ten-minute YouTube "The Story of Stuff" (click here) and decide how you can buy less stuff. It will change the way you look at all the "stuff" in your life.

Monday, March 30, 2015

Lenten Eco-Fast - Compost

"Custody of Creation is custody of God's gift to us and it is also a way of saying thank you to God."
-Pope Francis, May 21, 2014
Composting has many benefits. It reduces the amount of waste that ends up in your garbage can and decreases the amount of methane in the air. Methane is a much more damaging greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Sisters in Kingstree have been composting next to their garden for several years (see picture.)

Saturday, March 28, 2015

Lenten Eco-Fast - Earth Hour

t to Sustain God's Creation

"Nurturing and cherishing creation is a command God gives not only at the beginning of history, but to each of us. It is part of his plan; it means causing the world to grow responsibly, transforming it so that it may be a garden, a habitable place for everyone."

-Pope Francis, June 5, 2013

Earth Hour - Earth Hour is observed globally March 28 from 8:30-9:30 p.m. local time. Individuals are invited to shut their lights off to raise awareness about climate change. 

Click here for interfaith prayer resources on Care of the Earth.

Friday, March 27, 2015

Lenten Fast to Sustain God’s Creation

"Please, I would like to ask all those who have positions of responsibility in economic, political and social life, and all men and women of goodwill: let us be "protectors" of creation, protectors of God's plan inscribed in nature, protectors of one another and of the environment."

-Pope Francis, March 19, 2013

The Global Catholic Climate Movement (GCCM) has organized a Lenten hunger fast as a response to our present climate crisis. Catholics and other Christians in a different country each day during Lent have committed to fast.  The GCCM 40-day fast encourages participants to fast from food as well as the use of oil, electricity, plastic, paper, water, and toxins during Lent. For more information on the Global Catholic Climate Movement, please click here.

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Lenten Fast to Sustain God’s Creation

"I wish to mention another threat to peace, which arises from the greedy exploitation of environmental resources."

-Pope Francis, January 13, 2014

Every year, 2 million barrels of oil go to making plastic water bottles used in the United States and Canada.

Choose a reusable bottle, like the green Our Lady of Hope Felician Sister’s water bottle.

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Lenten Fast to Sustain God’s Creation

"Even if "nature is at our disposition", all too often we do not "respect it or consider it a gracious gift which we must care for and set at the service of our brothers and sisters, including future generations."

-Pope Francis, January 13, 2014

Choose tap water vs bottled water when possible.

Watch "The Story of Bottled Water" by clicking here.

Monday, March 23, 2015

Lenten Fast to Sustain God’s Creation

"People occasionally forgive, but nature never does. If we don't take care of the environment, there's no way of getting around it."
-Pope Francis, April 22, 2013
Plastic bags do not biodegrade, they break down into small toxic bits that contaminate soil and waterways and enter the food chain when mistaken for jellyfish. Therefore, you may eventually ingest a part of the plastic bag you threw away a few years ago!

Sunday, March 22, 2015

Lenten Fast to Sustain God’s Creation

"Respect for the environment means more than simply using cleaner products or recycling what we use. These are important aspects, but not enough."

-Pope Francis, January 18, 2015

Recycle aluminum cans.  The energy saved from one recycled aluminum can will operate a television set for three hours.  If you do not recycle, the can will still litter the earth up to 500 years from now.

Saturday, March 21, 2015

Lenten Fast to Sustain God’s Creation

"In destroying Creation we are saying to God: 'I don't like it! This is not good!'"

-Pope Francis, May 21, 2014

Avoid buying products that have lots of packaging.

Choose loose products and buy refillable containers where possible.

Friday, March 20, 2015

Lenten Fast to Sustain God’s Creation


"God our Father did not give the task of caring for the earth to money, but to us, to men and women: we have this task!"
-Pope Francis, June 5, 2013
Use cloth shopping bags instead of paper and plastic.


Thursday, March 19, 2015

Lenten Fast to Sustain God’s Creation

"All the peoples of the earth, all men and women of good will, we must raise our voice in defense of these two precious gifts: peace and nature - Sister Mother Earth, as Saint Francis of Assisi called her."

-Pope Francis, October 28, 2014

Turn off water while brushing your teeth and save one gallon of water every minute.

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Through My Own Grievous Fault

Why does the Church seem to focus so much on sin?  Seeing the Cross makes me uncomfortable.  Thinking of myself as a sinner isn't easy.  Is it just pride?  I don’t think so.  Don’t get me wrong, pride has everything to do with it, but I think there’s more to it.  Seeing myself as worth less because of sin is the lie that whispers shame into my heart.  I'm not worth less when I sin, but that’s how I feel when the spotlight is focused bright on my sin.  As I wrestled with this in prayer, the Lord reminded me of my tooth.  About ten years ago I had a terrible toothache.  It was agony for a few days, but then the pain just went away.  I was relieved and forgot all about it.  Until a dental check-up led to a root canal, which led to two apicoectomies, an extraction, a temporary tooth and finally a very expensive implant.