What Is Laudato Si?
Laudato Si’ (Praise Be to You!) is the second encyclical of Pope Francis. The encyclical has the subtitle “On Care for Our Common Home.” In it, the pope critiques consumerism and irresponsible development, laments environmental degradation and global warming, and calls all people of the world to take “swift and unified global action.” (May 24, 2015)
Who Are We?
SACRED HEART ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITTEE
The new encyclical by Pope Francis entitled Laudato Si was offered as a small faith sharing group soon after it became available. A number of parishioners took advantage of coming together, studying and discussing its contents. Once the series was completed we accepted the challenge presented by Pope Francis: to take seriously the mandate of caring for the earth. Thus, the formation of the SACRED HEART ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITTEE.
WHAT DO WE DO?
Our goal is to implement the contents of Laudato Si. Motivated by the mandate to care for our earth, the committee engages the wider parish community by sponsoring a number of environmentally friendly events. So much has happened since the encyclical was written. And so, we, your Sacred Heart Environmental Committee would like to share with you some of our endeavors.
- Encouraged parishioners to familiarize themselves with the “Season of Creation” an annual celebration of prayer and action to protect creation. The season begins September 1st, the Day of Prayer for Creation, and runs through October 4, the Feast of St. Francis, the patron saint of ecology.
- Distributed Stop & Shop reusable bags after all the masses to replace plastic bags
- Brought attention to the need to eliminate plastic straws
- Initiated the Lenten Challenge for families and individuals
- Invited artists of all ages to display their creative works at our fall ART FEST
- Worked with elected officials on NY environmental issues
- Challenged the Sacred Heart Catholic Academy students to create and implement Earth Day projects.
A very simple and direct invitation to familiarize yourself with the contents and the challenges of Laudato Si can be found right on your computer.
- Sign up for the EarthBeat Weekly e-newsletter. This publication has the latest news and content about faith and climate change. https://www.ncronline.org/news/earthbeat
(Earth Beat is a publication of the National Catholic Reporter, an independent news source reporting on issues related to the Catholic Church.)
- Explore Laudato Si’ through a social, political and spiritual lens. Three times a week, readers are invited to dive into a new section of the papal document through an informal study of the call to care for our common home.
Novena to St. Francis
For a World Under Threat
Please click on this link to see and download a copy of the Novena.
Prayer_creation_St-Francis-Novena
Care for Creation
Laudato Si' Week begins on Sunday, May 22. This is a worldwide celebration on the seventh anniversary of the publication of Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato Si': On Care for our Common Home. The theme this year is "Listening and Journeying Together".
So here is a small challenge: Take one step this week to learn about what our global Church is doing to live out Laudato Si'. You will find the schedule of events at laudatosiweek.org
