SEPTEMBER  1st:

WORLD DAY OF PRAYER 

FOR THE CARE OF CREATION

INTRODUCTION

The title of my thoughts for today is,  “September 1^st: World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation.”

THE MIND OF CHRIST

Today’s 1st reading from 1^st Corinthians ends with the words, “Have the mind of Christ.”

What is the mind of Christ when it comes to our care of the earth?

Jesus  told us to watch and marvel at the birds of the air and the flowers of the field. 

However, I don’t think we can be definitive as to Christ’s thoughts about hydroelectric power plants and light bulbs.

Yet, I believe,  we can come up with opinions on what we think would be smart thoughts about caring for the earth in 2020 – of course.

So some thoughts about the care of creation in 2020.

SEPTEMBER  1^ST

Calling this day “World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation” has been around since 2015 for us Catholics,.

However, I don’t remember speaking about  this in the past few years. 

So last night I did some home work and these are a few of my thoughts.

I like that the Eastern Orthodox wing of the Christian Churches began this idea.

Back in the mid-80’s at a big Eastern Orthodox assembly the issue of environment was discussed big time. Patriarch Bartholomew  ends up with the nickname, “The Green Patriarch.”

Around 2001 different European Christian communities picked up on this theme and did their best to make worldwide improvements  in how we care for creation.

Then in August of 2015 Pope Francis makes his move – by backing the idea of September 1^st as a special day to look at the environment.

There were documents – called encyclicals from Eastern Orthodox leaders and then Laudato Si from Francis.

We can ask ourselves what have we picked up from this focusing on Green Theology etc.

I like the way for different years and different meetings, groups looked at specific areas. For example:  The Black Sea, the Danube, the Adriatic Sea, the Baltic Sea, the Amazon, the Artic, the Mississippi.

I like the way folks looked at water – not just for baptism, but for drinking, for agriculture, for recreation, for aqua filters, etc.

Then there have been calls to look at agriculture and nutrition, air and atmosphere.

SPECIFIC IMMEDIATE PLACES ON THE PLANET

Next I looked back to the late 1960’s and Monsignor Bob  Fox picking 4^th street in Manhattan as a street to be cleaned.dd

On a Saturday, hundreds of people started on Avenue D near the East River and swept and cleaned their way to the Hudson River on the West Side.  They had trucks, brooms, shovels and plastic bags and they did it.

I also remember a specific lot – around 6^th street – perhaps between Avenue B and C - where a building had sat. Now it was just dirt and an empty lot.  In this  vacuum of space were two old  rusty cars – toilet bowls – tons of garbage and waste – a couch.  A group cleared it – planted grass – put in some benches and a few cement card and chess tables, a vegetable garden, lights, trees and flowers – painting the back fences etc. and that lasted for my 2 years on the Lower East Side.

It was a model on what could be done.

I loved hearing about the Cayuga River in Ohio being cleansed.  There were newspaper articles that it was the river that had so much oil on it – that it once was on fire.

I like Gene Grohe’s pride that Lake Erie has been cleansed a good bit.

So too  Perfume Bay – Stink Creek – just before Coney Island. As kids when we went to Coney Island – when we went over this water on the subway – we would pause and yell out the open window, “Phew!” and make out we were choking. It has been cleansed a bit.

I noticed last night that finally that the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn might finally get  its $500 million clean up check.

CONCLUSION

So once a year now Christians ask that September 1^st we concentrate on how we are caring for the earth.

So talk, pray, and act is the message.