A PRAYER for EARTH DAY - April 22, 2017

Prayer adapted from an anonymous text

God looked at everything He had made and found it very good.

Genesis 1: 31

 

We do not exist outside of nature or above nature

or independent of nature —

we are simply its most vulnerable part.

— Joan Chittister

 

Prayer

O God, Holy Spirit, whose breath gives life to the world

and whose voice is heard in the soft breeze,

come to us, be among us;

speak to us through your creation.

 

Lessons from Creation (from Ute prayer)

Earth, teach us freedom

as the eagle which soars in the sky. Earth, teach us regeneration

as the seed which rises in the spring. Earth, teach us to forget ourselves

as melted snow forgets its life.

Earth, teach us to remember kindness

as dry fields weep with rain.  — from Ute prayer

 

Prayer before Reading Sacred Scripture

O Lord, open our minds and hearts

so that we may hear and act upon your Holy Word.

 

Wisdom of Solomon 11:24-12:1

For You [God] love all things that exist, and detest none of the things that you have made, for you would not have made anything if you had hated it. How would anything have endured if you had not willed it? Or how would anything not called forth by you have been preserved? You spare all things, for they are yours, O Lord, you who love the living.  For your immortal Spirit is in all things.

 

Matthew 6:26 and Luke 12:6

Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet our heavenly Father feeds them.

Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies?  And not one of them is forgotten in Godʼs sight.

Reflection

As we are called to see ourselves and each other as earthen vessels that hold God's presence

and bring God's gifts to the world, so too, our world and all that is above, around and within

it are earthen vessels - just as easily shattered, just as much in need of our loving attentiveness

and support. May our hearts and hands align with God's so that we will respect and live in

harmony and interdependence with all creation.

 

Sharing: on texts above or on an action you are prepared to take to help save our planet

 

A Prayer of Healing

Response: We join with the earth and with all of creation.

To bring new life to the land

To restore the waters

To refresh the air                 R.

 

To renew the forests

To care for the plants

To protect the creatures     R.

 

To celebrate the seas

To rejoice in the sunlight

To sing the song of the stars         R.

 

To recall our destiny

To renew our spirits

To reinvigorate our bodies            R.

 

To create the human community

To promote justice and peace

To remember the children            R.

 

We are full of the grace of creation.

We are grateful.

We rejoice in all life.

 

Hymn: For the Beauty of the Earth (or one of your choice)