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Justice and Peace
JPIC in Action
Disaster in the Gulf: A "Crude" Awakening
"Any person who is not illuminated by such a great splendor in created things is blind. Anyone who is not awakened by such great outcries is deaf. Anyone who is not led by such effects to give praise to God is mute... Therefore open your eyes; alert your spiritual ears; unlock your lips; and apply your heart so that in all creatures you may see, hear, praise, love, and adore, magnify and honor your God lest the entire world rise up against you."—St. Bonaventure
Like our patron saint, Francis of Assisi, Franciscans believe in the kinship of creation, the idea that we are all fellow creatures-loved, valued, and precious in God's eyes-and that every creature is a sign of the divine presence alive in the world.
As Franciscans, we are faithful to the interconnectedness of the natural world and believe people are responsible to care for creation because it is a blessing from God.
The ever-unfolding environmental and humanitarian disaster in the Gulf clearly illuminates that our common future is dependent on how we care for the world today.
For years and years to come, we will continue to pay dearly for this man-made catastrophe. So too will the birds, the marine animals, the plants and fauna, the marshes and grasses, the vulnerable coastline, and fishermen and their families-the whole of the ecosystem in the Gulf region and beyond.
So how do we respond? What are we to do?
How do we chart a new course? Can we?
Do we truly have the ears to hear, the eyes to see, the resolve to act?
The following resources are a start. Reading through this information will help you gain an awareness of what is at stake. This information will, in turn, help you to discern how your community can best respond and reach out in the midst of the incredible suffering that the oil spill continues to create.
Resources for Homily and Faith Formation
"The Franciscan Vision and the Oil Spill" – Reflection by Jacek Orzechowski, OFM
"Reflection for a Prayer Service of Reparation and Restoration" by William Dinges, Professor of Religious Studies, The Catholic University of America
"Spill and Sin, Fatherhood and Forgiveness" – Homily aid material on how to incorporate the theme of the oil spill into a homily for the 11th and 12th Sundays of Ordinary Time
"The Feast of Corpus Christi and the environmental disaster in the Gulf" – A homily given at St. Camillus Church, Silver Spring, MD.
Reflection/homily in Spanish
Resources on oil spill and Catholic Social Teaching from Education for Justice
Bulletin texts on a Franciscan approach to the oil spill
Franciscan Communities in Action
On June 9, St. Camillus Church in Silver Spring, Md., hosted an ecumenical prayer service response to the crisis in the Gulf of Mexico. This ecumenical prayer service brought together over 160 people of faith who marked this social and ecological disaster with an evening of prayer, repentance and reflection.
Click here to see the worship aid and the expression of renewal and commitment – water ritual.
At Immaculate Conception Church in Durham, NC, the June 12 and 13 weekend liturgies (homilies, prayers, and music) will focus on the Gulf oil disaster. Following the liturgies, an oil spill display and every day ways for parishioners to respond will be available.
On Thursday, June 17, at 7:00 p.m. the Catholic Community of St Francis of Assisi in Raleigh will hold a prayer vigil for the people whose lives are affected by the oil spill and for our environment that is suffering as a result.
Franciscan Action Network (FAN) has dedicated the month of June 2010 to prayers and deeds in response to the economic and ecological disaster unfolding in the Gulf of Mexico. The webpage features resources for personal and community reflection, prayer, education, and action.
Watch Dominic Monti, OFM, discuss the crisis in the Gulf of Mexico on the June 9 episode of 'Currents' – a half hour news magazine program from the Diocese of Brooklyn, NY.
Advocacy
Sign on to an advocacy effort by OxFam directed to Senate representatives asking them to make sure the Gulf Coast is not shorted in the funding and assistance they need from BP.
Tell BP to Clean Up Their Mess
Act now to stop off shore drilling.
What Can We Do?
Resources for Individual Communal Action
8 things you can do to fight the Gulf oil spill
Gulf Oil Spill Crisis Relief & Response
Help animals and wildlife threatened by the oil spill
Volunteer in the clean-up effort
Help on Gulf Coast Surveillance Teams
Take the St Francis Pledge. All across the country, Catholics are taking the St. Francis Pledge to Care for Creation and the Poor and joining the Catholic Climate Covenant.
Donate to charities assisting those hardest hit by the Gulf Coast oil spill like Catholic Charities (Donations can be made at 1-800-919-9338 or www.catholiccharitiesusa.org)
One of the small steps toward reducing our wasteful consumption of petroluem products is to consider adopting a Franciscan "Think Outside the Bottle" campaign. The production and transportation of water bottles takes a huge amount of petrolium. Consider using this resource to raise the awareness of this issue in your faith community and limit our addiction to oil and its by-products. For more information click here.
Governmental and non-profit resources
What You Can Do (US Environmental Protection Agency)
The Oil Spill and Wetland Activities
Deepwater BP Oil Spill and Federal Response (White House)
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Environmental Protection Agency
A Prayer
CANTICLE OF CREATION
Be praised Good Lord for Brother Sun
who brings us each new day.
Be praised for Sister Moon: white
beauty bright and fair, with wandering
stars she moves through the night.
Be praised my Lord for Brother Wind,
for air and clouds and the skies of
every season.
Be praised for Sister Water: humble,
helpful, precious, pure; she cleanses
us in rivers and renews us in rain.
Be praised my Lord for Brother fire:
he purifies and enlightens us.
Be praised my Lord for Mother Earth:
abundant source, all life sustaining;
she feeds us bread and fruit and gives
us flowers.
Be praised my Lord for the gift of life;
for changing dusk and dawn; for touch
and scent and song.
Be praised my Lord for those who
pardon one another for love of thee,
and endure sickness and tribulation.
Blessed are they who shall endure it in
peace, for they shall be crowned by
Thee.
Be praised Good Lord for sister Death
who welcomes us in loving embrace.
Be praised my Lord for all your
creation serving you joyfully.
– Francis of Assisi, 1225 A.D.
