1. Part 1 Intro: The group gathers at a selected area to begin
- Make the sign of the cross
- Sing: Holy Spirit prayer
Introduction:
Laudato Si' Week is a time to help renew our relationship with our Creator and all creation through experience, conversion, and commitment. Today, we take advantage of this time to contemplate and listen to the call, song, and invitation of creation by spending time in the work of creation.
In his encyclical Laudato Si', Pope Francis urged all of us to contemplate creation. “Hence, there is a mystical meaning to be found in a leaf, in a mountain trail, in a dewdrop, in a poor person’s face.”(LS 233)
By returning to the contemplation of the elements of nature, we will train our sense of being part of creation. We experience ourselves as part of the matrix of the natural world and as beings like other beings. As we open up to the ways God works in the world, we discover a God who dwells at the center of all living things, who sustains and transforms creation moment by moment, and is the One who is indispensable presence in the world.
Sing: All creations, sing a song with me (Muôn tạo vật ơi cùng tôi hát lên một bài)
(everyone moves to stage 1)
2. Part 2: move to pray at various selected points in nature
2.1 Stage 1: The air.
Preacher(P): One story is told that in Italy, after an old man was discharged from the hospital, he received a bill of 500 dollars for hospital bills for a day on a ventilator. This man burst into tears with the reason: “I don't cry because of the money I have to pay. I can afford to pay this amount. I cry because I have been breathing God-given air for free for the past 93 years. I don't know how much I owe God. And yet, I never thanked him for this.”
We don't know if this story is true or not, but it gives us a chance to reflect. When we breathe the air comfortably with a healthy body, we are often unconscious. Only when we have to go to the hospital, then will we know the value of the air God gives us.
Looking at the spiritual dimension, at the time of creation it was God who breathed life into us. And now, He continues to breathe into us, through us and around us. This sacred source of life breathes life into all living things.
Through breathing we connect with all things - plants take in the carbon dioxide we give off and return oxygen to the air in an exchange and harmonious dance.
Communal response together: Praise God, through brother Air (x10)
However, the production and consumption activities of people have made the atmosphere in many urban areas become polluted and no longer fresh. The burning of garbage, the smog of wildfires, and the emissions from industrial factories due to our consumption makes the sky gray. The concentrated agricultural production places are full of the smell of chemical drugs. Forests being cut down are as painful as our lungs being cut off. The ocean is the place to absorb 50-80% of greenhouse gas emissions, but now it is dying because of pollution.
Music: Laudato si
Practice: take a deep breath. When breathing in, say silently: "Lord Jesus, Son of God", when breathing out, say: "have mercy on me a sinner", repeat 10 times.
(everyone moves to stage 2)
2.2 Stage 2: the water
P: Water enters my body, enters the body of every tree branch, blade of grass, from small insects to large animals… Water is like the blood in my body. Without water, humans will die within 2-4 days. Water is essential for life on earth. Water is a common property for the entire human community. Water is used for drinking, cleaning, washing and making plants grow. Nothing can replace this precious resource.
In the creation story in the book of Genesis, water existed before light and all things appeared. In Christianity, holy water is obtained from pure natural water sources. Jesus was baptized in the waters of the Jordan River. During Mass, the priest washes his hands at the beginning of the Eucharistic prayer and puts a drop of water to mix with the wine.
Most of the places of pilgrimage to Our Lady have a source of water given to them by the Mother of God. These are still places of reverence and rituals, blessings and healing. On the feast days of the Blessed Mother, many places hold prayer meetings at the holy well.
Let us begin again by thanking God for the gift of Water.
Communal response together: Praise God, through Sister Water (x 10 times)
1.The Laudatosi song chorus can be used here, (0:30 to 0:48), repeating “Laudato Si o mi Signore 4 times https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=30&v=Rla81AGiir0&feature =youtu.be
2. Listen to the sound of running water: https://youtu.be/CCaTi1Rf9uo?t=6
P: However, we have not respected this gift, we are wasting water, polluting it through farming, urbanization, and even turning it into a commodity.
At home, imagine that 9 billion people in the world, each one leak 1 drop of water, the whole world in 1 second will lose 9 billion drops of water ~ 350,000 liters, enough for 1 rural family to live for 6 years!
Did you know that hundreds of meters deep under the Negev Desert are vast pockets of water. In the Negev Desert, there are huge modern greenhouses that grow tomatoes and peppers out of season for Europe. This is truly a miracle! But it is not a recreating miracle. Like coal seams, once the water is pulled out of the ground, it is gone forever. It might just be enough to last another 100 years!
In addition to the water in rivers, streams, ponds and underground water that we often see, there are also footprints of water that are not visible. It lies in the way we choose to eat as well as in the way we consume it. Example. To make a delicious steak, it can take 2,200 liters of water, enough for 1 person to bathe for 4 months.
Music: Laudato si
Practice: take a deep breath. When breathing in, say silently: "Lord Jesus, Son of God", when breathing out, say: "have mercy on me a sinner", repeat 10 times.
(everyone moves to stage 3)
2.3 Stage 3. Ecosystem – the network of life
P: An ecosystem is any place where living organisms (plants, animals, other living things) and non-living things (sunlight, air, soil, water) interact with each other to create into an ecosystem. An ecosystem can be as small as the underside of a rock, the shade of a tree, or the larger area of pond, stream, valley, mountain peak, or forest. In the network of life, all things are interrelated and interdependent. We are part of this network: We breathe the same air, drink the same water, and eat the food the earth produces.
Response together: Praise God, through the ecosystem, the network of life (x10)
P: But we have severed these ties. We used machines to raze out hills, building cities, factories, cutting off the habitat network of the forest life. We have used chemical fertilizers to poison the soil and water, killing the organisms that are the food source of other species. We have harmed our neighbors who live downstream of the farmland. The use and disposal of plastic waste will end up in huge mountains of garbage in the ocean, taking away so many rich networks of life in the vast ocean that God has created.
Music: Laudato si
Practice: take a deep breath. When breathing in, say silently: "Lord Jesus, Son of God", when breathing out, say: "have mercy on me a sinner", repeat 10 times.
(everyone moves to stage 4)
2.4 Stage 4: the ground (land, earth)
I am earth. I have in the hills, the valleys, the fields, the orchards. Without me, humans and all species could not exist. I am truly living, nurturing, and providing food for you and all living things. From where I am, trees bear fruit, produce food on earth, people have places to live, travel, and build. From where I created forests, oceans and rich lands and sandy deserts…
Response together: Blessed be God, through Mother Earth (x10)
But the mother Earth is being broken, … abused, writhing and becoming sick by humans. The demand for animal protein and the increased consumption and exploitation of wildlife are responsible for the Ebola, avian, swine flu and the global COVID-19 pandemic we are experiencing. Humans have made the ground wither, losing ½ of the abundance as it was 100 years ago. Humans have destroyed forests, turned them into cities, into production plantations focusing on intensive farming to generate profits. The land is slowly being turned into dust, a desert.
The external deserts in the world are growing, because the internal deserts have become so vast (LS 217). Nature does not need people, but humans still need nature: need to eat, need to drink, need to breathe, need to nurture.
Music: Laudato si
Practice: take a deep breath. When breathing in, say silently: "Lord Jesus, Son of God", when breathing out, say: "have mercy on me a sinner", repeat 10 times.
3. Part 3: Lectio Divina Experience – (10’).
P: Each of us now takes time to meditate God in creation through the practice of Lectio divina.
In this traditional practice, one usually first reads the text (lectio), meditates on a word or phrase (meditatio), and prays (oratio) with a question or insight that may arise. Finally, by the grace of the Creator, one can be led into contemplation resting in the presence of God.
For the purpose of practicing Lectio Divina in the work of creation, the text here will be the book of the work of creation. We can do it by going outside: going for a walk or sitting outside in a yard or somewhere in nature.
3.1 Read / Lectio To practice lectio divina in the work of creation, take the time to “read” the work by walking or looking around slowly, absorbing all of the senses. Pay attention to different colors, shapes, flavors, textures.
3.2 Meditation / Meditatio. Notice something that grabs your attention and allows you to linger longer. It can be a flower, a tree or clouds forming in the sky. Allow yourself to be present with what you have. Use your senses to enjoy and marvel at the wonder of this creation. Meditate on how you experience the Creator's presence within or through this element of creation.
3.3 Prayer / Oratio Have a dialogue with God or this creature, as a reflection of God's presence. You can ask a question like "What is God saying to me through this tree?" Or you can give thanks to God for the beauty of this creation. Then, allow yourself to listen, being open to what your Creator can tell you through creation. Don't worry if you don't hear anything. Just be open to what may arise, no need to force anything.
3.4 Contemplation / Contemplatio After a while, let go off any words or thoughts and just let yourself rest in the presence of the Creator right here and now. You can close your eyes and relax.
When you're ready to conclude, give thanks: in silence, offer a prayer to God, make a gentle gesture of gratitude like bowing your head, or wish your creation happiness and health.
4. Part 4: Concluding: After 10 minutes, everyone gathers at a final point to conclude by saying the Our Father or offering a prayer for the Earth in the message Laudato Si'.
If there is time, the group can sit down and share the experience of the prayer time.