Sing praises with creation in the Season of Creation
In communion with the Universal Church in celebrating the Season of Creation (from September 1 to October 4, 2021), Caritas Da Lat Office celebrated hours of prayer: Praying the Laudato Si Rosary at 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, September 09, 2021 and pray with creation at 9:00 on Thursday, September 16, 2021, at Dalat Pastoral Center. Present in the prayers were brothers and sisters from the Caritas office, some Caritas members of Thanh Mau (Merian) parish and collaborators.
Entering the prayer time in a large and spacious place, the atmosphere is cool and quiet, in harmony with the singing of birds in the sky, the colors of the trees, etc., each participant choose a comfortable position to pray, in times of silence, to listen to God's words in creation with all the senses. The focus on the hours of prayer invites the community to contemplate and give thanks to God's creation and the call to live "Laudato Si'".
God created our "Mother Earth" from which all life originate, "Brother Sun" whose energy radiates life, "Sister Water" nourishes and revives humans and all creatures, and for whom we are called to cultivate and preserve this garden.
Moreover, God is the almighty Father, God is present in the whole universe and in the smallest of creatures, and God embraces all that exists with his tenderness. It is God who has given us the nature. He desires that our relationship with the environment is not in the power of domination, but with the power of harmony and with the role of the steward. God also invites us to discover the value of each species, and to realize that we are deeply united with all beings on our journey together towards God's boundless light. But what have we done to protect the life and beauty that God has given us? Do we live together as brothers and sisters, without harming anyone? We need to be healed by God so that we can sow beauty instead of pollution and destruction.
The Lord is the God of the poor; he invites us to help the abandoned and forsaken on this earth, which is precious in His eyes. Looking at the fact that “human environment” and “natural environment” are degraded at the same time, we cannot cope with environmental degradation properly, if we do not take into account the causes that are related to the deterioration of people and society.
Faced with the destruction that Mother Earth and all Creation are suffering, especially the COVID-19 pandemic that is spreading around the world and in Vietnam, the invitation in the message Laudato Si' ''Listen to the lament of the earth and the cry of the poor'' becomes even more pressing for our humanity. What lifestyle did I choose? Do I dare to live simply, satisfied with just enough needs? And dream of a more justice and sustainable way of life for the earth?
In particular, the encyclical “Laudato Si’” is an invitation to praise the “Creator” in the beauty of Creation. Pope Francis invites us to take care of our common home, restoring a sense of wonder and awe in our surroundings. In this contemplation we can reconnect with our rightful place in nature, and rediscover our relationships with others, ultimately with all of Creation. How will we leave our Common Home to the next generation?
The hour of prayer has left the participating community with many emotions when contemplating the work of creation. May the invitation of Pope Francis to all the faithful to celebrate the Season of Creation every year to "renew our faith in the Creator God, while at the same time praying and working to take care for the common home" spread to each family, community, parish, etc. The prayer time ended with Saint Francis' Peace Prayer with the wish that each person would become an instrument of peace for the human family and the creation family.
Recorder,
Sister Anna Tran Hang