Laudato Si 7 Years Action Plan
In 2020, during the celebration of the 5th Anniversary of Laudato Si’, the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development launched a Laudato Si’ special Anniversary year. Pope Francis has called for a
multi-disciplinary approach in response to the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor, because we are faced not by two crises but one complex crisis! It calls for concerted efforts. In his encyclical, the Holy
Father stated that: “If the simple fact of being human moves people to care for the environment of which they are a part, Christians in their turn realize that their responsibility within creation, and their
duty towards nature and the Creator, are an essential part of their faith” (LS 64).
Pope Francis urges that “all of us can cooperate as instruments of God for the care of creation, each according to his or her own culture, experience, involvements and talents” (LS 14).
However, this will not be an easy task and will certainly require “honesty, courage and responsibility” (LS 169) and he reassures us that “local individuals and groups can make a real difference” (LS 179).
Laudato Si’ week 2023
We are happy to share with you the 2023 resource booklet for the Laudato Si’ week.
As we do every year we asked members and friends from different countries to reflect with us how hope is the driving force underpinning our actions to help heal the Earth and Humanity. But hope alone might not be enough. It requires actions and processes who are not always easy to live. It requires courage, that kind of courage who knows that hope is not the easy confidence that everything is going to be fine and also doesn’t let itself fall into the despair there is nothing more we can do.
The result is an invitation to listen again to God’s voice, to contemplate creation, to let ourselves be touched by different experiences and realities, discern our small or big contribution and be prophets and apostles for the world today.
The Church encourages us to celebrate Laudato Si’ Week 2023 with the film “The Letter”. This global celebration will unite us to rejoice in the progress we have made along with other in bringing Laudato Si’ to life. You are all invited to host a screening event in your communities, parishes, missions.
Happy Laudato Si’ week!
Laudato Si’ week 2022
It is easy to feel affected by the current state of our Common Home. Wars, famine, deforestation, pollution, floods, migration, human trafficking, high economic and social inequalities are the most obvious wounds of it. Can we contemplate Jesus being baptized in a river full of plastic and trash, or contemplate the sower wasting precious seeds on a rocky land, or among thorn bushes (Mt. 13, 1-9) when we know how overexploited land is today, with companies harvesting the same crops up to four times in a year? For the Laudato Si’ Week 2022 we asked members and friends from different countries to reflect with us how contemplation can lead us to heal our planet. The result is an invitation to listen again to God’s voice, to contemplate creation, to let ourselves be touched by different experiences and realities and be prophets and apostles for the world today. Along with reading this booklet take a minute each day to be aware of the harmony in and around yourself, despite all limitations and incarnate it in a way that mirrors this harmony in your daily actions. Our sincere thanks to Susan Daily IBVM for the images, to the contributors who shared their beautifully thought out reflections and to you all for joining our 7-year journey toward integral ecology.
Thank you for your daily JPIC commitment!
Laudato Si’
Our common home is like a sister with whom we share our life and a beautiful mother who opens her arms to embrace us (Laudato Si#1). But our sister cries out because of our lack of responsibility and love to her, and because “we have come to see ourselves as her lords and masters, entitled to plunder her at will” (#2). Given the situation of environmental deterioration in which we find ourselves, Pope Francis calls on all who live on this planet to enter into the dialogue about our common home (#3).
Season of Creation
The jubilee of the earth is biblical – God the Creator knew how much the earth needed to renew, repair, and restore herself. But the greed of human beings; the need for production and consumption—turned us away from honouring the Sabbath and instead we resulted to plundering the resources of the earth.
In Laudato Si, Pope Francis has outlined clearly how we have become deaf, dumb and blind to the pain, cry of the earth! This attitude is a threat to the poor, the vulnerable, the marginalized, and those forced to live on the margins. Please find here more on our Celebration of the Season of the Earth
Formation for Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation
Justice, human rights and social needs must be at the heart of all ministries and so justice, peace and integrity of creation must be nurtured as part of the IBVM identity, being, formation and living. Getting JPIC into our DNA requires that deep transformation of heart, soul and will, and is a life-long journey for each person. Please find here the IBVM JPIC Handbook.
2023 Reflections on Ecological Economics