Today I speak to you from Cammaraygal Country and I acknowledge the beauty of this place looked after by elders, past present and future.
Today is World Water Day and here in Sydney we are receiving another wake up call in the midst of our reality, living within an ecological crises that is affecting everyone in different ways.
When we reflect on the gift of water many things may emerge…The immense power and volume of bodies of water that influence all life on the planet. We recall the ways in which we take from country and diminish the gift of water. We pray for regenerative farmers and all people who choose the food that they eat. We pray especially that agricultural practices will work to improve the land, its health and well-being to nourish the intrinsic gift of soil, each animal, plant, fungi, the water in aquifers, oceans and in our tears.
We feel hope when we witness the gift of life that has been renewing itself for 3.7 Billion years.
We pray that we will learn from the wisdom of the cosmos and Earth, our mother, that we can tune into her more and more, loving the ways that she continues to spring forth with life after fire and rain.
We feel hope in the voice, passion and commitment of young people today. We especially feel hope in the life blood, wisdom and life protecting traditions of our Aboriginal brothers and sisters - in solidarity with Indigenous people cross the globe. We pray for the grace to listen, connect and become more inspired to act together for the common good of all.
A prayer for our earth by Pope Francis
All-powerful God, you are present in the whole universe and in the smallest of your creatures.
You embrace with your tenderness all that exists.
Pour out upon us the power of your love, that we may protect life and beauty.
Fill us with peace, that we may live as brothers and sisters, harming no one.
O God of the poor, help us to rescue the abandoned and forgotten of this earth, so precious in your eyes.
Bring healing to our lives, that we may protect the world and not prey on it, that we may sow beauty, not pollution and destruction.
Touch the hearts of those who look only for gain at the expense of the poor and the earth.
Teach us to discover the worth of each thing, to be filled with awe and contemplation, to recognize that we are profoundly united with every creature as we journey towards your infinite light.
We thank you for being with us each day.
Encourage us, we pray, in our struggle for justice, love and peace.
Written by Jacqui Remond for the Common Grace Prayer Vigil for Earth Overshoot Day, 22 March 2021.
Jacqui has over fourteen years experience as an environmental educator and advocate. She is the National Director of Catholic Earthcare Australia, the ecological agency of the Catholic Church in Australia, and one of the founding members of the Global Catholic Climate Movement. Jacquie is also currently a Convener of the National Council of Churches Australia Eco Mission Project, the NSW Eco Mission Network and has recently been appointed as a co-ordinator of an ecology taskforce within one of the Vatican COVID-19 Commission’s five working groups.