ADVENT REFLECTIONS - Week 3: Care for the environment

Cascade Falls BC

Known as Gaudete Sunday, the Latin for ‘Rejoice’, this marks the half-way point in our Advent preparation. We rejoice in joyful anticipation of the birth of our Saviour and reflect on our responsibility to care for all creation.

Let the wilderness and the dry lands exult, let the wasteland rejoice and bloom, let it bring forth flowers like the jonquil, let it rejoice and sing for joy. Isaiah 35:1

Take good care of creation. St. Francis wanted that. If we don’t take care of the environment, there’s no way of getting around it. Pope Francis, 22 April 2013

REFLECTION

Our modern world is so immediate that we seem to have lost the joy of waiting patiently for an eagerly anticipated event. The build- up to Christmas can be so frenetic that we can lose sight of its true meaning. Frenzied preparations cause us to become stressed and irritable. It’s great to buy gifts for our loved ones, but do we need to spend so extravagantly?

• How can I prepare well for the Christmas celebration?

• Can I slow down to make quality time for prayer and reflection?

• Can I give the gift of my time to someone who is lonely or sick?

• How can I live more simply and sustainably for the good of all?

LIVING RESPONSIBLY

We are called to reflect on our individual roles and purposes in life and ask our- selves what we need to develop our human qualities, to grow in love of God and neighbour.

In a context of environmental justice, this reflection will allow us to make seri- ous choices – including the choice not to consume what we do not need and, above all, what is likely to harm others.

The Call of Creation, Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, 2002

PRAYER OF FRANCISCAN CONVERSION

Living God, where there is waste, let us bring recycling; where there is recycling, let us bring reuse; where there is reuse, let us bring sustainability; where there is sustainability, let us bring justice; where there is justice, let us bring love. ©John Polhill Wild Goose Publications (used with permission)

WATER CO-OPERATION

2013 United Nations International Year of Water Co-operation. The objective of this International Year is to raise awareness about water co- operation, and about the challenges of water management around the world.
This a huge challenge in a world facing environmental degradation, massive urban growth and climate change.

ACTION IDEAS

Choose from the World Gifts catalogue www.cafod.org.uk to help fund a community project or provide an animal

• Try not to buy new items—reuse or adapt what you have

• Join a local community action group or the LETS scheme (Local Exchange Trading Schemes www.letslinkuk.net) which swops skills and resources

• Measure how much water you use in one day - try to cut down Be patient; do not lose heart, because the Lord’s coming will be soon. James 5: