4. The attitude that
must characterize
the way we act in
relation to
creation…
… is essentially one of
gratitude and
appreciation; the
world, in fact, reveals the
mystery of God who
created and sustains it.
Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace 2004
5. We cannot simply do what we want with this
Earth of ours, with what has been entrusted to us
… Our Earth is talking to us and we must listen to
it and decipher its message if we want to survive.
Pope Benedict XVI 2007
6. Let us be renewed by God’s mercy,
let us be loved by Jesus,
let us enable the power of his love
to transform our lives;
7. …and let us become agents of this mercy,
channels through which God can
water the Earth, protect all creation
and make justice and peace flourish.
Pope Francis 2013
10. Day speaks of it to day, and night hands on the
knowledge to night. Psalm 19
11. God fashioned a
human creature
from the dust of the
soil, breathed into it
the breath of life,
and the creature
became a living
being…
Genesis 2,7
12. God intended the earth and all it contains for the use of
all…peoples, so created goods should flow fairly to all,
regulated by justice and accompanied by charity. All
rights whatsoever… are to be subordinated to this
principle. Pope Paul VI
13. The existence of
extreme poverty
and
environmental
destruction in
our world are
not natural
forces, nor acts
of God, but
result from
human
behaviour.
NZ Catholic Bishops 2006
14. Consumerism, global
environmental change and
suffering in the developing world
are inextricably linked.
New Zealand Catholic Bishops Statement on environmental Justice, 2006
15. Every person and every
family can and must do
something to alleviate
hunger in the world by
adopting a lifestyle and
consumption compatible
with the safeguarding of
creation and with criteria
of justice for those who
cultivate land in every
country. Pope Benedict 2006
16. At the personal level, the
suffering of others and the
damage to our planet demand
that we look closely at our
own lifestyles…NZ Catholic Bishops 2006
17. Both individual and
collective acts of
selflessness are needed;
of self sacrifice for the
greater good,
of self denial in the midst
of convenient choices,
of choosing simpler
lifestyles in the midst of a
consumer society.
NZ Catholic Bishops 2006
18. What is needed is an
affective shift in mentality,
which can lead to the
adoption of new lifestyles,
in which the quest for
truth, beauty, goodness
and communion with
others, for the sake of
common growth…
…are the factors which
determine consumer
choices, savings and
investments.
Pope Benedict XVI 2009
19. Our present crises, be they economic, food related,
environmental or social, are ultimately moral crises,
and all of them are interrelated.
They require us to re-think the path
we are travelling together.
Pope Benedict XVI 2010
20. On February 16, 2005, the Kyoto
Protocol came into effect as
international law. On that occasion,
Pacific Church leaders led worship at
the WCC Central Committee meeting
including use of the following prayer.
22. Dear Father, You have created
Mother Earth in a wonderful and
awesome way. You are preserving this
beauty of creation every single day thus
giving us the rich base on which we can
enjoy our
lives.
A Lenten prayer
All; Through your grace Lord, change us.
23. But your creation is not just a gift to us,
you have asked us to use it according to
your will and to fulfil our given
responsibility to protect your creation
against all destructive forces.
Our Lenten prayer
All; Through your
grace Lord, change us.
24. We tend to forget this responsibility in our
striving for a comfortable life. As a result,
our planet with all its beautiful creatures
and vegetation is suffering. If we do not
change our lifestyle soon we,
the people of the Pacific, will
suffer the most.
Our Lenten prayer
All; Through your grace
Lord, change us.
25. The rising sea-levels, the increasing
number of cyclones, the droughts, the
pollution in our air, the increased extreme
weather conditions - we can already feel
it.
A Lenten prayer
All; Through your grace Lord, change us.
26. We pray these words knowing that our
sisters and brothers in Jesus Christ all
throughout the Pacific region join us
today in this prayer of concern about your
creation and of thankfulness for the
coming into life of the Kyoto Protocol.
A Lenten prayer
All; Through your
grace Lord, change us.
27. Let us raise our voices together in the
ecumenical family in favour for your creation!
Let us make the world community hear our
environmental concerns and our suffering! Let
us support projects that call upon Australia
and the USA who are major producers of
climate-change-gases and who have not yet
ratified the Kyoto Protocol to do so in the near
future!
A Lenten prayer
All; Through your
grace Lord, change us.
28. Let us be advocates for our Mother Earth.
Let us be advocates especially for our
precious and endangered Pacific Islands!
A Lenten prayer
All; Through your grace Lord, change us.
29. Let us be advocates for our Vanua - the
seas and the land! Let us not only talk
about change, let us DO your word in our
day to day lives! Please give us strength
and courage to be workers and fighters for
your creation before it is too late.
A Lenten prayer
All; Through your grace Lord, change us.