The United States Province of Priests and Brothers will join with their confreres across the globe to observe Earth Day 2013.
The Holy Cross International Justice and Peace Office has coordinated a special prayer service for the Congregation to commemorate the gift of God’s creations and to pray for the respect, preservation and renewal of these precious gifts.
Earth Day began on April 22, 1970, capitalizing on an emerging environmental consciousness of the time. About 20 million Americans rallied across the country in streets, parks and auditoriums seeking a cleaner, healthier and more sustainable environment. Earth Day expanded globally in 1990 and included 200 million people in 141 countries.
The theme of this year’s Earth Day is “The Face of Climate Change.”
Holy Cross Religious around the world will be united through common prayer from Psalms 104.
We invite you to join Holy Cross priests and brothers in saying this prayer below from Prayer for the Environment, Education for Justice.
Creator God, we praise you for the grandeur of the universe.
We praise you for the gift of Earth.
We praise you for the land, and we praise you for the seas.
We praise you for the great miracle of teeming life on our prolific planet.
We praise you for the cycle of growth and for the beauty of bursting blooms in springtime.
We praise you for the green growth of summer and the holy harvest in the fall.
We praise you for the infinity of different creatures on the land and in the sea, each unique in its own way, each fitting into the complex ecosystems you have gifted us with, each dependent on each other and the whole.
We praise you, our Creator. Grace us with a sense of our responsibilities to preserve and protect your precious gift, this garden, this Earth.
We praise you, Creator God, and we offer you our hearts and hands for the preservation of all of creation. Amen.
